Antibiotics `helpless against killer bug'

The number of cases of streptococcus pneumoniae bacterium that proved resistant to antibiotics shot up from 2 per cent in 1991 to 43 per cent in 1997, said Dr Ling Moi Lin, a microbiologist at Singapore General Hospital.

The bacterium ``used to be very sensitive to penicillin, but is now showing resistance to it'', he said. ``It's also showing resistance to new classes of antibiotics.''

The bug can infect the respiratory tract, sinuses or ears. It is most dangerous when it spreads to the lungs and causes pneumonia, Dr Ling said.

``It's a very common bacterium,'' the doctor said, noting that it could be spread through the air by inhaling droplets coughed out by an infected person.

About half of all patients over 60 die when the bacterium affects their blood or brain, and the infection is also fatal to four out of 10 children under the age of one, the Straits Times newspaper reported.

The newspaper quoted an article from the Annals Academy of Medicine in Singapore, in which associate professor T K Lim warned: ``We may witness, in the near future, the emergence of this virtually incurable superbug in Singapore.''

Doctors said overuse and misuse of antibiotics had probably led to the emergence of a bacterium resistant to drugs, a common problem with many types of bacteria around the world.

``If people use too much of an antibiotic, this is the end result,'' Dr Ling said. ``The antibiotic will kill the bacteria that are most sensitive. The ones that are left behind will learn to mutate and resist the antibiotic.''

Singapore's Health Ministry is reviewing guidelines on antibiotic use in an attempt to combat the problem, the ministry said yesterday in a written response to questions. - AP