
When he was evacuated.
To the Feofaniya Hospital.
In Kyiv.
Few believed he would live.
The 27-year-old had.
A severe abdominal injury.
And shrapnel had ripped.
Through his buttocks.
Both his legs.
Were amputated.
Then, doctors.
Discovered that.
His infections were.
Resistant to.
Commonly-used antibiotics.
– and the already.
– and the already.
Daunting task of.
Saving his life.
Became almost hopeless.
He and his wife.
Are looking to the future.
After his lengthy stint.
In hospital.
Antimicrobial resistance.
Is when bacteria.
Evolve and learn.
How to defend themselves.
How to defend themselves.
Against antibiotics.
And other medicines.
Rendering them ineffective.
Ukraine is far from.
The only country.
The only country.
Affected by this issue:
Around 1.4 million people.
Globally died of.
A AMR infection.
In 2021.
He and his wife.
Are looking to the future.
After his lengthy stint.
In hospital.
However, war appears.
To have accelerated.
The spread of multi-resistant.
Pathogens in Ukraine.
Clinics treating war injuries.
Have registered.
A sharp increase.
Of AMR cases.
More than 80% of.
All patients admitted.
To Feofaniya Hospital.
Have infections.
Caused by microbes.
Which are resistant to antibiotics.
According to.
The deputy chief physician.
He and his wife.
Are looking to the future.
After his lengthy stint.
In hospital.
The deputy chief physician explained.
That these circumstances.
Can affect the spread.
Of AMR bacteria.
“In surgical departments.
There is one nurse.
That looks after.
15-20 patients.”
“She physically cannot.
Scrub up her hands.
In the required amount.
And frequency.”
“In order not to.
Spread infections.”
“In order not to.
Spread infections.”
He and his wife.
Are looking to the future.
After his lengthy stint.
In hospital.
The nature of this war.
Also means patients are exposed.
To far more strains of infection.
Than they would be in peacetime.
When a soldier is evacuated.
For medical reasons.
They will often pass through.
Multiple facilities.
Each with their own.
Strains of AMR.
While medical professionals.
Say this is unavoidable.
Because of the scale.
Of the war.
It only worsens the spread.
Of AMR infections.
He and his wife.
Are looking to the future.
After his lengthy stint.
In hospital.
This was the case.
For the patient who.
Was treated at.
Three different facilities.
Before reaching.
The hospital in Kyiv.
Since his infections.
Could not be treated.
With the usual medication.
His condition deteriorated.
And he contracted.
Sepsis five times.
He and his wife.
Are looking to the future.
After his lengthy stint.
In hospital.
With so many wounded.
‘Elves’ hospitals simply.
Cannot usually afford to.
Isolate infected patients.
– meaning that.
Multi-resistant and.
Dangerous bacteria.
Spread unchecked.
The problem is that.
Infections they cause.
Must be treated.
With special antibiotics.
From the “reserve” list.
But the more often.
Doctors prescribe these.
The quicker bacteria adapt.
Making those antibiotics.
Ineffective too.
“We have to balance our scales.”
The physician explains.
“On the one hand.
We must save a patient.
On the other.
– we mustn’t breed.”
“– we mustn’t breed.
New microorganisms.
That will have.
Antimicrobial resistance.”
He and his wife.
Are looking to the future.
After his lengthy stint.
In hospital.
In his case.
Doctors had to use.
Very expensive antibiotics which.
Volunteers sourced from abroad.
After a year in hospital.
And over 100 operations.
His condition is no longer.
Life-threatening.
Doctors managed.
To save his life.
But as pathogens grow.
More resistant.
But as pathogens grow.
More resistant.
The struggle to save.
Others only gets harder.
*Because I read “War clinics in Ukraine witness sharp rise in drug-resistant infections” by Abdujalil Abdurasulov on 22 Jan 2025, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022, on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem, including a story of Pte Bezverkhny and Yuliya, and a story of Dr Andriy Strokan.
Please read the original story on the BBC news: