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China Sees Post-Pandemic Resurgence Of Whooping Cough

Bloomberg (4/10, Subscription Publication) reports, “Whooping cough is making a post-pandemic comeback in China, with cases surging more than 20-fold in the first two months of 2024.” The country “reported a combined 32,380 cases of pertussis – more commonly known as whooping cough – in January and February, compared with 1,421 cases during the same period in 2023, according to the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration. There were 13 deaths.”

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History Of Carbapenem Use, Elevated SOFA Scores Tied To Increased Risk For Third-Generation Cephalosporin-Resistant BSIs Among Children, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (4/10, Nye) reports, “Children with a history of carbapenem use and elevated pediatric Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores are at increased risk for third-generation cephalosporin-resistant bloodstream infections (BSIs), according to study findings published in Infection and Drug Resistance.” In the study, “patients with resistance were more likely to have pediatric SOFA scores of at least 2 (33.33% vs 17.83%; P =.007), a history of carbapenem use (39.02% vs 23.26%; P =.010), and a prior BSI diagnosis (21.95% vs 10.08%; P =.016).”

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Study Suggests “Cautious Exercise” Could Help Long COVID Rehabilitation

Healio (4/10, Rhoades) reports, “Patients with long COVID showed no difference in fatigue after exercise vs. those without long COVID, nor did their symptoms significantly worsen, suggesting that ‘cautious exercise’ could help rehabilitation, a randomized study showed.” However, according to the study, when “compared with control participants, those with long COVID reported greater exacerbation of muscle pain (P=.04) and joint pain (P=.009) after” high-intensity interval training. The results were published in JAMA Network Open.

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Drugmaker Says RSV Vaccine Well Tolerated, Effective In Higher Risk Adults Under 60

Reuters (4/9, Erman) reports, “Pfizer said on Tuesday its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine Abrysvo was well tolerated” in a late-stage trial “and generated an immune response in higher risk adults under the age of 60 similar to that in older adults.” CNN (4/9, Bonifield, Musa) reports that, in the trial, “a single dose of Abrysvo demonstrated an immune response that wasn’t inferior to the response in the trial of the RSV vaccine for older adults. Additionally, one month after vaccination, trial participants had increased levels of neutralizing antibodies against the two main RSV subtypes compared with levels before vaccination, the company said Tuesday.”

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Pregnant, Recently Pregnant Women Reported Higher COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy, Changes In Perceptions Of Vaccine Safety From 2021 To 2023, Survey Results Show

Healio (4/9, Welsh) reports, “Pregnant and recently pregnant women reported increased COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and changes in perceptions of vaccine safety from 2021 to 2023,” survey results show. “Trusted sources for COVID-19 information varied based on vaccination status and self-reported race and ethnicity,” with Black respondents reporting “the highest trust in the CDC with 32.5% and the lowest trust in their physicians with 18.7%. Conversely, Spanish-speaking Hispanic and white respondents had the lowest trust in the CDC (26.1% and 26.6%, respectively) and the highest trust in their physicians (35.1% and 38.2%, respectively).” The data were published in JAMA Network Open.

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OSA Associated With Greater Use Of NIV In Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19, But Booster Vaccination Lowered The Risk, Research Shows

MedPage Today (4/9, Short) reports, “In hospitalized veterans with COVID-19, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was associated with greater use of non-invasive ventilation (NIV), but booster vaccination reduced this risk,” researchers concluded in a retrospective study published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. The booster dose “decreased both the likelihood of NIV (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.35-0.99) and mechanical ventilation (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.13-0.62), and that protective effect did not differ by OSA status.”

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Flat 600mg Dose Of Rifampicin For TB Effective, Safe Alternative To Weight-Banded Dosing, Study Finds

Pulmonology Advisor (4/9, Stong) reports, “Rifampicin 600 mg daily as a flat dose for tuberculosis (TB) is an effective and safe alternative to weight-banded dosing of rifampicin, according to study findings published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.” Overall, “PK, safety, and efficacy data supported the flat-dosing strategy in the standard 6-month regimen for the treatment of drug-susceptible TB.”

