Military Medical Facilities Challenged by Resilient Bacteria

Military Medicine, Winter 2005

Military hospitals from Walter Reed to the navy hospital ship Comfort currently treating medical injuries from the Iraqi, Kuwaiti and Afghanistan battle fields have been faced with treating a bloodstream infection that is difficult to treat and is affiliated with hospital care. The germ is Acinetobacter Baumannii, and has been known to afflict hospital patients, especially those staying in intensive care units. The bacteria is known to have caused 1.3 percent of bloodstream infections affiliated with health care in a recent survey of all hospitals nationwide.

The numbers appear to be rising among military hospital patients though, according to a recent report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Military and CDC officials are attempting to determine if patients picked up the infection in the field or during their treatment.

The bug is found in water and soil on every continent. The germ is a tough one to kill, as it can survive on surfaces outside the body for months and is increasingly resistant to antibiotics prescribed, according to medical experts. Health care officials are taking steps to emphasize infection control, including employing measures such as running lab tests at standing military hospitals, as well as combat support hospitals deployed in the theatre when possible. Making sure they are not spreading the germ around infected patients is also an area of concern for officials.

Reference: Funk, Deborah, "Hospitals combat spreading germ". Army Times 6 December 2004.