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Whole Blood PCR Testing More Effective For West Nile Virus Detection Than Plasma Testing, Study Finds

Healio (5/14, Stulpin) says, “PCR-based West Nile virus testing using whole blood was effective and favored compared with plasma testing as an initial test for infection, researchers reported” in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. Erin H. Graf, PhD, co-director of the Mayo Clinic microbiology laboratory, said, “Antibody testing may be useful as a supplemental test, especially in later stages of infection.”

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Among Patients With S. Aureus Bacteremia, Time To Positivity From Sequential Blood Cultures Varies Depending On Methicillin-Susceptibility Of S. Aureus Isolates, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (5/14, Kuhns) reports, “In patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, the time to positivity from sequential blood cultures varies depending on the methicillin-susceptibility of S aureus isolates, according to study results published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.” In the study, “the median time to positivity was 12 (IQR, 10-15) hours from initial cultures and 21 (IQR, 17-29) hours from sequential blood cultures, and the median duration between initial and sequential blood culture collection was 1.1 (IQR, 0.6-1.4) days.”

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Los Angeles County Investigating Hepatitis A Outbreak Among Unhoused Population

The Los Angeles Times (5/14, Vives) reports, “The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is investigating an outbreak of the highly contagious liver disease hepatitis A among its homeless population.” Authorities “said five cases of hepatitis A have been reported since mid-March among people experiencing homelessness.” The condition, “which can spread among people even before they have symptoms, can be found in the stool and blood of those who have been infected. Symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dark urine and yellow eyes and skin.”

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Higher US Tariffs On Chinese-Made Goods Should Help US-Based Medical Mask, Glove Manufacturers, Industry Says

Reuters (5/14, Aeppel) reports President Biden’s decision to raise tariffs “on Chinese goods should help US-based medical mask and glove makers, a sector that has largely flamed out after surging during the COVID-19 pandemic.” On Tuesday, industry executives “said Biden’s tariffs could boost demand by helping level a price differential with cheap imports from China, and could foster investments needed to bring some stalled projects online, although some think the 25% duties need to be even higher.”

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Experts Wary That KP.2 Coronavirus Variant May Cause Summer Surge In Cases

The New York Times (5/10, Blum) reported, “For most of this year, the JN.1 variant of the coronavirus accounted for an overwhelming majority of Covid cases. But now, an offshoot variant called KP.2 is taking off.” Although it “made up just one percent of cases in the United States in mid-March,” now it “makes up over a quarter.” The variant “belongs to a subset of Covid variants that scientists have cheekily nicknamed ‘FLiRT,’ drawn from the letters in the names of their mutations.” And “while cases currently don’t appear to be on the rise, researchers and physicians are closely watching whether the variant will drive a summer surge.” NBC News (5/10, Bendix) reported, “The KP.2 variant represents 28% of Covid infections in the U.S., up from just 6% in mid-April, according to data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” Research that has yet to be peer-reviewed “suggests that the Covid vaccines currently recommended in the U.S. may be less effective against KP.2 than against JN.1.” The preprint results were published on bioRxiv. The Hill (5/9, Weixel) reported, “So far, the variants haven’t been proven to cause any more serious illness, and vaccines remain effective, but there’s no certainty about how the virus may change and what happens next. According to the most recent data available, weekly hospitalizations were at the lowest level since the start of the pandemic.”

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E. Coli Cases In Utah Children Tied To Contaminated Water Used By Lawn Sprinklers, Report Finds

HealthDay (5/10, Mundell) reported, “Happily jumping around lawn sprinklers or playing with garden hoses on a hot summer day: An idyllic childhood scene.” However, this is not the case “for a bunch of kids in Utah, who all got serious E. coli illnesses from the contaminated water they were exposed to.” Overall, “13 kids averaging just 4 years of age were infected during late July of last year in an unidentified Utah city, according to a report led by BreAnne Osborn of the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.” Seven cases resulted in hospitalization, but “luckily, all of the children eventually recovered.” The report was published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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Shorter Antibiotic Courses May Be Appropriate For Uncomplicated S. Aureus Bacteremia, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (5/10, Chan) reported, “A shorter course of antibiotics may be appropriate for patients with less severe cases of uncomplicated Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, according to study results published in Therapeutic Advances in Infectious Disease.” In the study, “in regard to 90-day bacteremia recurrence, data captured from 5 studies (n=864) indicated a reduced risk in patients who received short vs long antibiotic courses (OR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.31-1.68; P =.45). However, the between-group risk for 90-day bacteremia recurrence was similar in a subanalysis of 3 studies (n=820) in which short and long antibiotic courses were defined as fewer than 14 days vs 14 days and longer, respectively (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.24-4.42; P =.97).”

