Molecular Detection and Subtyping of New Delhi Metallobetalactamases (NDM-1) in Clinical Isolates of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in a Tertiary Care Hospital, South India

During the past decade, there has been an emergence of carbapenems-resistant Enterobacteriaceae that produce carbapenamases, enzymes that efficiently hydrolyze carbapenems, as well as most βlactam drugs (Queenan et al., 2007). New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamases-1 (NDM-1) are one such carbapenamase that makes bacteria resistant to a broad range of betalactam antibiotics. These include the antibiotics of the carbapenems family, which are a mainstay for the treatment of antibioticresistant bacterial infections. Bacteria that produce carbapenamases are often referred to in the news media as "superbugs" because infections caused by them are difficult to treat.