Dr Kaushal Malhan, Orthopedic Surgeon- CNN IBN

Superbug yet to bite medical tourism in India
Nikita Mishra , CNN-IBN
Posted on Aug 25, 2010 at 12:38pm IST

Mumbai: The World Health Organization (WHO) recently endorsed the Lancet study on the NDM-1 superbug traced to India. But so far, medical tourism in the country hasn't been hit.

That's surprising as UK health experts issued warnings against unnecessary health travel to India.

But the real threat is antibiotic resistance.

The Lancet report has also not gone down well with Indian health authorities. They said superbug is a global phenomenon and the international media is painting the quality of healthcare in India in a harsh light.

The fear back home is of a backlash on the booming medical tourism industry, which is expected to see revenues of $ 1 billion every year from 2011.

Around 50 lakh foreign patients come to India for medical travel and their footfall has not dropped post the Lancet study.

Brinda from the US is in Mumbai for a hip replacement surgery. When asked if the superbug scare bothered her, she said: "We knew it was hugely exaggerated. My husband is a journalist, we know what to trust what not to."

She added: "I know there are more bugs in my country than elsewhere. What matters is the care you get and that has been better than what I could've got in the US and at a third of the cost."

But the superbug scare is not all hype. In March, Mumbai based Hinduja Hospital isolated 22 cases of the NDM-1 superbug resistant to a broad spectrum of highly powerful antibiotics.

This has been under investigation since 2009. And the big superbug scare over the past decade has been the MRSA threat in the UK and US.

Dr Kaushal Malhan, knee and hip surgeon at Fortis Hospital, said: "Antiobiotic resistace is a big problem. Many times, antibiotics are prescribed for viral and cold, which may not even be bacterial infections. Many dcotors prescribe higher-end antibiotics when a lower one can be effective. There is no control on over-the-counter sales in our country."

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is almost a direct result of overuse. Sources in the health ministry admit antibiotic usage in India has shot up by 70% in the past five years alone.

Tuberculosis is classic example. A disease almost eradicated in the 80s still remains a big killer. Multi-drug resistance is still being fought.

The Lancet study should serve as a wake-up call for a stricter antibiotic policy in India