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NIH Announces More Long COVID Studies

PharmaNewsIntelligence (5/10, Salib) reported, “On Wednesday, May 8, 2024, the NIH announced plans to launch additional clinical trials as part of its Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative to understand and address sleep disturbances, exercise intolerance, and post-exertional malaise in long COVID patients.” The studies “join six existing clinical trials in the RECOVER initiative focusing on viral persistence and neurological symptoms.” The agency “plans to enroll approximately 1,660 participants across 50 clinical trial sites.”

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Dairy Workers Could Be A Viable Pathway For Avian Flu To Reach The Broader Human Population, Experts Warn

The New York Times (5/9, Mandavilli, Qiu, Anthes) reports, “Even as it has become increasingly clear that the bird flu outbreak on the nation’s dairy farms began months earlier – and is probably much more widespread – than previously thought, federal authorities have emphasized that the virus poses little risk to humans.” However, “there is a group of people who are at high risk for infection: the estimated 100,000 men and women who work on those farms. There has been no widespread testing to see how many may be infected. None have been vaccinated against bird flu.” This “leaves the workers and their families vulnerable to a poorly tracked pathogen. And it poses broader public health risks. If the virus were to find its way into the wider population, experts say, dairy workers would be a likely route.”

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Legionella Outbreaks In Drinking Water Becoming More Common, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (5/9, Barowski) reports, “Outbreaks of Legionella in drinking water have increased over time and are the primary cause of hospitalization and mortality due to waterborne disease, according to study results published in MMWR Surveillance Summaries.” According to the study, “in public water systems, Legionella was the most implicated etiology and linked with 160 (92%) outbreaks, 666 (60%) incident diagnoses, 462 (97%) hospitalizations, and 68 (97%) deaths related to community and noncommunity water systems.”

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Asian Americans Account For 58% Of People With Hepatitis B In The US, CDC Says

NBC News (5/9, Venkatraman) reports, “National health care officials are sounding the alarm this month on the disproportionate impact of hepatitis B on Asian American communities, encouraging them to get tested and, if needed, vaccinated.” Out of the 580,000 to 1.17 million patients “who suffer from the virus in the U.S., 58% are Asian, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s a drastic percentage considering Asian Americans only comprise around 7% of the U.S. population, but experts say it can be explained by the high rates of the disease across Asia.”

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Adult RSV Vaccines Given To More Than 30 Infants, Young Children By Mistake, CDC Says

MedPage Today (5/9, Kahn) says, “Nearly three dozen babies and young children have received respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines, which are only approved for adults, according to a brief CDC report.” Data “revealed 27 reports of the Pfizer RSV vaccine (Abrysvo) and seven reports of the GSK RSV vaccine (Arexvy) being mistakenly administered to children under the age of 2 between Aug. 21, 2023 and March 18, 2024,” researchers detailed in Pediatrics.

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Thousands Of Children Prescribed HCQ, Ivermectin For Acute COVID-19 Infection Despite Recommendations Against Their Use, Data Show

MedPage Today (5/9, Kahn) reports, “Clinicians prescribed hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and ivermectin inappropriately to thousands of children with acute COVID-19, according to a retrospective cohort study” published in Pediatrics. Overall, “in a large U.S. all-payer database, 3,602 ivermectin prescriptions and 813 HCQ prescriptions for kids with acute COVID were identified after” IDSA “guidelines recommended against their use, though prescription rates for these medications were less than 1% – 0.03% for HCQ and 0.14% for ivermectin, reported” researchers.

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Three Patients Who Received Embryonic Stem Cell Injections In Mexico Developed Difficult-To-Treat Mycobacterium Abscessus Infections, Study Finds

MedPage Today (5/9, Putka) says, “Three patients developed difficult-to-treat Mycobacterium abscessus infections after receiving embryonic stem cell injections in Mexico in 2022, researchers reported.” Two men “acquired the infections in Guadalajara and Baja California, Mexico, from donor embryonic stem cell injections for joint pain, reported” researchers in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Previously, a third patient “had received intrathecal donor embryonic stem cell injections, also in Baja California, to treat her multiple sclerosis and also contracted an M. abscessus infection.”

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PAHO Announces Three More Countries Have Eliminated Congenital HIV, Syphilis

Healio (5/9, Feller) reports, “Belize, Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines became the latest nations to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) announced.” This “has now been achieved by 19 countries globally, including 11 in the Americas, according to PAHO.” The World Health Organization “awards a certification of elimination to nations that have a mother-to-child HIV transmission rate under 5%, provide antenatal care and ART treatment for more than 90% of pregnant women, report fewer than 50 new cases of congenital syphilis per 100,000 newborns and achieve an HIV case rate of fewer than 500 per 100,000 live births.”

