The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has invited research proposals from scientists across the country to study the superbug or the drug resistant bacteria. The announcement comes soon after the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced a national anti-microbial policy to help address the issue of superbug which became international news after the presence of such bacteria (NDM-1) was reported in the British medical journal The Lancet. The study, to check the presence of such bacteria in India, would be jointly conducted by the Ministry and a special task force set up for the purpose. The project coordinator and the surveillance team set up for the purpose in selected tertiary care hospitals will implement the surveillance of antimicrobials.
“On an individual basis, researchers have been reporting the presence of multi-drug resistant organisms and their anti-microbial susceptibility patterns, but there is lack of a consolidated effort to bring about a change. In view of this, the ICMR plans to initiate research on antimicrobial resistance,” the ICMR said.
“It is extremely essential to generate scientific evidence on the prevailing trends of antimicrobial resistance in all parts of the country and at all levels i.e. primary, secondary and tertiary health care systems,” the ICMR said inviting researchers to submit proposals by May 15, adding that it was also vital to understand the unknown mechanisms of drug resistance in various micro-organisms.
The applications have been invited for funding research projects in the areas of genetic analysis of microbes to determine sequences of genes and reveal vulnerable areas in a microbe’s genome which could be used as potential drug targets or aid in the development of better diagnostic tests.
Other areas include mechanisms of emergence and transfer of resistance genes among pathogens in vivo (in the host), and the distribution and dissemination of specific antimicrobial resistance genes over time.
The investigations will also probe contamination of water and soil by pesticides, heavy metals and antibiotic residues and its relationship to drug resistance as well as role of normal flora and probiotics in the emergence or control of drug resistance.
The Lancet has also recently claimed the presence of antibiotic-resistant superbug NDM-I in the public water supply of the national Capital. The claim, however, has been denied by the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry as well as Delhi Government.
Courtesy : The Hindu
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