Struggle Against Resistant Bacteria that withstand Various Antibiotics
In the heart of conflict zones, a silent battle is being waged - one against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. A microbiologist from the University of Sherbrooke, Louis-Patrick Haraoui, is at the forefront of this fight, establishing a tele-microbiology program to teach methods for sterilization using alternative products like vinegar. This program has been active in northern Syria for over half a dozen years, providing protocols in Arabic to help identify resistant bacterial strains.
One such resistant bacterium, nicknamed "Iraqibacter," was associated with the 2003 Iraq war. Iraqibacter, a strain of A. baumannii, is a bacterium that often strikes immunosuppressed patients in hospitals and has become increasingly resistant to antibiotics in the Middle East. In 2022, a Ukrainian civilian presented at a military hospital in Coblenz, Germany, with antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. This patient had seven bacteria resistant to at least seven last-resort antibiotics.
The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in conflict zones is a complex issue, linked to social and environmental phenomena, including wars. Haraoui is working on microbial archives from the 1970s in various countries to better understand this link. He is also working on similar projects in Ukraine and Lebanon, including the impact of the 2006 war on antibiotic resistance.
Pollution in war zones is a contributing factor to antibiotic resistance, as more resilient bacteria tend to survive in polluted environments. The extent of the problem in Gaza is unknown but is likely very serious due to the destruction and targeting of hospitals and water treatment infrastructure in long-lasting wars.
Advances in microbiological testing have allowed us to see the extent of the antibiotic resistance problem in recent conflict zones. Other teams are analyzing data for Yemen, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Sudan regarding antibiotic resistance in conflict zones. However, there are no specific references in the search results to researchers currently working in Ukraine on projects related to the phenomenon of increased antibiotic resistance.
The problem of increased multi-drug resistance was first observed after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Since then, several similar cases have been observed, and there has been an increase in the problem of multi-drug resistance in Germany linked to patients from Ukraine. The case of the Ukrainian patient was described in a study published in the Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance in December 2021.
The Iraq war marked a profound change in the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The problem of infections during the Crimean War (1853-1856) led to the professionalization of the nursing profession by Florence Nightingale. Today, the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria continues, with researchers like Haraoui leading the charge.
Antibiotic-resistant strains of A. baumannii are rare in Canada, highlighting the global nature of this issue. Haraoui is a member of an international network of researchers studying antibiotic resistance in the context of armed conflicts. As the fight against antibiotic resistance continues, the work of these researchers will be crucial in protecting public health worldwide.
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