New Dehli metallo-beta-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) is an enzyme that makes bacteria resistant to a broad range of beta-lactam antibiotics. These include the antibiotics of the carbapenem family, which are a mainstay for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. According the the United Kingdom’s health protection agency, most bacteria carrying the gene for NDM-1 are resistant to all standard intravenous antibiotic treatments for severe infections. First identified in a patient in New Dehli in December 2009, the NDM-1 gene has since been found in infections in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Participants discuss the growing global threat of NDM-1 as well as late-breaker abstracts describing cases in the U.S. and Canada.
* Patrice Nordmann, Hosp. Bicetre, La Kremlin-Bicetre, France
* Timothy Walsh, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
* Johann Pitout, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
* Hanna Sidjabat, University of Queensland, Australia
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