Healthcare professionals challenged by 14 distinct carbapenemase-producing micro-organisms in a war-injured Ukrainian patient

Nienke L Plantinga; Suzanne A V van Asten; Maarten J Schijffelen; Ralph J de Wit; Sandra Witteveen; Angela de Haan; Fabian Landman; Nashwan Al Naiemi; Daan W Notermans; Antoni P A Hendrickx

doi:10.1007/s15010-025-02523-x

Healthcare professionals challenged by 14 distinct carbapenemase-producing micro-organisms in a war-injured Ukrainian patient

Infection. 2025 Apr 24. doi: 10.1007/s15010-025-02523-x. Online ahead of print.

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory for Medical Microbiology and Public Health (Labmicta), Hengelo, The Netherlands. n.plantinga@antoniusziekenhuis.nl.
² National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
³ Laboratory for Medical Microbiology and Public Health (Labmicta), Hengelo, The Netherlands.
⁴ Medisch Spectrum Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
⁵ National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands. antoni.hendrickx@rivm.nl.

PMID: 40272698
DOI: 10.1007/s15010-025-02523-x

Abstract

The Russia-Ukraine war lead to evacuation of patients across Europe. We present an unprecedented case of a severely injured Ukrainian soldier carrying 11 carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales, two carbapenemase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa and one carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, together harboring six different carbapenemase genes and with evidence for in-patient transfer of resistance plasmids.

Keywords: CPE; CPPA; CRAB; Carbapenemase; Patient; Ukraine; War.