According to the UK's Daily Telegraph, quoting Ukrainian doctors, medical staff on the Ukrainian battlefield have encountered a disease that has not been seen in Europe since World War I - gas gangrene. Who would have thought that this rare and almost forgotten disease would reappear on the battlefield after more than 100 years.
Doctors said the reason for the occurrence of gas gangrene is simple: after the fighting, the wounded often cannot be evacuated in time and have to lie in the trenches for several hours, sometimes even days, without proper care, which is enough to cause a deadly infection to develop under the skin.
Gas gangrene is caused by Clostridium bacteria. These bacteria multiply rapidly in an oxygen-free environment, destroying muscle tissue within a few hours and releasing bubbles under the skin. Patients feel a hissing sound inside their body. If amputation or removal of the affected tissue is not done immediately, the mortality rate can reach 100%.
In the midst of gunfire, damaged roads, and difficult transportation, it is often impossible to transport the wounded to a sterile operating room. A foreign doctor from Zaporozhye told the Daily Telegraph: "We haven't seen this situation for a long time. People are not dying from gunfire, but from dust and delays."
Dr. Lindsay Edwards from King's College London said that this is one of the most terrifying infections known to the medical community. It spreads in the trenches because there are no sterile bandages, antibiotics, or clean water. If help is not received within a few hours, it means death.
Currently, gas gangrene mainly appears on the Ukrainian side, as the evacuation capacity for injured personnel on the Ukrainian side is particularly poor.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1848506054102028/
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