Specialist in microbiology and virology at the University hospital of Brussels professor Denis Pierard, holds up a dish of bacteria culture at the microbiology lab of the Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussels, university hospital, on August 13, 2010. Photograph by: Benoit Doppagne, AFP/Getty Images

BRAMPTON, ONT. – A patient who recently travelled to India and was later treated at a health facility in Brampton, Ont., has tested positive for the NDM-1 superbug, Ontario health officials confirmed Saturday.

It is the first-known case of NDM-1 in Ontario, and the third in Canada, said provincial Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care spokeswoman Joanne Woodward Fraser.

The patient was being treated at the William Osler Health System facility in Brampton, she said, and is no longer in hospital.

NDM-1 is a bacteria that is highly resistant to most antibiotics. World health officials have recently become concerned about the spread of the bacteria from countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Cases have already been reported in British Columbia and Alberta.

“The chief medical officer of health (in Ontario) is apprised of the situation and she’s in close touch with the local public health unit,” Fraser said.

The patient, whose name and age can’t be revealed because of confidentiality rules, had travelled recently to India and received medical care in that country, she said.

“There is no risk to the public health (in Ontario) at this point. The only known risk factor for NDM-1 right now is health care in India or Pakistan,” Fraser said.

Health officials have previously said that those who travel abroad and return home well don’t need to visit their family doctor to ask for a screening test. Only those who feel ill – with infected wounds, fevers, blood in their urine or pain during urination – should seek medical care.

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