Spread of carbapenemase NDM-1 producers: the situation in India and what may be proposed.

New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase 1 (NDM-1) producers, first identified from patients hospitalized in India, are now reported worldwide. The Indian subcontinent is clearly a main reservoir of NDM-1 producers. In order to slow down the spread of these NDM-1-positive Enterobacteriaceae, first in India and then worldwide, a series of measures must be implemented as soon as possible. These include discouraging the over-the-counter sale of antibiotics, improving basic and extended knowledge on hygiene, and the wide-scale detection of bla(NDM-1), in both infecting agents and in the carrier state for at-risk patients.