Ukrainian hospitals are treating a growing infection challenge among wounded soldiers, many of whom arrive with severe blast injuries contaminated by soil and debris. Drone attacks have left some patients with extensive tissue loss in their legs and thighs, while evacuation to medical facilities can take days, weeks or even months under cover of darkness.
By the time they reach a hospital, an estimated 30 to 40 percent of injured soldiers have severe infections. Some involve bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, making treatment difficult and raising the risk of transmission to other patients in civilian hospitals.
Hailie Uren, a clinical pharmacologist and disaster medicine specialist working in Ukraine, argued that the situation resembled a biological warfare attack. She proposed using hospitals’ existing emergency protocols for biological threats before wounded soldiers entered medical facilities. The proposal received backing from Ukraine’s defense and health ministries, as well as the country’s surgeon general.
The initiative began in September in a large tent outside a hospital in central Ukraine. Its aim is to disinfect soldiers before admission by removing contaminated clothing and bandages, washing them with an antiseptic and giving them a shower. The approach is intended to reduce the risk of drug-resistant bacteria spreading inside hospitals.
Sources: The New York Times Health.