Superbug Stowaways: India Travel Boom Spreads Stealthy Germs (1).

The microbes that piqued Pitout's interest were common intestinal-dwelling bacteria that harbored special enzymes, known as extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs), which destroy most penicillin- and cephalosporin-based antibiotics. Patients hospitalized with an invasive, ESBL infection are usually treated with a medicine from the carbapenem class, though even those high-powered antibiotics are failing now that bacteria are increasingly harboring carbapenemase enzymes that neutralize these drugs. [Extracted from the article]