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EPA Issues New Rules To Protect Neighborhoods Near Manufacturing Facilities That Release Airborne Toxins

CNN (4/9, Goodman) reports, “The US Environmental Protection Agency issued new rules on Tuesday to protect neighborhoods near more than 200 manufacturing facilities that release airborne toxins such as ethylene oxide, chloroprene, benzene, vinyl chloride, 1,3 butadiene and ethylene dichloride.” According to studies from the agency, “about 104,000 Americans live within 6 miles of factories that churn out certain synthetic organic chemicals or use them in the production of polymers and resins.” The “risk of cancer from that exposure is above 1 in 10,000 people – a threshold the agency deems to be unacceptably high.” The Hill (4/9, Frazin) reports that under the new rules, “the number of people who have elevated cancer risks because they live within 6 miles of a chemical plant would drop by 96 percent, the EPA said.” And “cancer cases within about 31 miles of facilities that release toxic pollution into the air are expected to fall by about 60 percent under the rule.” Among the locations “expected to benefit from the rule is an area of Louisiana known as ‘Cancer Alley,’ with a large number of chemical plants and high cancer rates, according to the agency.” The EPA “also said that the issue is one of environmental justice – as people of color and low-income people face disproportionately high pollution levels.” HealthDay (4/9, Mundell) reports that in a statement, the EPA said the rules “will significantly reduce toxic air pollution from chemical plants, including ethylene oxide [EtO] and chloroprene. ... Once implemented, the rule will reduce both EtO and chloroprene emissions from covered processes and equipment by nearly 80%.”

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Scientists Warn Argentina Faces Rising Risk Of Dengue Epidemic

Reuters (4/8, Bustamante, Sigal) reports, “Mosquitoes are hatching earlier in Argentina and reaching cooler regions than before, as rising temperatures drive the country’s worst outbreak of dengue fever and raise the risk of more regular epidemics of the insect-borne virus, scientists said.” So far this season, Argentina “has recorded 232,996 cases of the disease sometime known as ‘break-bone fever’ for the severe muscle and joint pain it can cause, along with high fever, headache, vomiting, and skin rash.” Those case numbers are “well above the previous all-time high of 130,000, recorded last season, and five times the figure at the same point a year ago, the latest official data showed.”

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Simultaneous Vaccination Against Flu, RSV Safe For Patients At High Risk For HF, Study Finds

Pharmacy Times (4/8, Gallagher) reports, “Simultaneous vaccination against seasonal influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in individuals at high risk for heart failure (HF) was shown to be safe with a low incidence of adverse events, according to results of a study published in Vaccine.” In the study, researchers “noted that none of the vaccinated individuals experienced significant exacerbations of signs or symptoms related to HF, with 2 individuals needing to escalate their diuretic on day 1 post-vaccination.”

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FDA Approves Dolutegravir/Lamivudine For Adolescents With HIV-1 Infection

Pharmacy Times (4/8, McGovern) reports, “The FDA has approved dolutegravir/lamivudine (Dovato; ViiV Healthcare) for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adolescents.” The new indication is for teens “who are 12 years of age or older that weigh at least 25 kg who have no previous treatment history of antiretroviral (ARV), or for patients who are virologically suppressed (HIV-1 RNA less than 50 copies per mL) with no history of treatment failure and who are on a stable ARV regimen looking to replace the current regimen.” In a late-stage trial in this population, “26 of the 30 participants who completed the study achieved and maintained viral suppression at week 48.”

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Patients With MDR Bacterial Infections Face Higher Mortality Risk During Weaning From Invasive Mechanical Ventilation, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (4/8, Kuhns) reports, “Patients with multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections are at higher risk of mortality during weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), according to study results published in Respiratory Research.” In the study, “the rate of weaning failure significantly differed between the groups (P =.015), with the highest rate observed among patients with MDR infections (48%), followed by those with MDR colonization (34.8%) and those without detectable MDR pathogens (21.7%).”

