A new multi-drug resistant bacteria which has caused infections and some deaths in South Asia, Europe and the United States has stirred fears of a new pandemic. But is the NDM-1 bacteria, called "a new horrible superbug" by many media, such a threat?

A new multi-drug resistant bacteria which has caused infections and some deaths in South Asia, Europe and the United States has stirred fears of a new pandemic. But is the NDM-1 bacteria, called "a new horrible superbug" by many media, such a threat?

In a study published by Britain's leading medical journal, The Lancet Infectious Diseases, on Aug. 11, British doctors reported finding a new gene, called NDM-1, which alters bacteria, making them resistant to nearly all known antibiotics.

There were already 37 cases of the bacteria in Britain and more than 100 cases in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, said the study, adding that several of the British NDM-1 positive patients had travelled recently to India or Pakistan for medical treatment, including cosmetic surgery.

The resistant gene has also been spotted in Australia, Canada, the United States, the Netherlands and Sweden.

The naming by the study of the gene as NDM-1, short for New Delhi metallo-Beta-lactamase 1, which means it originated from the Indian capital of New Delhi, has drawn down protests and refutation from India, the world's second largest medical tourism destination.