For years, we have brushed aside warnings of the existence and evolution of superbugs just as quickly as we brush aside people who hand out aj madison coupons and flyers by the road. We ignore them because we think they don’t matter or it’s not real enough for us.

The proof is now in the writing – they *do* exist and it’s thanks to our own paranoid attitude-actions towards medication. People who contribute to this range from the doctors who are quick to prescribe broad spectrum antibiotics for things that don’t require antibiotics like the common cold (a virus actually) to people who fail to complete their antibiotic prescriptions.

A superbug which is resistant to antibiotics has been detected in a 24-year-old woman, the first known case in Malaysia, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

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Liow said the superbug, known scientifically as the NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-lactamase-1), was not a threat to the patient and she was receiving regular attention at the hospital.

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Identified in India and Pakistan, it had reportedly caused the death of a Belgian man and infected several people from Britain, Australia and the United States who travelled to the two countries for surgery.

The Belgian was reportedly infected by the bacteria after being hospitalised in Pakistan for a leg injury suffered in a car accident.

Full story here.

One thing needs to be clarified though. The NDM-1 is an gene NOT a bacteria. If a bacteria mutates and ends up carrying this gene, it becomes immune to almost all antibiotics. What happens is that when a bacteria with this gene comes into contact with an antibiotic, it’ll produce an enzyme that stops the antibiotic from doing its job.

And that’s not all.

The NDM-1 gene can jump across bacteria strains easily and it’s worrying – imagine encountering a bacteria that is already resistant to one antibiotic in the market and then have this gene hop onto the same bacteria. You end up with a potentially infectious disease that has no known treatment at all.

So how is it not a threat to us? Gosh. Typical response really.

One way we can do our part is by being more careful with the medication we put into our mouths. Question our doctors whenever they prescribe antibiotics. I was given antibiotics for a common cold that I had a few weeks ago. Did I take it? No. Why? Because I know that common colds are caused by viruses NOT a bacterial strain, hence there is no need for any antibiotics. Not only it is a waste but it actually kills good bacteria in the body (women take note) resulting in higher chances of you contracting things like a yeast infection.