Prayagraj: A dangerous new ‘superbug’ that can resist several commonly used antibiotics has been identified by Indian scientists, raising fresh concerns over the growing threat of drug-resistant infections in hospitals. In a major scientific breakthrough, researchers from six leading Indian institutions have successfully completed the first whole-genome sequencing of a new strain of Proteus mirabilis, a bacterium known to cause severe urinary tract and bloodstream infections.The newly identified strain has been named Proteus mirabilis Strain Indica (ST286). The research was carried out by a team of 11 scientists from Banaras Hindu University, Manipal University Jaipur, Amity University Gurugram, IQ City Medical College, National Dairy Research Institute and other collaborating institutes. The study was published on May 16 in the international journal BMC Microbiology, published by Springer Nature.Detailing on the findings, Prof Gyaneshwar Chaubey of the department of zoology at BHU said, “The bacterium is especially dangerous because it can survive against many powerful antibiotics usually used to treat serious infections. The strain was discovered in 2024 from a discarded diagnostic culture plate at a hospital in West Bengal. Initially, it was wrongly identified as another bacterium, but advanced genome sequencing later confirmed it to be a completely new strain of Proteus mirabilis.”The bacterium mainly affects patients suffering from diabetes, weak immunity, catheter-related complications and hospital-acquired infections. It can cause urinary tract infections, wound infections and infections in the bloodstream, which can become life-threatening if medicines fail to work.Prof Chaubey further said the strain carries several resistance genes that make it immune to important antibiotics, including penicillin-based medicines, tetracycline and fluoroquinolones. Scientists also found multiple “virulence factors” that help the bacterium spread rapidly and cause severe infection inside the body.First authors Sovan Acharya and Parmanand Kushwaha said, “India had a severe shortage of genomic data on Proteus mirabilis. Strain Indica is not only MDR (multidrug resistant) but its virulence hub genes provide promising targets for new vaccines, antibodies and bacteriophage therapies. Continuous regional genomic surveillance is essential, otherwise treating hospital-acquired UTIs and serious infections will become extremely difficult.”Another author of the paper, Prashant Suravajhala warned, “The resistance genes in this bacterium are linked to mobile genetic elements like IS91, which are rapidly turning it into a ‘superbug’.”Researchers said the same team has also discovered a special bacteriophage named Ram_Arti_1324, which can reduce the protective biofilm of the bacterium by up to 55%. Scientists now plan to work on vaccines, targeted medicines and phage-based therapies to control the infection.Experts believe the study is important for India, where antibiotic resistance has become a serious public health challenge due to excessive and uncontrolled use of antibiotics. The discovery is expected to help doctors and researchers better understand how such dangerous bacteria evolve and how future treatments can be developed before these infections become untreatable.
