Infectious disease specialist Olha Holubovska: antibiotic resistance is the number one problem in the military
Kyiv • UNN
Chief infectious disease specialist of Ukraine Olga Golubovska spoke about the problem of antibiotic resistance of microorganisms.
A silent pandemic is what experts call antibiotic resistance. This problem is not new and not unique to Ukraine, but it has become quite acute because of the war. Chief infectious disease specialist of Ukraine, Honored Doctor, Professor Olha Holubovska told about this in an interview with UNN.
(...) There is a war going on, a huge number of wounded. And these wounds are often burn wounds - it's much easier for bacteria to multiply in such wounds than in open wounds. And this leads to the fact that it is now the biggest problem in the military. Antibiotic resistance is the number one problem in the military. In Ukraine, the problem of infectious diseases has become very acute during the war. And it's scary
At the same time, she emphasizes that antibiotic resistance - the resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics - is not new and not unique to Ukraine. Alexander Fleming, the inventor of penicillin, warned of the prospect of such a problem.
"(...) Fleming foresaw this problem. He warned and he was right - bacteria are developing resistance to antibiotics, and faster than we can predict. Pharmacology is evolving, new classes of antibiotics are emerging, also because resistance is developing, but it is moderate, let's say. Pathogens are adapting, and they are adapting faster than we understand and can appreciate. Pathogens are smarter than us in their ability to adapt. Therefore, the problem of resistance is not something new," the infectious disease specialist explained.
According to her, the problem of antibiotic resistance of microorganisms became acute in 2009, when the New Delhi Beta Lactamase mutation was discovered. Back then, a 7-year-old child in England died of a urinary tract infection caused by E. coli. After the death, an investigation began. It turned out that this E. coli was resistant to all but two antibiotics. But it was these two antibiotics that should not have been used for urinary tract disease.
"At the time, it was a real shock for the scientific community, because it had never happened before. (...) In addition to the New Delhi Beta Lactamase mutation I mentioned, in 2015, another mutation was discovered in microbes that determines pan-resistance to all antibiotics. And experts still believe, and I agree with them, that we can slip into the pre-antibiotic era. This will be a truly frightening phenomenon. The problem of antibiotic resistance, which is invisible to most people, is called a silent pandemic. This is complicated by the fact that for 20 years there has not been a single new class of antibacterial agents. Within the already known classes, new antibiotics appear, but there is no new class. They are only being developed now. So, yes, this problem exists," the doctor adds.
According to Golubovska, despite the fact that the WHO estimates that in recent years it has managed to reduce the use of antibiotics on an outpatient basis by 25-30%, there is still abuse of this type of medication. The COVID-19 pandemic has also added to the negative situation, when antibiotics were often used unnecessarily, because covid is caused by a virus against which antiviral therapy is effective, not antibiotics.
Read more about the situation with infectious diseases in the interview Infectious disease specialist Olga Golubovska: In Ukraine, there is a prejudice against antiviral drugs - the only salvation for viral diseases.
