Superbugs, or drug-resistant germs, have been known for some time and so has the main reason for their emergence - the overuse and abuse of anti-biotics. However, the recent controversy over the "New Delhi" superbug shows how the politics of science research publication affects the manner in which such research is disseminated and received, both within the science establishment and in public policy. It is imperative that governments take corrective, and precautionary, measures based on a dispassionate reading of the evidence, rather than focus only on the unfortunate nomenclature used for identifying this particular germ.