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Environmental Changes Are Making Infectious Diseases More Dangerous, Study Finds

The New York Times (5/8, Anthes) reports, “Several large-scale, human-driven changes to the planet – including climate change, the loss of biodiversity and the spread of invasive species – are making infectious diseases more dangerous to people, animals and plants, according to a new study.” The research, published in Nature, “suggests that these patterns are relatively consistent around the globe and across the tree of life.” However, “in what is likely to come as a more surprising finding, the researchers also found that urbanization decreased the risk of infectious disease.” The Washington Post (5/8, Dance) reports, “Researchers said the study is the first to look at the ways such a variety of environmental problems can compound disease risks. It combined hundreds of studies and thousands of observations of all kinds of creatures – humans and other mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, worms and arthropods – and all kinds of pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria and fungi.”

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Adolescent Medicine Clinic More Than Quadrupled HIV Screening Rate By Offering Point-Of-Care Saliva Testing, Study Finds

Healio (5/8, Weldon) reports, “An adolescent medicine clinic more than quadrupled its HIV screening rate by offering point-of-care saliva testing, according to findings presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting.” In the study, researchers “began their work by trying to determine why universal HIV screening rates are so low, and found reasons involving a fear of needles or blood draw, delayed results, and communicating test results.” This led to the adoption of the OraQuick screening, which returns accurate results in 20 minutes.

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Cases Of Whooping Cough Surging Across Europe, Health Officials Say

Reuters (5/8, Rigby) reports, “European countries have reported a surge in whooping cough cases in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, with 10 times as many identified as in each of the previous two years.” Overall, almost “60,000 cases were reported by European Union and European Economic Area countries over the period, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said on Wednesday, with 11 deaths in infants and eight among older adults.” The agency said lower vaccination rates during the COVID-19 pandemic may be contributing to the outbreak.

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Pneumococcal Disease Burden Still Substantial In Children Younger Than 48 Months, Despite Decrease In Incidence, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (5/8, Kuhns) reports, “Although the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease, all-cause pneumonia, and acute otitis media (AOM) has decreased in children aged 48 months and younger, the burden of pneumococcal disease remains substantial in this population. These study results were published in Vaccine.” According to the study, “in children who were commercially insured, the overall annual incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease declined from 53 to 7 episodes per 100,000 person-years between 1998 and 2019.” And “in children insured by Medicaid, the overall annual incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease declined from 58 to 9 episodes per 100,000 person-years between 2001 and 2019.”

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White House Announces Tighter Regulations For Research On Dangerous Microbes And Toxins

The New York Times (5/7, Zimmer, Mueller) reports, “The White House has unveiled tighter rules for research on potentially dangerous microbes and toxins, in an effort to stave off laboratory accidents that could unleash a pandemic.” The policy “strengthens the government’s oversight by replacing a short list of dangerous pathogens with broad categories into which more pathogens might fall.” It also “pays attention not only to human pathogens, but also those that could threaten crops and livestock,” and “provides more details about the kinds of experiments that would draw the attention of government regulators.” The new regulations “will take effect in a year, giving government agencies and departments time to update their guidance to meet the new requirements.”

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Whole Blood PCR Testing More Effective For West Nile Virus Detection Than Plasma Testing, Study Finds

Among Patients With S. Aureus Bacteremia, Time To Positivity From Sequential Blood Cultures Varies Depending On Methicillin-Susceptibility Of S. Aureus Isolates, Study Finds

Los Angeles County Investigating Hepatitis A Outbreak Among Unhoused Population

Higher US Tariffs On Chinese-Made Goods Should Help US-Based Medical Mask, Glove Manufacturers, Industry Says

Experts Wary That KP.2 Coronavirus Variant May Cause Summer Surge In Cases

E. Coli Cases In Utah Children Tied To Contaminated Water Used By Lawn Sprinklers, Report Finds

Shorter Antibiotic Courses May Be Appropriate For Uncomplicated S. Aureus Bacteremia, Study Finds

NIH Announces More Long COVID Studies

Dairy Workers Could Be A Viable Pathway For Avian Flu To Reach The Broader Human Population, Experts Warn

Legionella Outbreaks In Drinking Water Becoming More Common, Study Finds

Asian Americans Account For 58% Of People With Hepatitis B In The US, CDC Says

Adult RSV Vaccines Given To More Than 30 Infants, Young Children By Mistake, CDC Says

Thousands Of Children Prescribed HCQ, Ivermectin For Acute COVID-19 Infection Despite Recommendations Against Their Use, Data Show

Three Patients Who Received Embryonic Stem Cell Injections In Mexico Developed Difficult-To-Treat Mycobacterium Abscessus Infections, Study Finds

PAHO Announces Three More Countries Have Eliminated Congenital HIV, Syphilis

Environmental Changes Are Making Infectious Diseases More Dangerous, Study Finds

Adolescent Medicine Clinic More Than Quadrupled HIV Screening Rate By Offering Point-Of-Care Saliva Testing, Study Finds

Cases Of Whooping Cough Surging Across Europe, Health Officials Say

Pneumococcal Disease Burden Still Substantial In Children Younger Than 48 Months, Despite Decrease In Incidence, Study Finds

White House Announces Tighter Regulations For Research On Dangerous Microbes And Toxins