83 percent of Indian patients carry superbugs: AIG Hyderabad study warns of Antibiotic Resistance Crisis in India

A study by AIG Hyderabad shows 83% of Indian patients undergoing routine endoscopy carry multidrug-resistant bacteria, far higher than in other countries. Experts warn of a community-level antibiotic resistance crisis, urging urgent stewardship, public education, and regulatory action.

Hyderabad: A major multicentre study, published in the Lancet e-Clinical Medicine, coordinated by Hyderabad-based Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG), has indicated an alarming 83 percent of patients who underwent a common endoscopy procedure carried multidrug-resistance organisms (MDROs).

The study, conducted in three other hospitals, apart from AIG Hyderabad, including Netherlands, Italy and United States, indicated that 83 percent of patients with MDROs was the highest reported among all participating countries.

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The international study, released at a time when the world is observing Antimicrobial Stewardship Week (Nov 18–25), indicated that MDRO carriage among patients in Italy was 31.5 percent, 20.1 percent in the US nad 10.8 percent in the Netherlands.

The study analysed more than 1,200 patients across four countries and discovered exceptionally high levels of resistant bacteria among Indian participants, including 70.2 percent with ESBL-producing organisms and 23.5 percent with carbapenem-resistant bacteria, which do not respond even to last-resort antibiotics.

These organisms cause infections that are harder to treat, prolong recovery, increase the risk of complications, and substantially raise treatment costs.

Hospitals are forced to use stronger and more toxic drugs, and patients often require extended ICU care and longer hospital stays which make an enormous burden on families and the healthcare system.

What makes the findings even more concerning is that these resistance levels cannot be explained solely by medical history or underlying illness. Even after adjusting for age, comorbidities, and risk factors, India continued to show dramatically higher MDRO prevalence.

This indicates a deep-rooted community-level problem linked to antibiotic misuse, easy and widespread availability of over-the-counter antibiotics, incomplete treatment courses, and widespread self-medication, said Founder Chairman of AIG Hospitals, Dr Nageshwar Reddy, a co-author of the study.

“Our study should ring the loudest alarm bell India has heard on antibiotic resistance. When over 80 percent of patients coming for a routine, commonly performed procedure are already carrying drug-resistant bacteria, it means the threat is no longer limited to hospitals, it is in our communities, our environment, and our daily lives. India urgently needs a national movement on antibiotic stewardship, public education, and strong regulatory action to prevent a true public health disaster.” Dr. Hardik Rughwani, senior gastroenterologist and co-investigator from AIG Hospitals said.