A growing number of patients in Ukrainian hospitals, dominated by soldiers and civilians injured during Russian attacks, are becoming infected with bacteria showing extremely high resistance to antibiotics. This is a serious threat as ineffective treatment of such infections can lead to sepsis. Furthermore, some strains are resistant to the latest antimicrobial drugs, and even last resort medicines – warn scientists from Lund University in Sweden.
The bacteria, which were tested for their susceptibility to antimicrobial agents, originated from wounded soldiers and civilians. In total, samples from 141 patients diagnosed with pneumonia were examined, 133 of which came from injured adults and eight from newborns. The patients caught infections in three different hospitals in Ukraine.
-“These patients needed urgent surgery and intensive care due to significant burns, shrapnel wounds, and fractures. Swabs were taken from wounds, skin and soft tissues. In addition, samples were taken from the trachea of patients on ventilators -” informs Professor Kristian Riesbeck of Lund University in an interview with Newseria Innovations. – “Most importantly, several bacteria showed significant resistance to most currently used broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents. Our results indicate that these were hospital-acquired infections resulting from the spread of microbes in hospitals.”
The infections were primarily caused by overcrowding of departments and destroyed infrastructure.
– “Infections with Gram-negative bacteria often occur in the case of wounds. In our study, we focus on the susceptibility to antimicrobial agents of three types of Gram-negative bacteria: Acinetobacter baumannii complex, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp. The vast majority of these bacteria showed resistance to broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents, including new antibiotics inhibiting enzymes that aren’t on the market yet. Importantly, 9% of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates, a species of bacteria that most often cause pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and sepsis, showed resistance to colistin, considered a last-resort antimicrobial agent. Moreover, up to 6% of bacteria in samples showed resistance to all the antibiotics included in the study that we had in the laboratory” – emphasizes Professor Kristian Riesbeck.
The most serious complication related to hospital infections is the development of sepsis. According to the World Health Organization, sepsis causes almost one-fifth of deaths worldwide. Hospital infections are one of the most common types of adverse events occurring during the provision of health care, according to WHO. An additional serious problem is that the bacteria causing these infections are extremely resistant to treatment. The results concerning Klebsiella pneumoniae are particularly worrying for Swedish researchers as they can cause diseases in people with a healthy and well-functioning immune system.
The best way to prevent the spread of antibiotic-resistant strains would be to minimize their presence in patients. However, this requires complete isolation of the sick, which is not possible in Ukrainian hospitals largely destroyed by Russians. Family visits to patients are also an undesired factor complicating the fight against the spread of bacteria.
– “There is a risk that treatment-resistant bacteria will spread among the population – this happens very often. They can be transmitted via hospital staff, relatives visiting patients, and other means. It should be known that in most cases these bacteria are not dangerous if we are not dealing with people with a lowered immunity, i.e. older people or, as in this case, those who are injured or burn victims. The problem is that if these bacteria spread more widely, the result will be further infections and colonization of the population. When caring for soldiers from Ukraine, a high level of hygiene should be maintained compared to current practices in hospitals” – adds the professor of clinical bacteriology from Lund University.
As he emphasizes, assistance in addressing this health situation should be a priority for countries supporting Ukraine militarily and humanely. There is a high risk of further spread of drug-resistant bacteria, threatening the entire European region. Antibiotic resistance is defined by WHO as one of the greatest contemporary threats to health and food safety in the world. An increasing number of infections – such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhea, and salmonellosis – are becoming increasingly difficult to cure, as antibiotics used in their treatment become less effective. Antibiotic resistance leads to longer hospital stays, higher treatment costs, and increased mortality.
