Experts linked the emergence of new infections with the conflict in Ukraine

The number of antibiotic-resistant infections has been on the rise in Europe since at least 2014. In recent months, when wounded Ukrainians began to be evacuated to European countries, such cases have become more frequent.

In European countries, against the backdrop of military operations in Ukraine , the number of infections resistant to antibiotics is growing, the Financial Times reports, citing data from researchers and experts.

According to the publication, antibiotic resistance in Western Europe was recorded back in 2014, when the armed conflict began in Donbass; According to various scientific works, a significant portion of those infected were Ukrainians. In recent months, as Ukrainian citizens - military and civilian - have been evacuated to other European countries and hospitalized, the number of such infections has continued to rise.

Всемирная организация здравоохранения относит устойчивость к противомикробным препаратам к одной из стоящих перед человечеством глобальных угроз здоровью населения. Основными причинами возникновения устойчивости к противомикробным препаратам ВОЗ называет неправильное и чрезмерное применение противомикробных препаратов; отсутствие доступа людей к чистой воде, средствам санитарии и гигиены; неудовлетворительную профилактику инфекций в медицинских учреждениях; ограниченный доступ к качественным лекарствам, вакцинам и средствам диагностики.

В качестве примера газета приводит случай, который в августе описали Центры США по контролю и профилактике заболеваний. Врачи в американском военном госпитале в Германии, осматривая раненого украинского солдата, выявили у него устойчивость почти ко всем имеющимся антибиотикам. Этот эпизод свидетельствует, что последствия военных действий для здравоохранения «распространились далеко за пределы Украины», пишет FT.

Люди могли заразиться такими инфекционными заболеваниями во время пребывания в перегруженных больницах Украины или в странах, которые приняли сотни тысяч беженцев.

In the context of military conflicts, taking measures to combat the spread of antibiotic resistance becomes more difficult, the publication notes. In particular, due to damage to hospital infrastructure, tests to determine appropriate antibiotics may not be available ; this increases the likelihood of indiscriminate drug use, which can develop drug resistance in pathogens.

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The risk of infections becoming resistant to antimicrobial drugs is growing worldwide, the FT notes. Most countries have developed national action plans to combat the phenomenon, but scientists , such as a team of researchers from the University of Edinburgh led by Jay Patel, note discrepancies and significant differences in estimates of mortality associated with drug resistance in these countries.

The think tank Center for Global Development is calling for an agreement between the pharmaceutical industry, governments and organizations in this field. “This is not a panacea, but we must change the antimicrobial market. And we need accountability. AMR is not only a political problem, but also a technical one,” says center representative Javier Guzman.

Last summer, Ukrainian Forbes wrote that people in the country spent up to 7 billion UAH (almost 19 billion rubles) a year on antibiotics . From August 1, 2023, the Ukrainian Ministry of Health introduced a new form - electronic prescriptions for antibiotics. Before this, de jure antibiotics could be bought in pharmacies only with a paper prescription, and in fact, without one at all, the publication wrote.