Superbug Claims First Victim in New Zealand, Doctors Monitor Second Case

A man from Wellington, New Zealand is the first to die after contracting antibiotic-resistant bacteria. At 68 years old, Brian Pool is believed to be the first victim of the superbug in New Zealand.

A microbiologist at the hospital in Wellington said the antibiotic era may be coming to an end. The hospital is currently dealing with another case.

While Mr Pool was in Vietnam last January, he had a stroke and undergone surgery. He was flown to the hospital in Wellington where doctors discovered he was carrying a strain of bacterium resistant to antiobiotics known as Klebsieall Pneumoniae.

The hospital placed Mr Pool under quarantine for six months. He died in July due to health complications after a stroke.

According to clinical microbiologist Mark Jones, he had never seen a more resistant bacterium in his life. Dr Jones said the hospital had to impose strict isolation rules to prevent it from spreading. If the superbug had somehow spread, he said the impact to the community would be devastating.

Doctors in Wellington suspect the antiobiotic-resistant bacteria may have entered Mr Pool's body while he was being treated in Vietnam. It was also possible that Mr Pool acquired it during an earlier surgical procedure for hernia while he was in India.

Dr Jones said the superbug didn't cause an infection for Mr Pool but doctors had to be cautious in treating him to avoid the spread of bacteria. Visitors and nurses of Mr Pool were told to be careful.

Medical tourism can increase the risk of contracting antibiotic-resistant infections and reaching New Zealand, according to Dr Jones, Mr Pool's physician.

Mr Pool's twin sister Maureen Dunn said the family was sad because they were not able to give him even a simple hug. Mr Pool was not allowed to leave the hospital room while in isolation. Mr Pool was an English teacher based in Vietnam. He suffered a brain hemorrhage on January 6.

Meanwhile, the Wellington hospital is busy dealing with a second case of the superbug.

Earlier in 2013, British chief medical official Sally Davies remarked that the existence of bacteria resistant to antibiotics should be treated as a "catastrophe" alongside global terrorism.