Contagion Editorial Staff

Laura Cooley, MD, MPH medical epidemiologist, Respiratory Diseases Branch, Division of Bacterial Disease, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses the role water maintenance plays in the prevention of the spread of Legionnaires’ disease.

A troubling new study has reported the presence of genes that are resistant to antibiotics in air pollution.

Lauri A. Hicks, DO, captain, US Public Health Service, director, Office of Antibiotic Stewardship, medical director, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses how public health institutions can work alongside private pharmaceutical companies to prevent antibiotic resistance.

A recent study has found that the rate of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections is increasing in children in the United States.

Marcos Pires, PhD, assistant professor at Lehigh University, explains how augmenting the immune system's bacterial detection process can help fight infections.

Lauri A. Hicks, DO, captain, US Public Health Service, director, Office of Antibiotic Stewardship, medical director, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses antibiotic stewardship programs in both the hospital and outpatient settings.

Lauri A. Hicks, DO, captain, US Public Health Service, director, Office of Antibiotic Stewardship, medical director, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains what antibiotic stewardship is and what ideal antibiotic stewardship programs in hospitals look like.

Lauri A. Hicks, DO, captain, US Public Health Service, director, Office of Antibiotic Stewardship, medical director, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warns of the potential downsides to taking antibiotics.

Lauri A. Hicks, DO, captain, US Public Health Service, director, Office of Antibiotic Stewardship, medical director, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains how antibiotics can be harmful if they are not used appropriately.

Lauri A. Hicks, DO, captain, US Public Health Service, director, Office of Antibiotic Stewardship, medical director, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compares antibiotic prescribing data in the United States to data in Europe.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published new research showing that the Zika virus is able to infect healthy neonatal mice.

Leishmaniasis infections in the United States are on the rise as US soldiers and ecotourists make their way home.

Lauri A. Hicks, DO, captain, US Public Health Service, director, Office of Antibiotic Stewardship, medical director, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses how antibiotic prescribing data vary across the United States.

Lauri A. Hicks, DO, captain, US Public Health Service, director, Office of Antibiotic Stewardship, medical director, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, talks about the importance of educating patients on antibiotic use.

Lauri A. Hicks, DO, captain, US Public Health Service, director, Office of Antibiotic Stewardship, medical director, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses antibiotic prescribing data, with an emphasis on outpatient settings.

Researchers have found that the Zika virus is able to survive for at least eight hours on hard, non-porous surfaces.

The pharmaceutical giant, Bayer, began enrolling participants in a Phase III clinical trial in January 2016 with hopes to find appropriate dosing of Nifurtimoxin for children and newborns.

Lauri A. Hicks, DO, captain, US Public Health Service, director, Office of Antibiotic Stewardship, medical director, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses “Get Smart About Antibiotics Week” and partnerships with international organizations.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has led an international team of experts from multiple disciplines in putting together a series of articles on harnessing the power of "Big Data" to help with infectious disease surveillance.

Marcos Pires, PhD, assistant professor at Lehigh University, discusses the threat of antibiotic resistance.

Vikas Gupta, PharmD, BCPS, director of Clinical Strategy at Becton Dickinson, explains how his team identified national projections of drug-resistant pathogens.

Laura Cooley, MD, MPH, medical epidemiologist, Respiratory Diseases Branch, Division of Bacterial Disease, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains why Legionella is such a challenging pathogen.

Jacob Morton, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, Antibiotic Stewardship Outcomes Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center, clinical pharmacy research specialist, explains that adult patients with comorbidities should be vaccinated for pneumococcal disease.

Laura Cooley, MD, MPH, medical epidemiologist, Respiratory Diseases Branch, Division of Bacterial Disease, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains the current Legionella situation.

Jacob Morton, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, Antibiotic Stewardship Outcomes Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center, clinical pharmacy research specialist, Wesley Healthcare, discusses programs to improve pneumococcal vaccination rates in veterans.

Rebekah Stewart Schicker, MSN, MPH, APRN, Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains her recent research on influenza antiviral treatment prescribing practices in 60 outpatient settings across the United States.

Marcos Pires, PhD, assistant professor at Lehigh University, explains whether or not his team’s strategy to use immunotherapy as a substitute for antibiotics will vary from patient to patient.

Susan Kline, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine, medical director for Infection Control, lead physician for Antibiotic Stewardship, University of Minnesota, discusses how restricting use of vancomycin impacted the emergence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci.

Megan Luther, PharmD, Advanced Health Services research fellow, Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of Rhode Island, College of Pharmacy, discusses a meta-analysis that examines the combination therapy of vancomycin and piperacillin/tazobactam causing acute kidney injuries.

Jacob Morton, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, Antibiotic Stewardship Outcomes Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center, clinical pharmacy research specialist, Wesley Healthcare, discusses his research on 30-day mortality in adults with pneumococcal disease.