Wounded soldiers who wait a long time for evacuation are at high risk of gangrene. The deadly infection starts from dead tissue and causes subcutaneous gas bubbles. It sounds like a sinister episode from long-gone wars, but it is happening today in Ukraine. According to the British "Telegraph", the infectious disease gas gangrene is spreading on the front in Ukraine.
"We learn about this dangerous disease in school, but now in Ukraine we see it for real, because the wounded do not receive adequate medical care," Alex, who works as a volunteer orderly in the Zaporozhye region, told the publication. "People are coming into the hospital who have been injured for weeks and have spent a long time in underground stabilization rooms, where they have simply been kept alive with improvised means," he added.
There is still no independent confirmation whether the deadly disease is actually spreading among Ukrainian soldiers. But regular Russian drone attacks have made the frontline difficult to access. Supplies often fail to reach the troops or arrive very late, and new recruits sometimes have to walk kilometers to reach the fighting - and where the wounded are waiting for help.
What causes gas gangrene?
The infection destroys muscle tissue very quickly. Gas gangrene is caused by bacteria called clostridia. They are found in nature, for example in soil, but also in the human intestines.
Clostridia are not necessarily pathogenic. They become dangerous when they enter tissues that are lacking oxygen - for example in severe wounds. Dead tissue hinders wound healing and it is there that the bacteria spread.
The infectious disease spreads rapidly in conditions such as those in the trenches, where there are many wounded and poor hygiene. For those affected, gas gangrene is extremely painful. Gas bubbles form under the skin, which can be felt when touching the wound. The affected muscles darken to a gray-red color and swell, and those infected develop sepsis: the pulse accelerates, breathing is impaired and ultimately multi-organ failure occurs.
Even with treatment in a hospital, there is no guarantee that the infection will be defeated once gas gangrene has already occurred. And if it is not treated, for example because the wounded person cannot be evacuated from the front immediately, death is almost 100 percent certain.
How can gas gangrene be treated?
The affected tissue must be removed as quickly as possible. In addition, strong antibiotics must be administered intravenously. In order to find the most suitable antibiotics for a given patient, microbiological cultures are created and tested for possible resistance.
This requires a 100% sterile environment for surgery, which can only be done in clinics equipped for this purpose, which also have laboratories, and not in improvised treatment rooms - for example, in air-raid shelters. They can store some antibiotics, but if the patient is resistant to them, there is no alternative.
When was the disease widespread?
Gas gangrene is a disease that was considered almost eradicated in Europe thanks to advances in medicine.
During World War I, many wounded developed fatal gas gangrene. Among German soldiers alone, there were over 100,000 deaths due to this infection. Many of those who died then also lay in muddy trenches for a long time, without receiving timely and adequate help.
During World War II, gas gangrene was no longer such a serious problem - antibiotics were already widespread enough, although not as accessible as today. However, antibiotic resistance was not yet a significant problem.
Author: Carla Bleiker