- http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-07/drug-defying-germs-from-india-speed-post-antibiotic-era.html
- http://www.bloomberg.com/video/92160951/
- http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-07/squash-superbugs-with-fast-track-antibiotics-approval.html
- http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-10/kidney-damaging-drug-seen-attacking-spread-of-superbugs-health.html
Provide names of other journalists involved.
Jason Gale, Adi Narayan
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
June 2012 The story appeared on the Bloomberg Professional Service on May 8, 2012.
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Take antibiotic overuse, add jammed cities and poor sanitation, and the world winds up with a new type of superbacteria that’s spreading faster, further and in more frightening ways than any in history. Eighty years after penicillin promised to eradicate infectious diseases, Jason Gale and Adi Narayan document how humanity is again confronting the specter of unstoppable germs that can turn a scraped knee into a death sentence. “The Scourge of the Superbugs” takes readers on a global tour of the science, medicine, people and politics behind a new bacteria-altering gene dubbed NDM-1. During almost two years of research, the writers tracked down the labs and hospitals — and even the hotel room — where scientists from Chennai, Cardiff, Stockholm and London discovered, debated, fought and named the new gene. Gale conducted the first media interview with a Norwegian grandmother who was exposed to NDM-1 in India. Then, in a step-by-step account, the writers document how India’s plethora of antibiotics and dearth of toilets are rendering today’s bacteria-fighting drugs useless, threatening medical advances from cancer treatments to prostate biopsies. After scoring an exclusive interview with an Indian researcher who spotted the rise of NDM-1, the writers reveal how government officials tried to deflect global scrutiny to protect the country’s medical tourism.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Gale and Narayan, veteran health-care journalists, delved into drug resistance by reading scores of scientific papers from peer-reviewed journals and government and United Nations agencies. They used public records to trace the Indian government’s positions and actions. Confidentiality concerns made their quest to document specific NDM-1 cases impossible without patient consent, so the writers developed relationships with the victims and their families.
Explain types of human sources used.
Gale and Narayan interviewed more than 100 people in more than a dozen countries. They visited Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and Bijnor, speaking with doctors, scientists, public health officials and drug developers in these cities and with their counterparts around the world. The writers also talked with lawmakers and NDM-1 victims and their families.
Results:
After the story was published, India’s Parliament considered questions about resistant germs and antibiotic overuse. The country on Aug. 24 held its first joint medical-society meeting on anti¬biotic resistance, where the story was featured and reviewed by doctors. In September, India said it would classify 92 antibiotics and anti-tuberculosis drugs previously available over-the-counter as prescription-only and would label them with a warning requiring medical supervision. Gale spoke on the BBC/PRI program “The World” and on Radio Australia. He gave a presentation to urologists and oncologists at an international meeting on prostate cancer. Mel Snyder at health marketing firm ProClinica summed up readers’ sentiments. “This is unquestionably one of the best documented and written healthcare stories I have ever read,” he wrote.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
For a story to gain credence among medical professionals, journalists must understand the subject completely — and ask for clarification, even to the point of becoming a pest, if questions remain. Gale and Narayan worked to acquire a thorough knowledge of the biological mechanisms involved in antibiotic resistance to distill and communicate the gravity of NDM-1. Further, writers translated medical jargon into understandable prose. Gale read widely on clinical microbiology and recommends that reporters do extensive research before starting such a project.