Taiwanese did not get superbug infection in India: New Delhi

NEW DELHI - After one of the two Taiwanese nationals injured in the Jama Masjid shooting was detected with superbug, New Delhi Monday said the infection was not acquired during his stay in India. The union health ministry indicated he could have caught the bug earlier.

“From the uneventful recovery of the patient after the surgery, no evidence of infection either at wound site or in the urine where invasive procedure were done; non-use of carbapenem in the hospital and practice of good infection control policy in the hospital, it can be perhaps safely concluded that infection was not acquired during stay in India,” a health ministry statement said here.

The health ministry indicated that Ko-Chiang might have been infected with the superbug, NDM-1, before he came to India.

“Since the stool sample was not tested before the admission of the patient to the hospital, it cannot be excluded that patient was not carrying NDM-1 enterobacteriaceae in his intestine prior to his admission,” the statement said.

Thirty-eight-year-old Ko-Chiang sustained injuries in the firing outside the Jama Masjid Sep 19. He was taken to Loknayak Jai Prakash Hospital here where he underwent surgery for hepatic and bowel injuries. He was discharged Sep 27 and left for Taiwan.

“He was investigated there (Taiwan) for NDM-1 enterobacteriaceae. Specimens from the drain site, urine and stool were tested. The stool sample reportedly tested positive for carbapenem resistant NDM-1 Klebseilla pneumoniae. As per the Center for Disease Control, Taiwan, the case does not meet the clinical characteristics of NDM-1 enterobacteriaceae infection,” the statement said.

The Taiwanese government contacted India last week after its Center for Disease Control confirmed the first case of NDM-1 in Chiang.

The multi-drug resistant superbug NDM-1, named New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactomase-1, is said to have its origin from India. This too has been denied by the Indian government.

Giving the sequence of the events, the health ministry said within half an hour of the incident, Chiang underwent surgery and his post-operative stay in the hospital was “uneventful”.

“He had satisfactory wound healing and was discharged Sep 27 morning with advice for follow-up.”

The health ministry also questioned the status of surveillance against the superbug in Taiwan, indicating that it might have been present in Ching without being detected.

“From a public health point of view, it is important to get information on whether there is surveillance among the Taiwan population for NDM-1 enterobacteriaceae and the estimate of load of NDM-1.”

The statement said: “A large number of different kinds of surgeries continue to be carried out in India with great success.”