Molecular Surveillance of Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria among Refugees from Afghanistan in 2 US Military Hospitals during Operation Allies Refuge, 2021.

In 2021, two US military hospitals, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, observed a high prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria among refugees evacuated from Afghanistan during Operation Allies Refuge. Multidrug-resistant isolates collected from 80 patients carried an array of antimicrobial resistance genes, including carbapenemases (bla, bla, and bla) and 16S methyltransferases (rmtC and rmtF). Considering the rising transmission of antimicrobial resistance and unprecedented population displacement globally, these data are a reminder of the need for robust infection control measures and surveillance.

Isolation of Rapidly Growing Nontuberculous Mycobacteria in Wounds Following Combat-Related Injury.

Objectives: Rapidly growing nontuberculous mycobacteria (RGNTM) have yet to be described in combat-related injuries. This study investigates the epidemiology, clinical findings, treatment, and outcomes of RGNTM infections among combat casualties wounded in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2012.

Methods: Patients with RGNTM were identified from the Department of Defense Trauma Registry through the Trauma Infectious Disease Outcomes Study.

In vitro activity of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil on filamentous fungi and toxicity to human cells.

Invasive fungal wound infections (IFIs) are increasingly reported in trauma patients and cause considerable morbidity and mortality despite standard of care treatment in trauma centers by experienced medical personnel. Topical agents such as oil of melaleuca, also known as tea tree oil (TTO), have been proposed for adjunctive treatment of IFIs. We evaluated the activity of TTO against filamentous fungi associated with IFIs by testing 13 clinical isolates representing nine species via time-kill assay with seven concentrations of TTO (100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, 10%, 5%, and 1%).

Clindamycin-induced Sweet's syndrome.

Drug-induced acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis, or Sweet's syndrome, is rare and, to our knowledge, has not previously been associated with clindamycin therapy. We describe a 47-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes mellitus and end-stage renal disease requiring hemodialysis who developed Sweet's syndrome after receiving oral and intravenous clindamycin for a tooth infection. After the clindamycin was discontinued, the patient's clinical symptoms resolved over several days.