News

The past few weeks have been busy with avian influenza activity from Tennessee to China.

Dental plaque may be a culprit in the development of pneumonia, but better oral health can mitigate that risk both in ventilated hospital patients and in healthy individuals.

On March 5, 2017, at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI), Gary Huang, MD, PhD, explained his research team's findings regarding self-reported allergy to drugs containing β-lactams.

In late February, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its first list of Priority Pathogens, for which research and development is strongly needed. Not included on the list is tuberculosis, which has been acknowledged as one of the leading killers around the world. Naturally, many individuals working in public health and infectious disease are objecting to the exclusion.

This traditional St. Patrick’s Day food could cause severe illness if not prepared correctly.

In case you missed them, here is a round-up of the top 5 articles for the week of March 5, 2017.

When the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that all baby boomers undergo a one-time hepatitis C screening in 2013, testing prevalence increased. However, the rate is still lower than officials would like to see.

March 10, 2017 marks the 12th observance of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a day that is dedicated to raising awareness about the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls and encouraging them to take action when it comes to preventing infection.

A group of researchers used data from St. Luke’s hospital network’s Sentinel Enhanced Dengue Surveillance Systems to investigate the association of asthma and the development of severe Dengue. Their findings were presented at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

The new WHO list makes a clearcut line-up of offending organisms; however, the list is truly a call to arms for those hoping to prevent the antibiotic apocalypse.

A high-dose flu vaccine may offer more protection to older adults during flu seasons in which Influenza A(N2N3) is circulating.

According to Tour n’ Cure, an Egyptian initiative that aims to rid the world of hepatitis C, Egypt aims to give program participants an opportunity to receive full treatment at an extremely low cost, while touring “the land that gave birth to the first great civilization.”

At the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) in Atlanta, Georgia, researchers presented findings that suggested that a chlamydia vaccine, although costly, can avert significant morbidity.

From pets at home to SeaWorld's main attraction, the threat of antimicrobial resistance in domesticated animals is flying under the radar amid concerns for livestock and human resistance.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported six new flu-related pediatric deaths, including one confirmed by health officials in Milwaukee.

This year, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a new guideline on sexual and reproductive health and the rights of women who are living with HIV.

Penn State researchers have been granted $2.35 million to go towards finding a way of better predicting infectious disease outbreaks.

The Georgia Department of Public Health reports that the number of HIV infections in Georgia has dropped 6% each year from 2008 to 2014.

A yellow fever outbreak that started in December 2016 with only six human cases in just three states has now spread across the country, infecting thousands and killing hundreds.

Republicans in the House of Representatives have proposed a replacement bill for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) labeled the American Health Care Act.

The Centers for Disease Control and Pevention and the US Food and Drug Administration are currently investigating an E. coli outbreak that has managed to spread over five states and has infected twelve individuals thus far.

A recent study from the researchers at the University of Virginia has provided insight into how multidrug-resistant bacteria living in sink drainpipes can spread in hospitals.

A phase 1 trial is being led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to evaluate an investigational vaccine designed to provide broad protection against a range of mosquito-transmitted diseases.

NHL teams are taking extra precautions against mumps, as the highly contagious virus continues its spread from team-to-team in yet another outbreak.

Did you read this week’s top infectious disease news coverage from Contagion®?

Kenilworth, New Jersey-based Merck, will take a loss of $0.22 a share from last year’s fourth quarter. This will account for a total loss of $2.9 billion, or $1.9 billion after taxes. The pharmaceutical giant had previously reported a profit of $0.42 a share for that period.

Robert W. Malone, MD, MS, has identified several already-licensed drugs that would be successful in blocking Zika virus replication in human tissues.

Prenatal care for pregnant women with antenatal Zika-related microcephaly needs to be modified to include conversations that include pregnancy options as well as neonatal specialty consultations that will address infant special care needs, economic burden, and other factors.

Carmen D. Zorrilla, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine, shared her research which aimed to evaluate the growth patterns of fetuses whose mothers acquired Zika virus during pregnancy “and showed no prenatally detectable structural anomalies or maternal conditions that could affect fetal growth.”

Brown University researchers propose thinking about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as a nine-step continuum of preventive care, one that improves uptake and focuses on retention in care.