A relatively benign bug becomes a highly lethal pathogen, known to U.S. soldiers as Iraqibacter. Health Officials Warn Hospitals of Afghan Bug Threat posed by highly resistant bacteria underlines lack of preparedness Federal authorities are warning hospitals across the country to beware of a highly drug resistant bacteria that wounded troops are bringing back from Afghanistan -- and that could inadvertently be spread to civilian patients. The Battle over multiple drug resistant microbes: MRSA, Acinetobacter baumannii, C. Difficile, VRE, etc. "Irresponsible medicine" Early this year (2006) an outbreak of MDR Acinetobacter baumannii swept over Arizona, 236 cases in just two months. It was reported by the state disease monitoring systems, but ignored on the national level. Now dubbed "Supergerms", they spread without warning and seemingly without official notices since they are infections instead of diseases. The government is taking advantage of this technicality. An ICU nurse at Bethesda Naval in Washington DC leaves work feeling under the weather. Within 24 hours she is in a community hospital, intubated, with Acinetobacter baumannii. It was determined that the bacteria were acquired from a patient at work. She succumbed to the infection quickly and with no fan fare. The story went silent. At Brook Army Medical Center in Texas a soldier fights for his life, as his combat wounds are made worse by infections the doctors can't seem to handle. The only reason his story is known is that his civilian girl friend speaks up for him. This outbreak that is spreading nation wide is largely due to the war in Iraq, and because of a legal technicality in reporting, the military and CDC will not discuss it publicly. More people come forward, bit by bit, telling stories of how the hospital played down their infection. The one person who could have done something about it, "Rep. Dennis Moore" has walked away from the issue deciding it wasn't worth getting into even after what he had seen on a visit to Walter Reed. This silent killer is continuing to spread, and to an indifferent country until it's YOUR turn. These bacteria will grow out of control in the near future as it spreads through neglect. Every VAMC in this country that had a soldier from Iraq in it is contaminated with MDR AB, as simple as a doorknob or privacy curtain to pass it on. Doctors often work at VA hospitals and community hospitals also. As long as it doesn't have to be reported it will not be. You're on your own America, until you say enough is enough. Focus On Acinetobacter Surveillance Comments posted March 4th 2006 By September 2004 the Department of Defense had collected 934 positive Acinetobacter baumannii cultures from 432 persons. This reported from the Navy Environmental Health Center in Bethesda. On September 21st, 2004 the Armed Forces Epidemiology Board met. They talked about Acinetobacter baumannii with 350 colonized soldiers as well as 200 infections. Yet, the CDC / DOD only announced 102 infection cases in the November 19th, 2004 MWMR report: 85 of the cases were OIF/OEF Landstuhl Regional Medical Center 33 Walter Reed Army Medical Center 45 U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort 11 National Naval Medical Center 8 Brooke Army Medical Center 5 By August 2005 Forbes reported that at least 280 cases of infection had been reported. The DOD stodgily stood by public statements of 112 infections. The argument from CHPPM / MEDCOM is that colonized soldiers are a different story from infected soldiers. A colonized soldier however is still a carrier. CHPPM is also trying to say since this is just an infection they don't have to report it like infectious disease. They are not cooperating to provide any updated statistics on it because of a directive at MEDCOM stating they do not want to expose military vulnerabilities publicly. So its going to take a Congressional Inquiry to CHPPM in order to get a true idea of just how many cases of Acinetobacter baumannii there are in the military. That and how many are carriers. Spreading this infection from one hospital to another in America. Here is one example: A soldier dies in VA care at the James A. Haley Medical Center in Tampa Florida, in December 2004. He had extensive surgery in Iraq and was medivac'd to Landstuhl, Germany, Bethesda MD, and finally JHMC. This was head, chest, and abdomen trauma. After his death it was determined that he had tested positive twice for the Acinetobacter, which would have changed the clinical outcome if they had treated for it. (Page 22 of IG report) What about the 7 cases at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii? Why were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Claude Boushey Sr.'s case and others not discussed? That was July 2004. In other cases, family members cannot get the medical records of their deceased soldiers. Many have died from non-combat injuries that the Pentagon is unwilling to disclose information about even to the parents. These stall tactics keep anyone but the military from knowing how many died of complications that the Acinetobacter baumannii contributed too. More than likely OIF troops walking into any Veteran Affairs Medical Center are possible colonized cases that contaminate that facility. This is a national threat to public health safety that the Department of Defense has taken a very lax position on. What the public doesn't know wont hurt them, which is certainly not true with a drug resistant bacteria that can be passed with as little as a handshake. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Superbug hits Canadian soldiers injured in suicide bombing Thu, 23 Feb 2006 Master Cpl. Paul Franklin of Halifax lost a leg, Cpl. Jeffrey Bailey from Edmonton had devastating head injuries, and Pte. William Salikin of Grand Forks, B.C., also suffered a head injury. The three soldiers were first taken to a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. When they left a week later, all three men were infected with drug-resistant bacteria. Medical specialists aren't certain whether most infections started in the battlefield or the hospital. "It's thought that they may have gotten it from going through the hospital in Landstuhl," said Lt.-Col. Henry Flaman, a Canadian military doctor in Edmonton. Acinetobacter baumannii has become one of the most common sources of infections among American troops wounded in Iraq. The bacteria are found in soil and water in Iraq. When the microbes enter traumatic wounds in the battlefield, the superbug can cause serious damage. