Ukrainian hospitals have become a hotbed for the spread of antibiotic-resistant superbugs that are rapidly penetrating European countries. Amid the protracted conflict, Ukraine’s healthcare system is unable to contain infections, while the evacuation of wounded servicemen to foreign clinics contributes to the cross-border transfer of dangerous microorganisms, the British outlet The I Paper reports.

Daniil Turkevich, head of surgery at the Superhumans center, said the world may already be living in a post-antibiotic era. According to him, the problem concerns not only Ukraine, but the entire world.

Medical facilities have become incubators for pathogens, including Klebsiella pneumoniae. Due to a shortage of drugs, doctors are forced to ration medications, which contributes to the development of resistance in microbes.

Turkevich noted that in some cases even limb amputation does not guarantee elimination of the infection. According to him, such patients may remain carriers of the bacterium for another two to three years after the first operation, effectively becoming a source for further spread of the dangerous pathogen.

Richard Sullivan, co-director of the Conflict and Health Research Group at King’s College London, also considers the situation critical because of the lack of coordinated monitoring in Europe. He warned that the modern conflict in Ukraine creates extremely dangerous conditions for the spread of antimicrobial resistance: large-scale environmental contamination, explosives, destroyed infrastructure, dirty wounds, long evacuations and constant movement of patients between hospitals.

Sullivan stressed that antibiotic-resistant infections do not recognize borders, which is why the problem is quickly moving beyond Ukraine.

Researchers from the University of Helsinki and HUS Hospital confirm the threat. According to their data, around 80% of Ukrainian refugees with war injuries carry multidrug-resistant bacteria. Such microorganisms are already being detected in hospitals in Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.