New Bacterial Infection Linked to Military

[Treyfish]

New Bacterial Infection Linked to Military


Report: Troops Transmitted Mysterious Bacteria That Has Killed 7 And Affected Military And Civilians Alike

(ABCNEWS)


By JOHN HENDREN
Feb. 8, 2008


Troops arriving home from Iraq and Afghanistan have been carrying a mysterious, deadly bacteria, according to a new magazine report.
Doctors have linked the bacterium acinetobacter baumannii to at least seven deaths, as well as to loss of limbs and other severe ailments, according to the report, which found the bacterium has spread quickly since the war in Afghanistan began in the fall of 2001.

Acinetobacter baumannii has been found in military hospitals in Germany, the Washington, D.C., area and Texas -- the primary destinations of wounded service members from the two war zones. And it has now spread to civilians, according to the report.

"The outbreak began traveling with patients or nonpatients from Iraq all the way back to Walter Reed," said Dr. Rox Anderson at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Timothy Endy, a retired Army colonel now teaching infectious disease medicine at the Upstate Medical University of the State University of New York, said the outbreak might be the largest of its kind to spread through hospitals in history.

Doctors quoted in the magazine article agreed. "Of the infectious disease problems that come out of the conflict, it is the most important complication we've seen," Dr. Glenn Wortmann, acting chief of infectious disease at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, said in the February issue of Proceedings, published by the U.S. Naval Institute, a professional organization focused on naval issues.
The report was released to subscribers of the magazine this week:tiphat: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Germs/story?id=4233448&page=1

 

[Shiloh]

Re: New Bacterial Infection Linked to Military

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/08/19/superbug-quebec-city-military-drug-resistant.html


3 soldiers hospitalized in Quebec for superbug
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 | 8:26 PM ET
CBC News

Three soldiers who recently returned from Afghanistan are in a Quebec hospital with a rare drug-resistant bacteria.

The soldiers, along with two civilians who may also be infected with the bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii, are being treated at L?H?pital de l?Enfant-J?sus in Quebec City.

Officials at the hospital said the pathogen poses no threat to the general population.

Dr. Marie-Claude Roy from the hospital's infectious diseases unit said the infection only attacks patients whose immune systems are already compromised. She said the bacteria get into a patient's body through ports of entry such as catheters, ventilators, and intravenous needles, but she said patients can be treated with antibiotics.
Similar to C. difficile

The superbug is similar to other antibiotic-resistant hospital infections like C. difficile.

In 2007, the Public Health Agency of Canada warned hospitals across the country to be on alert for the highly drug-resistant bacteria, saying infected soldiers in Afghanistan could introduce the strain to civilians.

The five patients have been isolated, and their ward is undertaking strict disinfection procedures.

Nursing staff are following standard infection control practices to prevent the spread of the bacteria and to protect patients, staff and visitors, such as:

* Grouping patients and carriers of the bacteria together with dedicated staff.
* Washing their rooms with chlorine.
* Adding a security officer and nurse to ensure compliance with basic measures like hand washing.
* Restricting visiting hours and number of visitors per patient to two.
* Barring children under the age of 16.

The strain can be difficult to treat. In sick or injured people, the bacteria can cause pneumonia, meningitis, sepsis and other infections.

Soldiers returning to Edmonton in 2006 were the first known infections in Canada. The bacteria did not spread to other patients.

The U.S. and U.K. have also experienced hospital outbreaks linked to soldiers returning with the bacterial strain.

Roy said other Canadian soldiers who have contracted the bacteria have healed, gone home to their families and not spread the infection outside of hospitals. She said other hospitals in Quebec are not at risk, because they don't treat returning veterans.