http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2393815,00.html
Troops 'spread superbug'
Steven Swinford
WOUNDED troops returning from Iraq have been linked by government scientists to outbreaks of a deadly superbug in National Health Service hospitals.
Injured soldiers flown back to be treated on the NHS have been infected with a rare strain of Acinetobacter baumannii, a superbug resistant to antibiotics.
At one hospital in Birmingham in 2003 the bacteria went on to infect 93 people, 91 of whom were civilians. Thirty-five died, although the hospital has not been able to establish whether the superbug was a contributory factor.
The revelation comes amid growing concerns about the treatment of wounded troops on NHS wards alongside civilian patients.
It follows reports that a paratrooper, wounded in Afghanistan and treated at the hospital — Selly Oak in Birmingham — was allegedly threatened by a Muslim visitor.
Acinetobacter baumannii commonly inhabits soil and water and is associated with warmer climates such as the Middle East. It is resistant to most common antibiotics and, if left untreated, can lead to pneumonia, fever and septicemia.
The bacterium has become a concern in the US army, where it has been identified in more than 240 military personnel since 2003, killing five.
Troops 'spread superbug'
Steven Swinford
WOUNDED troops returning from Iraq have been linked by government scientists to outbreaks of a deadly superbug in National Health Service hospitals.
Injured soldiers flown back to be treated on the NHS have been infected with a rare strain of Acinetobacter baumannii, a superbug resistant to antibiotics.
At one hospital in Birmingham in 2003 the bacteria went on to infect 93 people, 91 of whom were civilians. Thirty-five died, although the hospital has not been able to establish whether the superbug was a contributory factor.
The revelation comes amid growing concerns about the treatment of wounded troops on NHS wards alongside civilian patients.
It follows reports that a paratrooper, wounded in Afghanistan and treated at the hospital — Selly Oak in Birmingham — was allegedly threatened by a Muslim visitor.
Acinetobacter baumannii commonly inhabits soil and water and is associated with warmer climates such as the Middle East. It is resistant to most common antibiotics and, if left untreated, can lead to pneumonia, fever and septicemia.
The bacterium has become a concern in the US army, where it has been identified in more than 240 military personnel since 2003, killing five.
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