AIG study warns of rising superbug spread in India

HYDERABAD: A major international study co-authored by AIG Hospitals and published in Lancet eClinicalMedicine has raised one of the strongest warnings yet on India’s worsening antibiotic resistance crisis.

The research found that 83% of Indian patients carry multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) the highest among all countries studied.

Experts said this means antibiotic-resistant bacteria have become so widespread that even people entering a hospital for the first time are already harbouring superbugs.

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India far ahead of Italy, US and Netherlands

The study analysed more than 1,200 adult patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) across India, Italy, the United States and the Netherlands.

India reported the highest MDRO carriage at 83%, compared with 31.5% in Italy, 20.1% in the US and 10.8% in the Netherlands.

Patients in India also showed 70.2% ESBL-producing enterobacterales and 23.5% carbapenem-resistant organisms, which do not respond even to last-line antibiotics.

These bacteria, commonly present in the nose and stomach, can trigger severe infections, prolong hospital stays, increase intensive care admissions and sharply raise treatment costs.

‘Cycle of misuse allowing bacteria to adapt’

“The cycle of food, environment and human usage allows bacteria to keep adapting. This is no longer in the hands of individuals. Policies must act,” said D Nageshwar Reddy, chairman of AIG Hospitals and study co-author.

Researchers said the results remained unchanged even after accounting for age, health conditions and medical histories, indicating a deep-rooted, community-level problem.

Real-world example highlights severe cost difference

Dr Reddy cited two patients with acute cholangitis treated with the same procedure.

The non-MDR patient recovered with standard antibiotics and was discharged in three days at a cost of around ₹70,000.

The MDR patient did not respond to first-line treatment, required high-end antibiotics and intensive care, spent more than 15 days in hospital, and incurred expenses of ₹4 lakh to ₹5 lakh.

“This is the real-world cost of superbugs,” he said.

Researchers also warned that bacteria share resistance genes within the body. “They are not selfish. They pass on resistance traits, turning the body into a reservoir of superbugs,” Dr Reddy said.