NDM-1 is an enzyme that can turn bacteria into "superbugs" resistant to antibiotics. (CBC)

Ontario's first case of the so-called superbug NDM-1 has been identified at the William Osler Health Centre in Brampton, CBC News has learned.

The hospital said a patient recently tested positive for bacteria containing the enzyme.

NDM-1 is found in South Asia, and the Ontario patient picked it up while undergoing a medical procedure in India, the hospital said.

The patient is no longer at Osler, but the hospital has released no other information.

NDM-1 is highly resistant to antibiotics. Other cases have turned up in Alberta and B.C., but until now, none had been confirmed in Ontario.

The antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been found in 180 people in India, Pakistan and the U.K. They have also been detected in Australia, the U.S., the Netherlands and Sweden.