Ukraine's war wounds create dangerous super-bacteria spreading across borders

Drug-resistant infections surge in Ukraineʼs war-time hospitals due to heavy antibiotic use for combat injuries. The problem spreads beyond Ukrainian borders‚ affecting six European nations and Japan

November 22 2024 , 12:50 PM  •  506 views

Ukraine's war wounds create dangerous super-bacteria spreading across borders

In a war-torn medical system Ihor Kuzin‚ Ukraines deputy health minister points to a growing health-care crisis: super-resistant bacteria are making their way through hospitals

The root-cause is clear-cut — countless war-related injuries need strong anti-bacterial treatment (which doctors must use to save lives in field-hospitals and trauma centers)

Medical facilities face serious road-blocks: out-dated tools poor ventilation and basic testing methods make it hard to spot drug-resistant cases fast. “Unfortunately on the regional level we are using only very outdated and very classical microbiological investigation methods“ Kuzin explains

Some numbers paint a dark picture; about 60% of infections in certain medical centers dont respond to last-resort drugs. The health-care linked infection rate sits at 12.6% — more than twice the EUʼs 5.5% average

The spread goes far beyond Ukraine:

  • Six European countries report these resistant strains
  • Japan detected similar bacteria
  • Global yearly deaths from resistant infections top 1.14 million

We dont want to go back to the era where we cannot treat certain diseases

WHOʼs Ukraine representative Jarno Habicht told AFP

Progress shows some hope — Ukraine grew from 3 testing labs in 2017 to 100 today but trench-warfare conditions and previous easy-access to anti-biotics (before mid-2022) make the problem worse