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Iraq Infection Forbes Magazine - August 2nd 2005 NEW YORK - Military doctors are fighting to contain an outbreak of a potentially deadly drug-resistant bacteria that apparently originated in the Iraqi soil. So far at least 280 people, mostly soldiers returning from the battlefield, have been infected, a number of whom contracted the illness while in U.S. military hospitals. Most of the victims are relatively young troops who were injured by the land mines, mortars and suicide bombs that have permeated the Iraq conflict. No active-duty soldiers have died from the infections, but five extremely sick patients who were in the same hospitals as the injured soldiers have died after being infected with the bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Acinetobacter baumannii Infections Military Medical Facilities Treating Injured U.S. Service Members, 2002--2004 From January 1, 2002 to August 31, 2004, military health officials identified 102 patients with blood cultures of Acinetobacter baumannii at military medical facilities treating service members injured in Afghanistan and the Iraq/Kuwait region. Most of the infections were reported from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany 33 patients: 32 OIF/OEF casualties, one non-OIF/OEF, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), District of Columbia 45 patients: 29 OIF/OEF casualties, 16 non-OIF/OEF. The Acinetobacter Baumanii strain was isolated to the soil in Iraq, and enters through dirty battle field wounds or serious infections ( Pneumonia ). The British Health Protection Agency was the first to publicly identify this in March 2003, and DOD waited till November 2004 to recognize it after the CDC posted the findings of the 102 cases. Cases of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis at Walter Reed Army Hospital also showed up with Acinetobacter baumannii. One person from there wants to meet others who were there to share stories. Marcie Hascall Clark junglem@yahoo.com 321 779 6799 |
Jan 11, 11:30 PM Iraq still hostile for civilians BY R. NORMAN MOODY FLORIDA TODAY SATELLITE BEACH -- The scars on Merlin Clark's right arm and the brace and heavy sock he must wear on his left leg are evidence of his serious injuries. Merlin Clark stands by the door to the patio at his home in South Patrick Shores. His leg was injured in Iraq while he was working there as a civilian. Image by Emily Barnes, FLORIDA TODAY It's a constant reminder of the explosion that shattered his leg and left three other civilians injured as they worked disarming landmines and disposing of explosives in Iraq. "We were really, really lucky it didn't hit somebody in a vital part," he said. Clark is an example of a growing group of civilians working for private companies who do reconstruction work in post-war countries. Some are medics, some builders. Clark's job for Ronco Consulting Corp. was to dispose of any unexploded bombs in a field north of Baghdad, so other workers could restore electrical power. The company specializes in clearing mine fields and has worked around the globe. Clark had 22 years of experience working in bomb disposal, including nine years in a Navy ordnance unit. And while he knows his craft, conditions in Iraq were different. This was very much still a war. He was now a civilian. Clark had worked in the former Yugoslavia, Albania, three African nations, Peru, Ecuador and Nicaragua. But those places were different. Bullets had stopped flying when he landed to begin his work. He entered Iraq on May 2, 2003, a day after President Bush declared the end of major hostilities. But the teams had to move quickly to avoid being targets of insurgents as they cleared mines south of Baghdad, farm fields elsewhere and the power line area north of the city. The explosion that changed his life happened only a few feet from him. Clark was taken to a field surgical hospital, then on to Germany. He was transferred to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where he spent three weeks before being sent for treatment to Orlando Regional Medical Center. It took 13 1/2 hours of surgery at Walter Reed to save his leg. "They took good care of me," he said. "They were great people." Clark cannot return to the work he likes, but after nearly a year, he's back working from his home. He writes proposals for the same company and helps to gather resources for new projects. Because of a lot of out-of-pocket expenses, the Clarks have dried up their savings, his wife, Marcie Clark, said. "We're having to start over financially," she said. His injuries mean no more bomb disarming, which requires steady movement. "My hand is still messed up and my hearing is shot," Clark said as he held out his right hand. "I don't think I can trust my right hand." Contact Moody at 242-3651 or nmoody@... |
The Invisible Enemy in Iraq by Steve Silberman Wired News - January 22nd, 2007 Read this excellent investigative article on how the Acinetobacter baumannii "from Iraq" is not even from Iraq, and is not from the soil. The Iraq Infection by Mathew Herper 8-02-05 New York - Military doctors are fighting to contain an outbreak of a potentially deadly drug-resistant bacteria that apparently originated in the Iraqi soil. Note: The military knew at this time that the Acinetobacter baumannii thriving in their evacuation system was NOT from the soil in Iraq but were still publicly promoting that lie. Mathew Herper does not respond in regards to this. Focus on Acinetobacter Surveilance 2005 Drug Resistant Superbug Traced to War in Iraq By William Cole Wednesday July14, 2004 None of the cases involved fighting in Afghanistan. The numbers are noteworthy, said the International Society for Infectious Diseases, since the infection was not noted in the 1991 Gulf War. AFEB Meeting September 2004 Acinetobacter baumannii Infections Among Patients at Military Medical Facilities Treating Injured U.S. Service Members, 2002--2004 Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter Extremity Infections in Soldiers Gulf War and Health 2004 Tricare Conference 2005 A Baumannii report Presentation of LCDR Kyle Peterson on A. Baumannii Iraq Sampling Maps The Walter Reed Army Hospital inspection of Rep. Dennis Moore the behind scenes story of the effort to hide the outbreak by Department of Defense IOM Gulf War Infectious Disease Report MRSA Story from Iraq |
Coming Soon to a Hospital Near You ! WLKY Louisville Kentucky Story & Video |