Study: The emergence of “superbugs” in the Middle East is associated with the war in Iraq in 2003

An international team of biologists has found evidence that the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the Middle East began after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the wars that followed.

The journal BMJ Global Health notes that, according to the researchers, “the destruction of healthcare infrastructure, mistreatment of patients in the field, high levels of environmental pollution, contamination of the body of patients with heavy metal ions, unsanitary conditions and other consequences of war, have led to widespread “superbugs”. First in Iraq, and then throughout the region and the world as a whole.”

It is noteworthy that over the past twenty years, biologists have observed the emergence of dozens of strains of microbes that are resistant to one or another antibiotic or several types of antibiotics. These species appeared as a result of the uncontrolled use of antibiotics in medicine and animal husbandry, as well as the discharge of drugs into urban and industrial wastewater into natural ecosystems.

The reason for the interest of an international scientific team led by Dr. Antoine Abu Fayyad from the American University of Beirut was the collapse of the central government in Iraq and the almost complete disappearance of the highly developed healthcare system that existed in Iraq before the American invasion in 2003.

In addition, doctors widely used antibiotics during military operations. Iraq’s ecological environment is also saturated with microbially toxic heavy metal ions that are present in missiles, missiles and fuel.

According to Abu Fayyad, all this points to the need for comprehensive and detailed studies of the impact of prolonged wars on the emergence and spread of “superbugs” in order to curb or slow down their development and save millions of lives in the world.

Source: TASS