(Iraqi) Superbug hits Canadian soldiers injured in suicide bombing

[Harper_is_Bush]

Superbug hits Canadian soldiers injured in suicide bombing
CBC News

The recovery of three Canadians wounded last month in Afghanistan has been slowed by battlefield bacteria infecting American troops in Iraq, CBC News has learned.
<snip>
The three soldiers were first taken to a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. When they left a week later, all three men were infected with drug-resistant bacteria.

Medical specialists aren't certain whether most infections started in the battlefield or the hospital.

"It's thought that they may have gotten it from going through the hospital in Landstuhl," said Lt. Col. Henry Flaman, a Canadian military doctor in Edmonton.
<snip>
The bacteria are found in soil and water in Iraq. When the microbes enter traumatic wounds in the battlefield, the superbug can cause serious damage.

"Most of your drugs that you have don't work on this particular organism," said Dr. Gina Dorlac, a U.S. military physician tracking infections at Landstuhl.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2006/02/22/acinetobacter060222.html

A drug-resistant superbug from Iraq being bred and morphed with anti-biotics in a US military hospital. Wonderful.
Thanks George.

[Angry Girl]

1. Reported in 2004 by the CDC and Forbes (links)

Acinetobacter baumannii Infections Among Patients at Military Medical Facilities Treating Injured U.S. Service Members, 2002--2004
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5345a1.htm

The Iraq Infection
Forbes August 2004
http://www.forbes.com/home/sciencesandmedicine/2005/08/02/iraq-war-infection-bacteria-cx_mh_0802iraqinfect.html

Acinetobacter baumannii, the hospital opportunist

Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic pathogen operating in hospitals creating serious infections such as pneumonia. It principally affects patients who have weakened health and this is why we call it opportunistic. Moreover, the mortality rate from these infections are usually high given, on the one hand, the weakness of the patient and, on the other, A. baumannii is resistant to many antibiotics. Furthermore, once a specific course of treatment is prescribed for A. Baumannii, the pathogen has a great capacity for acquiring resistance to these antibiotics.

Continued....
http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/biowissenschaften_chemie/bericht-24693.html

[Harper_is_Bush]

2. "The Iraq Infection".

Crazy.

This must be the first time Canadians have had it for it to hit the news here.

[acmejack]

3. Bet they aren't counting these people as KIA

In fact you know they wouldn't there would be absolutely no reason to do so.

[Harper_is_Bush]

4. Probably not. Canada would though....I hope.

We have a conservative crew at the moment, so who knows!

[Harper_is_Bush]

5. A superbug? SHUT THE FUCK UP!

[Posteritatis]

9. What? The term's been used in the news for years. (n/t)

[Journeyman]

16. One of my clients has been working on drug-resistant staph infections. . .

called "superbugs" in the industry, for well over 9 years that I am personally knowledgeable about. The obvious presents itself in reference your comment.

[Mnemosyne]

6. This will spread.

Everyone needs to read this book. It is by far one of the most frightening books I have ever read. I have hounded and annoyed doctors, friends, family, hell even strangers, about this issue ever since.
The Plague Makers -

The Plague Makers :how we are creating catastrophic new epidemics-- and what we must do to avert them
by Jeffrey Fisher

http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=1-0671791567-6#product_details

Better description @
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671791567/qid=1140663215/sr=1-9/ref=sr_1_9/104-5608943-1719965?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Truly terrifying.

[lostnfound]

12. I have to tell you, I think it is so cool..

that you give a link to Powell's (to buy it) AND to Amazon for the writeup.

I think I know exactly why you did that, and it's one of those little details that clues me into you being an extraordinarily conscientious person, like so many others here at DU.

Thank you.
:thumbsup:

PS Your sig line is dark but good.

[Mnemosyne]

13. Thanks for the kind words lostnfound. I hate megacorps,

and anytime we can help out independent business we need to do it.

I drive almost forty miles to buy shoes or underwear, when I can afford it, just to not shop at wallyworld. I'm poor but it is so worth it.

Here's the rest of the quote from Churchill, for some reason I couldn't get it to take all of it as a sig. It just seemed to become more fitting as time passed until the port deal was revealed. I hoped it would be a warning. May still be though, you just never know what the evil cabal has up it's sleeve.