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Hydrocortisone Plus Fludrocortisone Reduces Mortality Risk Among Patients With Septic Shock And Community-Acquired Pneumonia, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (4/8, Nye) reports, “Hydrocortisone plus fludrocortisone reduces the risk of mortality among patients with septic shock and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), according to findings published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.” In the study, “compared with placebo recipients, patients who received hydrocortisone plus fludrocortisone exhibited a non-significantly greater number of days free from vasopressors (mean, 56 vs 45 days), ventilation (mean, 46 vs 38 days), organ failure (mean, 53 vs 42 days), ICU admission (mean, 44 days vs 35 days), and hospitalization (mean, 34 vs 27 days) at day 90.”

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CDC Urges Clinicians To Look Out For H5N1 Bird Flu Infections Among Dairy Farm Workers

The New York Times (4/5, Mandavilli) reported, “Bird flu outbreaks among dairy cows in multiple states, and at least one infection in [a] farmworker in Texas, have incited fears that the virus may be the next infectious threat to people.” The H5N1 influenza virus “is highly pathogenic, meaning it has the ability to cause severe disease and death.” However, “while its spread among cows was unexpected, people can catch the virus only from close contact with infected animals, not from one another, federal officials said.” Reuters (4/5, Santhosh) reported the CDC on Friday issued an alert about the H5N1 avian flu; “to prevent infection from the virus, the CDC recommends the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), testing, antiviral treatment, patient investigations and monitoring of persons exposed to sick or dead, wild and domesticated animals and livestock that may have been infected with the virus.” The Hill (4/6, Irwin) reported, “The CDC said it tested the patient’s virus genome and sequences from cattle, wild birds and poultry.” The agency “found minor changes, they both ‘lack changes that would make them better adapted to infect mammals.’”

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Middle-Aged People Living With HIV More Likely To Have Early Signs Of Heart Disease, Study Finds

HealthDay (4/5, Thompson) reported, “People with HIV could have an increased risk of heart disease even if they aren’t suffering any symptoms related to their infection, a new study finds.” HealthDay added, “Middle-aged people living with HIV were more likely to have early signs of heart disease, with thicker blood vessels placing strain on the heart.” For the study published in Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging, researchers “recruited 74 adults living with HIV but without known heart disease” and compared them “to 25 healthy people who didn’t have either HIV or heart disease.” The patients “underwent an MRI to measure the thickness of their heart blood vessels and an echocardiogram to assess their heart function.”

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Study Finds Most Patients With All-Cause And Norovirus-Associated Acute Gastroenteritis Had Only One Healthcare Encounter

Healio (4/5, Stulpin) reported, “Most patients with all-cause and norovirus-associated acute gastroenteritis had only one health care encounter, primarily in the outpatient setting, researchers found in a study” published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. In the study, “most patients who sought care for diarrhea or vomiting (80%) had only one health care encounter, most often in the outpatient setting.”

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Cefoxitin Monotherapy Noninferior To Traditional Antimicrobial Therapy For Treating Intra-Amniotic Infections, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (4/5, Sirois) reported, “First-line cefoxitin monotherapy is noninferior to traditional antimicrobial therapy regimens for the treatment of intra-amniotic infections (IAI), according to study results published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.” In the study, “further analysis indicated no significant between-group differences in the need for ICU admission or additional surgical operations or procedures. In addition, the median length of hospitalization was lower among patients who received first-line cefoxitin therapy vs traditional antimicrobial therapy.”

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States That Loosened Restrictions On Medicaid Access To HCV Drugs Saw Increase In Number Of Patients Treated, Study Finds

Bloomberg Law (4/5, Belloni, Subscription Publication) reported, “States that loosened restrictions on who could get new hepatitis C medicines through Medicaid saw big jumps in the numbers of patients treated, a study found.” Published in JAMA Health Forum, the study “examined changes in Medicaid prescribing of hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals, or DAAs, from 2015 through 2019 across 39 state Medicaid programs.”

