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US troops suffer rare blood
infection
November 19, 2004 - 4:00PM
An expectedly high number of US
soldiers injured in the Gulf region and
Afghanistan are testing positive for a
rare, hard-to-treat blood infection in
military hospitals, army doctors
reported today.
A total of 102 soldiers were found to
be infected with the bacteria
Acinetobacter baumannii. The
infections occurred among soldiers at
Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in
Washington, Landstuhl Regional
Medical Centre in Germany and three
other sites between January 1, 2002,
and August 31, 2004.
Although it was not known where
the soldiers contracted the
infections, the army said the recent
surge highlighted a need to improve
infection-control in military hospitals.
Eighty-five of the bloodstream
infections occurred among soldiers
serving in Iraq, the area around Kuwait
and Afghanistan, the US Army said in a
report published today by the Centres
for Disease Control and Prevention.
Military hospitals typically see about
one case per year.
Army investigators said they did not
know whether the soldiers contracted
the infections on the battlefield, during
medical treatment on the front line or
following evacuation to Walter Reed,
Landstuhl and other military medical
locations.
"Although some of the patients
identified in this report had evidence of
bloodstream infections at the time of
admission to military medical facilities,
whether the infections were acquired
from environmental sources in the field
or during treatment at other military
medical facilities is unknown," the army
said.
A. baumannii, which is found in water
and soil and resistant to many types of
antibiotics, surfaces occasionally in
hospitals, often spread among patients
in intensive care units.
The infection was also found in
soldiers with traumatic injuries to their
arms, legs and extremities during the
Vietnam War.
Spread of the infection is often halted
when health-care workers wash their
hands and those of their patients with
alcohol swabs, actively monitor those
with wounds to the extremities and
promptly identify the infected.
Development of better drugs also is
needed to help contain future
outbreaks of the infection, army
officials said. In some cases, the only
effective antibiotic is colistin, an older
drug that is rarely prescribed today
because of its high toxicity.
Health-care providers in the United
States are urged to watch for A.
baumannii infections among soldiers
who have been recently treated at
military hospitals, especially those who
were in intensive care units.
- Reuters
infection
November 19, 2004 - 4:00PM
An expectedly high number of US
soldiers injured in the Gulf region and
Afghanistan are testing positive for a
rare, hard-to-treat blood infection in
military hospitals, army doctors
reported today.
A total of 102 soldiers were found to
be infected with the bacteria
Acinetobacter baumannii. The
infections occurred among soldiers at
Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in
Washington, Landstuhl Regional
Medical Centre in Germany and three
other sites between January 1, 2002,
and August 31, 2004.
Although it was not known where
the soldiers contracted the
infections, the army said the recent
surge highlighted a need to improve
infection-control in military hospitals.
Eighty-five of the bloodstream
infections occurred among soldiers
serving in Iraq, the area around Kuwait
and Afghanistan, the US Army said in a
report published today by the Centres
for Disease Control and Prevention.
Military hospitals typically see about
one case per year.
Army investigators said they did not
know whether the soldiers contracted
the infections on the battlefield, during
medical treatment on the front line or
following evacuation to Walter Reed,
Landstuhl and other military medical
locations.
"Although some of the patients
identified in this report had evidence of
bloodstream infections at the time of
admission to military medical facilities,
whether the infections were acquired
from environmental sources in the field
or during treatment at other military
medical facilities is unknown," the army
said.
A. baumannii, which is found in water
and soil and resistant to many types of
antibiotics, surfaces occasionally in
hospitals, often spread among patients
in intensive care units.
The infection was also found in
soldiers with traumatic injuries to their
arms, legs and extremities during the
Vietnam War.
Spread of the infection is often halted
when health-care workers wash their
hands and those of their patients with
alcohol swabs, actively monitor those
with wounds to the extremities and
promptly identify the infected.
Development of better drugs also is
needed to help contain future
outbreaks of the infection, army
officials said. In some cases, the only
effective antibiotic is colistin, an older
drug that is rarely prescribed today
because of its high toxicity.
