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The Public Health Laboratory Services Branch (PHLSB) of the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health confirmed today (June 25) a case of New Delhi metallo-£]-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in a 15-month-old baby boy.
The boy, with good past health, lives in Guangzhou. He presented with fever, running nose and cough on June 8, and developed convulsion on June 11. He was admitted to a hospital in the Mainland and was subsequently admitted to Kwong Wah Hospital on June 16. He was diagnosed as having pneumonia and febrile convulsion. His condition has been stable all along, and he was discharged on June 19.
The patient's rectal swab yielded NDM-1 Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae as confirmed by the PHLSB.
His family contacts are asymptomatic. Investigations by the CHP are under way.
This is the 30th detected case of NDM Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in Hong Kong.
NDM is an enzyme which can inactivate carbapenems and other beta-lactams such as penicillins. Bacteria harbouring this NDM gene are commonly resistant to multiple antimicrobials, limiting therapeutic options and rendering severe clinical infections difficult to treat. Most bacteria with the NDM enzyme remain susceptible to two types of antibiotics, colistin and tigecycline.
Infections have varied from being asymptomatic to potentially life-threatening or fatal. The level of risk depends on which part of the body is affected by the infection, and the general health of the patient.
NDM-producing Enterobacteriaceae was first reported in a Swedish patient of Indian origin who travelled to New Delhi, India, in 2008. The first fatal case was identified in 2010 in a patient who received medical treatment in Pakistan before being repatriated to Belgium.
NDM-producing Enterobacteriaceae has now been reported in many countries and regions including Australia, Austria, Canada, Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Sweden, Singapore, Taiwan, the UK and the US. Most patients had prior hospital contact in the Indian subcontinent.
A CHP spokesman said that proper use of antibiotics and personal hygiene, especially hand hygiene, are important for the prevention of emergence and cross-transmission of NDM strains.
Ends/Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:49
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