In a paper published this week in the British medical journal The Lancet, researchers profile a new gene that makes bacteria extremely resistant to virtually all types of antibiotic. And it’s on the move.

The new gene is known as NDM-1, and bacteria that carry it are almost impossible to kill with antibiotics, including the last-resort class called carbapenems which are reserved for emergencies. NDM-1 is being found on bacterial plasmids – DNA structures which can easily be swapped between totally different kinds of bacteria. This is alarming. In effect, it means that the drug-resistant trait can be passed around amongst common bacteria – for instance, to the E. Coli that often cause urinary tract infections.

The researchers identified 37 people who carried NDM-1 back to the UK after undergoing medical procedures in India and Pakistan, where the gene appears to have originated. The researchers write that the bugs seem to come “from community-acquired infections, suggesting that NDM-1 is widespread in the environment.” So it’s dangerous, fast-moving, and widespread in the world’s second-most-populous country. Is there any good news?

So far, it hasn’t spread that much. There are no more than 50 people with NDM-1 bacteria in the UK. So according to Christopher Thomas, a University of Birmingham professor of molecular genetics, “we still have the power to stop it.” Doing so will require international surveillance (focused especially on countries like India, where foreigners often travel for elective medical treatment) and infection control procedures (common sense stuff, like washing your hands and using sterile equipment.)

We must not fail in this regard, warns a Lancet commentator, because “[t]he consequences will be serious if family doctors have to treat infections caused by these multi-resistant bacteria on a daily basis.” No kidding.