Overview
- The Telegraph, cited by RIA Novosti, reports multiple cases among Ukrainian soldiers, drawing on unnamed sources including a foreign volunteer in Zaporizhzhia.
- The infection is attributed to Clostridium bacteria from soil entering battlefield wounds characteristic of trench conditions.
- A microbiology lecturer at King’s College London told the outlet that mortality is near 100% without rapid surgical intervention.
- Sources describe evacuation hindered by drones and treatment in underground facilities that complicate sterility and the delivery of medical supplies.
- The reports say cultures are hard to obtain, surgical debridement is difficult to perform, and bacterial resistance to antibiotics may be a factor, with no independent corroboration provided.