WRAIR-EME conducts multidrug-resistant organism surveillance on Ukraine’s front lines

Courtesy Photo | Capt. Cody Phelps (left), Senior Scientist at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research-Europe—Middle East, and Maj. Thomas Musich, Scientific Director at WRAIR-EME, conduct research on MDRO samples collected from Ukraine.  

GEORGIA

11.19.2025

Story by Zeke Gonzalez 

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research

For 2 years, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research-Europe—Middle East has collaborated with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to identify and analyze the emergence of multidrug-resistant organisms, commonly called MDROs, on the front lines of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
 
MDROs are microorganisms, mostly bacteria, which have evolved to become resistant to some of the medicines, such as antibiotics, used to treat infections. Infections caused by MDROs are challenging to treat and can lead to serious complications include inability to return to service, long-lasting health problems, and even death.
 
“We’ve seen these nasty bugs coming out of Europe and especially Ukraine,” said Maj. Thomas Musich, science director and program manager at WRAIR-EME. “The Ukrainian Minister of Defense requested aid, so now we are getting bacterial wound samples from soldiers injured at the forward edge of the battle area that allow us to answer the question: what MDROs are a threat and where are they?”
 
Once the bacterial wound samples are taken from the Ukrainian front lines, they go to WRAIR-EME in Tbilisi, Georgia, where the team assesses and identifies the pathogens that are present. Then that data goes back to the Multidrug-Resistant Organism Repository and Surveillance Network at WRAIR headquarters, where the MDROs are fully characterized.
 
All the relevant data is then developed into reports that are passed back to WRAIR-EME’s counterparts in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and other stakeholders. These reports identify if MDROs are present and, if so, include recommendations to treat and prevent infections caused by these bacteria.
 
“By providing this data to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, we help lower the burden on their health care system and improve care,” explained Maj. Musich. “The surveillance we are doing on these MDROs can lead to critical information we can use to protect our service members from infections after they are injured on the front lines.”
 
For more information on WRAIR-EME’s biosurveillance, visit the website: https://mrdg.health.mil/
 
For more detailed descriptions about WRAIR’s MDRO surveillance in Ukraine, read WRAIR-EME’s and the MRSN’s recent publications: https://wrair.health.mil/Biomedical-Research/Center-for-Infectious-Disease-Research/Diagnostics-and-Countermeasures/Multidrug-Resistant-Organism-Repository-and-Surveillance-Network/Publications/

• Date Taken: 11.19.2025
• Date Posted: 11.19.2025 09:40
• Story ID: 551690
• Location: GE