A new superbug found in India, may lead to another pandemic

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A new superbug found in India, may lead to another pandemic (Photo by Timothy Allen on Unsplash)
A new superbug found in India, may lead to another pandemic (Photo by Timothy Allen on Unsplash)

New Delhi : At a time when India is dealing with coronavirus pandemic situation, researchers have found a new superbug in remote sandy beaches of India, which may lead to another pandemic. According to researchers, the superbug is multi-drug resistant organism which is called C-auris.

The study by researchers has been published in the journal mBio on Tuesday (March 16). According to the study, an expert warned that Covid-19 pandemic offered the “perfect conditions for widespread outbreaks” of C. auris.

Led by Dr Anuradha Chowdhary, a team of scientists from Delhi University studied 48 samples of soil and water from eight different sites from Andaman Islands. They did the research on sandy beaches, rocky shores, tidal marshes, and mangrove swamps.

During their study, the researchers isolated C. auris from two sites: a salt marsh wetland where virtually no people ever go, and a beach with more human activity.

During their research, they found that C. auris isolates from the beach were all multi-drug resistant and were more closely related to strains seen in hospitals compared with the isolates found in the marsh, Live Science quoted Chowdhary as saying in a statement.

It must be noted that the study did not mention that C. auris is naturally found in the beaches or that it is originated there. They also noted that it may be introduced by humans on the island with more human activities.

According to researchers, the infection from the superbug can show “no symptoms before turning into a fever and chills”. These symptoms won’t go away despite the use of medicines and can lead to death.

The researchers also added that the superbug C. auris survives on the skin before entering the body through wounds. Once it goes into the bloodstream, the superbug causes severe illness and can lead to sepsis — a condition that kills up to 11 million people a year globally, the World Health Organization has said.