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FDA Facing Backlash Over Approval Of Genetic Test To Determine Opioid Use Disorder Risk

NBC News (4/4, Lovelace) reports the FDA “is facing backlash over its approval of a genetic test intended to determine if a person is at increased risk for opioid addiction.” The AvertD test, approved in December, “detects a handful of genetic markers that the manufacturer, California-based SOLVD Health, claims are associated with opioid use disorder.” However, “in a letter addressed to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf dated Thursday, a group of doctors and researchers called on the agency to revoke its approval, saying the test doesn’t predict opioid use disorder ‘any better than chance.’” A diagnostic “that fails to identify a person at risk may give both the patient and the doctor a false sense of security about opioid use, the authors wrote.” Meanwhile, “mislabeling a patient as at risk could lead a doctor to refrain from prescribing opioids that the patient needs, while also burdening them with a highly stigmatized medical condition.”

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Animal Health Official Warns Widening Avian Flu Spread Raises Infection Risks For Humans

Reuters (4/4, Hamaide) reports, “The spread of bird flu to an increasing number of species and its widening geographic reach have raised the risks of humans being infected by the virus, the head of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Thursday.” The comments from Monique Eloit “come after the U.S. government reported cases of the disease in dairy cows in several states and a person in Texas, which she said would only be a strong concern if there had been a transmission between cows, something the U.S. authorities are still investigating.” Although “some outbreaks of bird flu have caused serious or fatal infections among people who have close contact with wild birds or poultry...to date there has been no sustained human-to-human transmission observed.” And “for most people who are not exposed to infected animals, the risk of catching the disease is very low, scientists say.”

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China Sees Post-Pandemic Resurgence Of Whooping Cough

History Of Carbapenem Use, Elevated SOFA Scores Tied To Increased Risk For Third-Generation Cephalosporin-Resistant BSIs Among Children, Study Finds

Study Suggests “Cautious Exercise” Could Help Long COVID Rehabilitation

Drugmaker Says RSV Vaccine Well Tolerated, Effective In Higher Risk Adults Under 60

Pregnant, Recently Pregnant Women Reported Higher COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy, Changes In Perceptions Of Vaccine Safety From 2021 To 2023, Survey Results Show

OSA Associated With Greater Use Of NIV In Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19, But Booster Vaccination Lowered The Risk, Research Shows

Flat 600mg Dose Of Rifampicin For TB Effective, Safe Alternative To Weight-Banded Dosing, Study Finds

EPA Issues New Rules To Protect Neighborhoods Near Manufacturing Facilities That Release Airborne Toxins

Scientists Warn Argentina Faces Rising Risk Of Dengue Epidemic

Simultaneous Vaccination Against Flu, RSV Safe For Patients At High Risk For HF, Study Finds

FDA Approves Dolutegravir/Lamivudine For Adolescents With HIV-1 Infection

Patients With MDR Bacterial Infections Face Higher Mortality Risk During Weaning From Invasive Mechanical Ventilation, Study Finds

Hydrocortisone Plus Fludrocortisone Reduces Mortality Risk Among Patients With Septic Shock And Community-Acquired Pneumonia, Study Finds

CDC Urges Clinicians To Look Out For H5N1 Bird Flu Infections Among Dairy Farm Workers

Middle-Aged People Living With HIV More Likely To Have Early Signs Of Heart Disease, Study Finds

Study Finds Most Patients With All-Cause And Norovirus-Associated Acute Gastroenteritis Had Only One Healthcare Encounter

Cefoxitin Monotherapy Noninferior To Traditional Antimicrobial Therapy For Treating Intra-Amniotic Infections, Study Finds

States That Loosened Restrictions On Medicaid Access To HCV Drugs Saw Increase In Number Of Patients Treated, Study Finds

FDA Facing Backlash Over Approval Of Genetic Test To Determine Opioid Use Disorder Risk

Animal Health Official Warns Widening Avian Flu Spread Raises Infection Risks For Humans