Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Nov 18: India is confronting an escalating public health emergency, with a new study revealing that more than 80% of Indian patients carry multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs)—the highest proportion recorded anywhere in the world.
Published in The Lancet eClinical Medicine, the large international study signals that India sits at the epicentre of a global superbug surge, as many patients were found to harbor multiple highly resistant bacteria at the same time. The findings were released at the start of the WHO’s World AMR Awareness Week (Nov 18–24), urging immediate national action on antibiotic stewardship.
The multicentre study evaluated over 1,200 patients from India, Italy, the US, and the Netherlands who underwent a standard endoscopic procedure. India’s MDRO carriage rate was an alarming 83%, compared with 31.5% in Italy, 20.1% in the US, and 10.8% in the Netherlands.
Among Indian participants,
• 70.2% carried ESBL-producing bacteria, which are resistant to commonly used antibiotics.
• 23.5% carried carbapenem-resistant organisms, which withstand even last-resort drugs.
Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) were nearly absent in the Netherlands and rare in the US, underscoring India’s disproportionate vulnerability.
Certain medical conditions—such as chronic lung disease, congestive heart failure, recent penicillin use, and repeated hospital visits—were closely linked to higher MDRO prevalence.
The consequences are severe: MDROs force hospitals to rely on stronger, more toxic antibiotics, delay recovery, increase complications, and sharply raise treatment costs, said researchers from AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad. The study reinforces long-standing warnings, noting that India already sees around 58,000 newborn deaths annually due to drug-resistant infections, and faces frequent encounters with untreatable bacteria in ICUs and cancer care units.
Researchers called the findings “unmistakable evidence that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a national health emergency.”
To curb the crisis, experts recommend:
• Responsible antibiotic use by clinicians and the public
• Strict regulation of prescription-only drug sales
• Routine pre-procedural screening to detect MDROs
• Single-use devices for high-risk patients to prevent cross-infection
The study underscores the urgent need for coordinated national policies and public awareness to prevent India’s antibiotic resistance problem from spiraling further.