Health-care providers in the United
States are urged to watch for A.
baumannii infections among soldiers
who have been recently treated at
military hospitals, especially those who
were in intensive care units.
- Reuters
Rear Adm. Hunter Commander, Naval Medical
Center San Diego
Discusses hospital's care of wounded
warriors
Navy Compass Friday April 20, 2007
These broad spectrum antibiotic beads
have been used from the beginning and
promoted the antibiotic resistance of
MDRAB, which is the main organism
causing infection.
"And we're learning some new things about
combating infection, because obviously wounds
that occur out in the field in places like Iraq and
Afghanistan are contaminated with soil and
other things. So we've learned the best
treatments for infection. There are some early
studies that suggest that coating beads with
antibiotic and allowing the antibiotic to slowly
release into the wound might be a new
technique that is helpful to reducing the
infection rate and promote recovery."
Center San Diego
Discusses hospital's care of wounded
warriors
Navy Compass Friday April 20, 2007
These broad spectrum antibiotic beads
have been used from the beginning and
promoted the antibiotic resistance of
MDRAB, which is the main organism
causing infection.
"And we're learning some new things about
combating infection, because obviously wounds
that occur out in the field in places like Iraq and
Afghanistan are contaminated with soil and
other things. So we've learned the best
treatments for infection. There are some early
studies that suggest that coating beads with
antibiotic and allowing the antibiotic to slowly
release into the wound might be a new
technique that is helpful to reducing the
infection rate and promote recovery."
| The first news stories about Acinetobacter baumannii infecting soldiers and civilians in the military health system to make it out of the fog were The Iraq Infection and Military Chases Mystery Infection in Forbes Magazine August of 2005. These stories were little more than Propaganda spoon fed to the author by the military. This was long after the military had proven that there was no Acinetobacter baumannii in the soil in Iraq and that it was being spread nosocomially beginning in the field hospitals in Iraq. The "Mystery" had already been solved. To this day not one news organization in this country will touch the truth about MDRAB from Iraq. The February 2007 issue of Wired Magazine featured Steve Silberman's investigative report The Invisible Enemy in Iraq. Though this excellent expose was well documented and researched it was completely ignored by the mainstream media. Why would they choose to help keep such a dangerous public health threat from the public? As recently as May of 2007 there have been news articles and Television reports on infections in soldiers being caused by IEDS, or IED smeared with animal feces, or organisms in the dirt in Iraq. These are the lies that the military tells it owns wounded soldiers and their families. Both Kimberly Dozier and Bob Woodruff, both seriously wounded in Iraq and infected with XDRAB in the military medical system, were told these lies. Lee Woodard talked about it on CNN. Kimberly Dozier testified to a Congressional committee that the infections were caused by IED's and the soil in Iraq. Neither of them will come forward with the truth. Bob Woodard is still mum on the subject but Kimberly Dozier came forward with this story What I faced after Iraq and we thank you very much! This came out as in opinion piece in the Washington Post on September 30th 2008 Why won't her employer CBS report on Acinebacter baumannii? This very dangerous bacteria has entered the civilian public health system in nearly every city with a VA medical center and some civilian hospitals that have treated soldiers and wounded civilian contractors from Iraq. In many cases that last line of defense drugs no longer work. The Main Stream Media allowed it to happen. Stephen L. Silberman - May 16, 2007 The primary source of these infections was not "mysterious" to the investigators who conducted the Army's own investigation this outbreak in 2004-2005, led by Col. Bruno Petrucelli, the director of infection control at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. What is indeed mysterious is why that report (Epidemiological Consultation 12-HA-01JK-04) has never been made public. In fact, the Defense Department has known that these infections are nosocomially acquired for quite some time, despite many public statements to the contrary. In last August's issue of the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal, doctors at Brooke Army Medical Center said that ongoing investigations "tend to support nosocomial transmission" -- and yet, here we are, nearly a year later, back at the "mystery" stage. I am a senior writer for Wired magazine, and I published an in-depth feature story on these infections in our February issue. I invite MedPage readers to read it. There is a lot of new information in it that helps solve the alleged puzzle of where these infections are coming from -- and what the Defense Department has already done to reduce rates of infection. The Invisible Enemy http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.02/enemy.html |
Contamination From
Improvised Explosive Devices
Has Led To High Rates Of
Infection Among Injured Troops
March 4, 2007
Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are
often to blame when soldiers are wounded
in Iraq and Afghanistan. The makeshift
weapons account for a high percentage of
musculoskeletal injuries that, in both
theaters, frequently lead to difficult-to-treat
infections. Military physicians have faced
challenges treating such infections, and the
U.S. Army has turned to a University of
Missouri-Columbia research physician to
study the problem and develop medical
solutions.
