A new international study published in The Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine has raised serious concerns about the rapid rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in India. The findings place the country at the centre of what experts call a fast-escalating superbugs crisis.
What the Lancet Study Revealed
The research, titled “Preprocedural screening for multidrug-resistant organisms in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography,” screened more than 1,200 patients across India, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States.
India recorded the highest global prevalence of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) among patients undergoing this common endoscopic procedure. Shockingly, 83.1% of Indian patients carried at least one superbug — far higher than any other participating country.
By comparison:
- Italy: 31.5%
- United States: 20.1%
- Netherlands: 10.8%
Experts warn that once these superbugs spread from hospitals into communities, treatment options become severely limited or even completely ineffective.
How Severe Is India’s AMR Burden?
The results for India revealed extremely high rates of resistance:
- 70.2% of patients carried ESBL-producing bacteria, making many commonly used antibiotics ineffective.
- 23.5% carried carbapenem-resistant bacteria — resistant even to last-resort drugs.
- Several patients harboured multiple highly resistant organisms simultaneously.
Researchers believe these alarming levels stem from widespread antibiotic misuse, over-the-counter availability of prescription drugs, and inconsistent infection-control practices.
Who Faces Higher Risk of Carrying Superbugs?
As reported by Business Standard, the study identified several risk factors associated with increased MDRO prevalence, including:
- Chronic lung disease
- Congestive heart failure
- Recent penicillin use
- Frequent hospital admissions or prior medical procedures
However, the researchers stressed that these factors alone cannot explain India’s disproportionately high rates. They pointed instead to a deeper, systemic AMR challenge that requires urgent attention.
Call for Immediate and Targeted Action
Given the sharp regional differences in superbug prevalence, the Lancet study urges countries to adopt tailored infection-control strategies instead of uniform, global policies. For India, experts recommend:
- Using and prescribing antibiotics more judiciously
- Regulating the sale of prescription-only medicines
- Conducting routine preprocedural screening
- Considering single-use devices for high-risk patients to reduce contamination
Public health specialists caution that without strong intervention, the superbug crisis could reverse decades of medical progress. It may also jeopardise routine surgeries, cancer treatments, and the management of infectious diseases.