Superbug Gene Surfaces Twice in Austria

Austria's health ministry is reporting two cases of a new gene that allows bacteria to become a superbug.

The ministry says experts at the medical university in the southern city of Graz detected the gene, known as NDM-1, in two people, both of whom are believed to have been infected in hospitals abroad.

A statement Friday said a person from Pakistan was released in good health from Graz's university clinic last year after successful treatment. It said another person from Kosovo is still under medical supervision there.

Researchers say the gene - which appears to be circulating widely in India - alters bacteria, making them resistant to nearly all known antibiotics.

Earlier this month, scientists warned this type of drug resistance could soon appear worldwide as people getting cosmetic surgery in India have brought the gene back to Britain.

Experts warned the booming medical tourism industries in India and Pakistan could fuel a surge in antibiotic resistance, as patients import dangerous bugs to their home countries.

The resistant gene has also been detected in Australia, Canada, the U.S., the Netherlands and Sweden. Researchers said since many Americans and Europeans travel to India and Pakistan for elective procedures like cosmetic surgery, it was likely the superbug gene would spread worldwide.