AMR Action Fund CEO wrote an op-ed for the December issue of Health Europa/Innovative News Network about the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections in Ukraine and the wider regional and global threat they pose.
Now, nearly four years into the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, the situation is rapidly deteriorating. Researchers from Ukraine’s Sumy State University recently published a study showing that 85% of infections they examined among injured Ukrainian combatants were caused by bacteria that were resistant to multiple types of antibiotics. The most prevalent pathogen in that study was Acinetobacter baumannii – a difficult-to-treat superbug that the World Health Organization has deemed a critical threat. Meanwhile, a study from 2024 described numerous infections caused by a strain of hypervirulent pan-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, meaning it is resistant to all available classes of antibiotics.
While these infections are already harming and killing patients in Ukraine, their epidemiological ascent poses an escalating threat to European health systems far beyond the front lines and will inevitably spread around the world. That’s why investing in antibiotic innovation is not only a health priority but a strategic necessity to enhance Europe’s defence readiness. The loss of effective antibiotics exposes a hidden vulnerability in Europe’s collective security, and developing and ensuring access to new antibiotics should be integral to the EU’s strategies around readiness, security, and industrial policy.
Read the full article here.