HIV Vaccine Progress in the Context of a Decades-Long Struggle: What Are the Challenges?
Stronger Than Yesterday: Decreased Hospital Readmissions After Strengthening of an OPAT Program
Although close clinician monitoring is warranted to avoid complications for this this type of treatment, it can be beneficial to patients and help reduce care costs.
Testing the Safety of Bezlotoxumab to Treat C difficile in Children
Recently published data of bezlotoxumab dosing and safety in children with C diff was basis for expanding approval from just adults to as young as 1 years old.
Where Do We Draw the Line? Duration of Antibiotic Therapy Varies for Bloodstream Infections
With potential delays in treatment, bloodstream infections can be concerning for clinicians. Here is a review of the literature that offer guidance for treatment.
FDA Accepts NDA for Venatorx Pharmaceuticals’ Cefepime-Taniborbactam for Complicated UTIs
The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date is scheduled for the first quarter of 2024.
FDA Changes PDUFA for Valneva Chikungunya Vaccine
The agency says additional time is needed to decide upon a phase 4 program.
Guess Who’s Back Again? Malaria
With recent reports of this vector-borne illness in the continental United States, there is concern this might become endemic in the country again.
Antibiotics Exert Sustained Effect on Gut Microbiome
Antibiotic actions on gut microbes of patient might affect the microbiome of housemates.
The Top 5 Infectious Disease Stories This Week
This week's news included managing infants with RSV, how COVID-19 surveillance has evolved, and looking at changing criteria for initial and sustained response to antibiotic treatment for C diff.
Starting an Inpatient Penicillin Skin Testing Service in 2023
Patients with a penicillin allergy can be safely delabeled using minimal resources, opening up treatment options.
Preventing RSV in the Most Vulnerable Population
A clinician offers a glimpse of what it is like to treat infants with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). And with the recent FDA approval of nirsevimab, how that will likely benefit families and the youngest population.
Bavarian Nordic's Chikungunya Vaccine Succeeds in Phase 3, Building Support for BLA
The vaccine is steps behind another Chikungunya vaccine candidate from Valneva, which is currently under priority review by the FDA.
The Case for Revaccinating Against HBV After Eradicating HCV
Hepatitis B vaccine non-responders with chronic HCV infection were likely to respond and gain protection against HBV after HCV treatment.
Mpox: Outbreaks and Challenges
Here is a review of the latest case loads from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Pandemic Disrupts Progress Toward Hepatitis B Control
Efforts to ramp up hepatitis B vaccination at birth and in infancy are crucial to controlling the disease in Africa, which accounted for 66% of new infections in 2019.
Current COVID-19 Infection Surveillance, Data Desert Gaps, and Pandemic Preparedness
Surveillance data such as hospitalizations and wastewater metrics provide real COVID-19 prevalence numbers, but do we need to do more to be prepared ahead of another potential health crisis?
Should Cefazolin be Prescribed in Patients With B-lactam Allergies?
For patients undergoing surgery, looking at the potential benefits of this antimicrobial for prophylaxis.
Increased Hepatitis C Infections During Pregnancy Linked to Opioid Epidemic
HCV infections during pregnancy increased 16-fold from 1998 to 2018 in US, with adverse maternal and infant outcomes linked to opioid epidemic.
Proposing Better Measure of C difficile Response to Treatment
EXPAND Cdiff international group of infectious disease specialists propose changing criteria for initial and sustained response to antibiotic treatment.
What People are Reading: This Week's Top 5 Infectious Disease Stories
From news about RSV to vaccines to an investigational hepatitis therapy, this week's Infectious Disease Update has something for everyone.
GSK Claims Patent Infringement in Suit Against Pfizer's RSV Vaccine
The lawsuit comes as the RSV market is likely to get more crowded, with a pending approval for Pfizer's pediatric indication later this month and a BLA submission from Moderna recently filed.
Wastewater Accurately Tracks COVID-19 Numbers
A new study confirms this form of surveillance to collect metrics for SARS-CoV-2 to understand infection prevalence on a bigger scale.
Hospitals Finds Low Rates of Asymptomatic Toxigenic C difficile Carriage
The study was designed to help scientists better understand how to prevent in-hospital transmission of C difficile.
CDC Committee Votes Unanimously to Recommend Nirsevimab for Preventing RSV in Infants
The federal agency’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) also added the recently approved therapeutic to the Vaccines for Children program.
Comparing mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines in Seniors
A new study demonstrated Moderna having a greater efficacy and slightly less adverse event profile in this patient population vs the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
NSAIDs Combine with CDI Toxins to Damage Mitochondria in Colonic Epithelial Cells
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can work with Clostridioides difficile toxins to target mitochondria of epithelial cells, leading to increased severity of infection that can be long-lasting.
NIH Names Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, to Lead National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Marrazzo is currently the director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and will assume her role at the NIAID in the fall.
Phase 3 Trial of Bulevirtide Yields Positive Results
For people living with chronic hepatitis D, the latest study results confirm the benefit of injections of this first-in-class entry inhibitor.
Merck's Adult Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Shows Promise in Phase 3 Trials
The vaccine targets an additional 8 unique serotypes that disproportionally affect the adult population.
CDC Recommends Update to Hepatitis C Virus Screening
The CDC made this recommendation after reviewing relevant literature, and noting that complete testing jumped from about only two-thirds of patients to nearly all patients.