Fear of bunker germs

Deadly disease spreads on the front line

Ukrainian military paramedics on the front line in the Donesk region (symbolic image)(Bild: AFP/DIMITAR DILKOFF)

A disease that has been almost eradicated in Europe is making a sad comeback: Ukrainian doctors are reporting a sharp rise in infections with gas gangrene. The bacterial infection can destroy muscle tissue at a fatal rate. 

Gas gangrene was already feared by soldiers during the First World War: Even then, the pathogen spread in the trenches and killed many men. Now the bacterial infection is on the rise again on the front lines in the Ukraine war, as the Telegraph reports.

Combat drones make it difficult to evacuate the wounded
What makes the situation more difficult is that the massive use of combat drones makes it almost impossible to evacuate wounded soldiers. As a result, infections can spread at an alarming rate. "We are seeing injury complications that no living person has ever seen in wartime," a volunteer medic named Alex in the Zaporizhzhya region is quoted as saying by the newspaper. 

"There have never been such delays in evacuations in the last 50 years - probably not since the Second World War, maybe even longer. And we are observing a clinical picture that we have never seen before," the medic continued. 

Ukrainian military paramedics on the front line in the Donesk region (symbolic image)(Bild: AFP/DIMITAR DILKOFF)

Medics and patients often don't see sunlight for weeks - the danger from combat drones is too great outside underground shelters.(Bild: EPA/Maria Senovilla)

Wounds crackle on contact
Gas gangrene is a life-threatening wound infection - it can lead to rapid tissue loss and ultimately death. It is caused by bacteria that find perfect conditions in oxygen-poor, damaged tissue. The consequences of an infection include severe pain, swelling and fever. When the skin is touched, a crackling sound can be heard due to the accumulation of gas in the diseased tissue.

Patients are often treated underground for weeks
Deep wounds caused by gunshot wounds or blast injuries encourage the disease - especially if medical care is inadequate, as is often the case on the front line. "We have patients in hospital who have been injured for a few weeks and are sitting in underground stabilization wards, where we are keeping them alive as best we can," says the source, describing the dramatic situation. 

"Gas gangrene is something you learn about in school ... But in Ukraine you see it because people are sitting there with these wounds and not being treated properly - you just can't get them to a hospital fast enough to get them treated properly." Even with the best medical care, treating a gas gangrene infection is extremely difficult. Normally, infected tissue is surgically removed and a high dose of antibiotics is administered. 

"If left untreated, the mortality rate is almost 100 percent"
"It is an extremely life-threatening infection: if left untreated, the mortality rate is almost 100 percent," says Dr. Lindsey Edwards, lecturer in microbiology at King's College London. Gas gangrene was particularly prevalent during the First World War, when severe injuries and limited medical care were commonplace. Soldiers became infected in the muddy, damp trenches and fields, which were often fertilized with manure contaminated with the bacteria. 

"Anyone who ventures outside is killed by a drone"
What makes the situation worse: antibiotic resistance is on the rise. "If you have a strain that is resistant to antibiotics, treatment becomes much more complicated," explains Edwards. Medical treatment is also largely carried out in bunkers and basements of abandoned buildings - the only places that drones have difficulty reaching. "Anyone who ventures outside will be killed by a drone. That's no exaggeration," explains paramedic Alex.