"The bacteria we¡¦re seeing is quite different
than what we¡¦re used to dealing with," said
Jason Calhoun, J. Vernon Luck
Distinguished Professor and chair of the MU
School of Medicine¡¦s Department of
Orthopaedic Surgery. "Many are resistant to
common types of antibiotics."
Calhoun has been awarded a $1.6 million
grant from the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical
Research to study infections that are
multi-drug resistant. He is partnering with
Walter Reed Army Medical Center and
Brooke Army Medical Center to build a
database on veterans with infections and
study how those infections could be better
treated.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, Calhoun said about
70 percent of all injuries involve extremities.
That statistic is higher than in past conflicts
due to significant advances in protective
body armor, he said. In addition, about half
of those with extremity injuries develop
significant infections that require additional
treatment and surgery, which often leads to
amputation, Calhoun said.
During a four-year period, lab tests will be
conducted at MU¡¦s medical school to
simulate blast wounds and examine four
types of infections that have become
increasingly common among those injured
in action. The bacteria being studied
include: Acinetobacter baumannii,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella
pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus.
Calhoun will:
* identify antibiotics that can effectively treat
those bacteria;
* determine when antibiotics should be
administered after an injury; and
* determine an effective duration of
antibiotic treatment to reduce the growth of
resistant strains.
Improvised Explosive Devices
Has Led To High Rates Of
Infection Among Injured Troops
March 4, 2007
Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are
often to blame when soldiers are wounded
in Iraq and Afghanistan. The makeshift
weapons account for a high percentage of
musculoskeletal injuries that, in both
theaters, frequently lead to difficult-to-treat
infections. Military physicians have faced
challenges treating such infections, and the
U.S. Army has turned to a University of
Missouri-Columbia research physician to
study the problem and develop medical
solutions.
"The bacteria we¡¦re seeing is quite different
than what we¡¦re used to dealing with," said
Jason Calhoun, J. Vernon Luck
Distinguished Professor and chair of the MU
School of Medicine¡¦s Department of
Orthopaedic Surgery. "Many are resistant to
common types of antibiotics."
Calhoun has been awarded a $1.6 million
grant from the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical
Research to study infections that are
multi-drug resistant. He is partnering with
Walter Reed Army Medical Center and
Brooke Army Medical Center to build a
database on veterans with infections and
study how those infections could be better
treated.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, Calhoun said about
70 percent of all injuries involve extremities.
That statistic is higher than in past conflicts
due to significant advances in protective
body armor, he said. In addition, about half
of those with extremity injuries develop
significant infections that require additional
treatment and surgery, which often leads to
amputation, Calhoun said.
During a four-year period, lab tests will be
conducted at MU¡¦s medical school to
simulate blast wounds and examine four
types of infections that have become
increasingly common among those injured
in action. The bacteria being studied
include: Acinetobacter baumannii,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella
pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus.
Calhoun will:
* identify antibiotics that can effectively treat
those bacteria;
* determine when antibiotics should be
administered after an injury; and
* determine an effective duration of
antibiotic treatment to reduce the growth of
resistant strains.
Acinetobacter baumannii from Iraq
The Pentagons Propaganda Campaign
US Army Sergeant Matthis Chiroux.
He was an Army propagandist, and
went to interview an Easter European soldier
who had a leg blown off and they wanted a story
on how wonderful they are for taking care of this
'firiner' - but he explains that he was in an
isolation chamber and he had to wear 'full
protective gear' - the kid had some bacteria that
was spreading like wildfire though the military
hospitals.