North Macedonia – ECDC Warns of Serious Infections from Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Among Burn Victims

It is highly likely that burn victims have been infected by dangerous, highly antibiotic-resistant bacteria, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which has raised an alert in countries that received these patients. The ECDC reports that more than 55 patients from North Macedonia have been transferred to at least ten European countries: Croatia, Greece, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Lithuania, Hungary, Luxembourg, Norway, and Spain. These countries are urged to take protective measures against resistant infections due to a previous incident in Romania that served as a significant lesson for healthcare services. In 2015, a major fire broke out at the Colectiv club in Bucharest. Besides those who died on the spot, 38 patients lost their lives after being treated in hospitals, many of whom were burn victims infected with carbapenem-resistant bacteria. Carbapenems are considered last-resort antibiotics because they combat the toughest hospital-acquired infections. Resistance development in bacteria to these antibiotics could be catastrophic for patients. Several burn victims transferred from Romanian hospitals to other EU member states also reported cases of transmission and infection with carbapenem-resistant bacteria. The large fire in Romania occurred on October 30, 2015, claiming the lives of 64 young people from burns or smoke inhalation. Initially, all injured were moved to 12 nearby hospitals, but it was impossible to provide adequate care for everyone. Nearly 80 patients were then transferred to eight countries: Israel, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, UK, Norway, Germany, and France. However, dozens of burn victims were already infected with carbapenem-resistant bacteria, some even pan-resistant microbes that are immune to all available antibiotics. According to the ECDC, burn wounds are often colonized by Gram-negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter spp., and Enterobacterales, including Klebsiella pneumoniae. Burn patients face high risks of colonization with carbapenem-resistant organisms, especially when treated in countries with high prevalence rates. North Macedonia is one of the European countries with significant problems related to antibiotic resistance. Data from 2023 indicates alarming levels of resistance among bloodstream infections, emphasizing the urgent need for quarantine measures and careful handling of burn victims from North Macedonia.