"If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." -- Winston Churchill

We SHALL overcome!:patriot:

Thanks again lostnfound. So glad we're here together!:hi:
V

[aquart]

7. That land does not want us. Let's leave.

[JanusAscending]

11. I don't think it's just Iraq...............

A "Super bug" contracted in the Hospital after a simple gall bladder surgery, killed my husband. It's called "MERSA". It is spread by unsanitary practices, like Dr's. and Nurses not washing their hands between visiting patients. It is a super strain of staph that is resistant to antibiotics. So even our hospitals aren't safe anymore folks!!

[progressivebydesign]

15. I'm so sorry about your husband.

I just read that a republican governor had simple surgery recently, and is now battling a drug-resistant bacteria in a hospital back east.

[JanusAscending]

21. Thank you ,

are you referring to Gov. George Patacki (spelling??)of New York? I had heard something briefly about him having to go back in for another surgery. That's what they had to do with my husband. The initial surgery for the gall bladder was of a non-invasive kind. (laprescopic) When he developed high fever, plus other symptoms I won't go into here, they went back in, opened him up and checked his entire bowel for perforations, found none and closed him back up. They had him on a central line, in an induced coma. He swelled up like JABBA the HUT and had to be put on dialysis. He was in the hospital for 3 mo. and a nursing home for 1 mo. before he died, during a dialysis treatment, of cardiac arrest. All because of MERSA! I hope the Gov. fares better than my guy did!! People, beware of HOSPITALS !! Make sure that everyone who touches you has disinfected their hands, and if you see a YELLOW sign on the door of anyone's room on your floor, or your loved ones, be especially sure. This sign means MERSA!!

[iverglas]

22. me too

Very sorry about your husband. You'd think that such things would be unimaginable, and then it happens.

My dad was lucky. Went into ICU when he suddenly developed an urgent need for a pacemaker, developed a staph infection at his IV site, was rejected for surgery 3 days later, had to wait a month for it to clear up -- which, fortunately, it did; not the bad one, I guess.

No anti-bacterial household cleaners in my household, and when we get colds and flu, we drink water and wash our hands and stay in bed (and in my case, take decongestants to stave off real secondary bacterial ear infections). Every antibiotic not taken is one tiny blow against the evolution of superbugs.

[ConcernedCanuk]

8. Depleted Uranium comes to mind

.
.
.

Both Afghanistan and Iraq have been laced with thousands of tons of the stuff thanks to the USA

It will be decades, or maybe even much longer until we will know the true damage done by Depleted Uranium

(sigh)

[lovuian]

14. Bingo can you Imagine MRSA radiated Whoah!!!

or any other bug

this could really be the other killer out there than a terrorist.......

[TheWraith]

19. Huh?

One, what does depleted uranium have to do with a bacterial infection?

And two, there's no "thousands of tons." It's estimated to be about 200 tons.

[bvar22]

10. This new SuperBug....

...is being IMPORTED by bush* and the Republicans (with the help of VichyDems).
Soon to be appearing in a hospital near YOU!

The Democratic Party is a BIG TENT, but there is NO ROOM for those
who advance the agenda of THE RICH (Corporate Owners) at the EXPENSE of LABOR and the POOR.

[symbolman]

17. It was the troops that transported the plague

the FLU of world war one that killed 100 million worldwide.. more died as result of the flu than the war..

this is some dangerous shit, and of course when they cut funding to the poor you also get SuperBugs, poor people getting antibiotics, or partial doses just "train" the vermin to flex their little single celled muscles.

THIS may be the reason that Bush was ENJOYING some "light" reading last vacation, when he read a nice book about the PLAGUE.. a pop up book no doubt, my ears pricked up..

Like bad boxers or shitty gamblers these assholes "telegraph" their moves, in the end they really Don't LIE if you listen to them..

Remember that Bush said the Outer of Valerie Plame would, "Be taken care of.." They meant they'd buy them the BEST LAWYERS money can buy.

This is a good reason to live on an Island, when the plague goes off, they can shut down the planes and maybe our little piece of paradise will become The Garden of Eden.. at least we'll be able to eat and ride bicycles while the rest of the world DIES..

Scary shit, read the Asilomar Conference in the early 70's if you'd like to get REAL scared..

[TheWraith]

20. 1918 flu "only" killed about 20 million.

You might want to check your facts before throwing around numbers that are five times too high.

[iconoclastNYC]

18. More "colateral damage."

Why hasn't this war been shut down yet? Why can't the Dems unite on this? Oh right, the DLC won't allow it.