Health experts have issued a warning that a new, antibiotic-resistant superbug may spread to Viet Nam.

"A common feature of bacteria is to spread easily through contact so there is potential that this kind of superbug could spread globally and enter Viet Nam, particularly through medical tourists," said Dr Nguyen Trung Cap, deputy manager of the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases' Emergency Ward.

The warning was issued after world health experts said that the new superbug, which contained the enzyme NDM-1 or New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase, was discovered recently.

This particular enzyme made the bacteria resistant to several existing antibiotics including carba-penems, a class of drugs often reserved for emergency use and was considered a "last resort" treatment, said Dr Cap.

The superbug, which was first identified in India and Pakistan, has infected 50 people in the UK who recently returned to Britain after undergoing surgery in India and Pakistan.

So far, Ecoli and Klebsiella, which cause pneumonia, are the two types of bacteria that are able to host the NDM-1 enzyme. Both bugs can cause urinary tract infections and blood poisoning.

According to Dr Cap, similar types of bacteria-resistant superbugs were found in Viet Nam. These types of gram-negative bacteria are able to infect a person's intestinal system.

A survey conducted in 16 hospitals in Viet Nam found bacteria similar to the superbug that was discovered in India, but they contained different genes, said the doctor.

"Therefore people should not be too worried about this superbug," said Dr Cap. "The most important thing is to identify this particular antibiotic-resistant superbug and provide the appropriate treatment," he said.

A national study showed that between 1.2-2 per cent of the total number of patients in Vietnamese hospitals suffered from antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.

Each hospital prescribed their own treatment methods for particular patients because there was no specific treatment method that existed to treat resistant bacteria, he said.

A majority of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections were treated with a combination of different antibiotics or a new type of antibiotic was prescribed for treatment.

According to Dr Cap, the best way to stop the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria was to rapidly identify and isolate any patients who were infected and sterilise the surrounding area where the patient was treated. Staff should also wash their hands with antibacterial soap if they have come in contact with patients infected with this type of bacteria.

From Vietnamnews