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Wastewater Testing Effective At Detecting Mpox, Study Finds

The AP (1/18, Stobbe) reports, “Wastewater testing does a good job at detecting mpox infections, U.S. health officials said in a report Thursday that bolsters a push to use sewage to track more diseases.” CDC researchers “found that over the course of a week, there was a 32% likelihood the tests would detect the presence of at least one person infected with mpox in a population ranging from thousands to millions.” Notably, “the chance that the tests could detect infections rose as more people were infected.” The findings were published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Healio (1/18, Feller) reports researchers “said mpox detection in wastewater, combined with clinical cases, can help guide the public health response – and the absence of mpox in wastewater can also confirm that there is not a large outbreak.”

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Research Identifies Change In Blood Proteins In People With Long COVID

NBC News (1/18, Mantel) reports, “Scientists have identified a persistent change in a handful of blood proteins in people with long Covid that indicates that an important part of their immune system remains on high alert for months after an acute infection.” The research followed 113 patients with COVID-19 “for up to one year after they were first infected, along with 39 healthy controls.” After six months, “40 patients had developed long Covid symptoms.” In the study, “repeated blood samples turned up important differences in their blood: A group of proteins indicated that a part of the body’s immune system called the complement system remained activated long after it should have returned to normal.” The findings were published in Science. MedPage Today (1/18, George) reports blood samples from patients with long COVID “showed changes to blood serum proteins at 6 months that indicated activation of the immune system’s complement cascade, altered coagulation, and tissue injury,” the research found.

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STIs Common Among Adolescents, Younger Adults With Recently Diagnosed HIV Infection, Research Suggests

Infectious Disease Advisor (1/18, Nye) reports research found “sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are common among adolescents and younger adults with recently diagnosed HIV infection, the majority of whom are non-White and men who have sex with men.” The study also found “patients in the acute HIV group were more likely to report use of phencyclidine,” opiates, and intravenous drugs. The findings were published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

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Protein Levels In CSF May Be Used As Diagnostic Marker To Identify Presence Of Primary Progressive MS, Study Finds

Multiple Sclerosis News Today (1/17, Maia) reports, “The level of proteins called kappa free light chains in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)...may be used as a diagnostic marker to identify the presence of primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study.” Researchers found that “testing for these proteins worked just as well as that measuring oligoclonal bands, or bands of antibodies indicative of inflammation that can be seen when a patient’s CSF is analyzed in the lab.” The findings were published in Frontiers in Immunology.

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Azithromycin Fails To Prevent Infant Deaths When Provided At Routine Healthcare Visits In Burkina Faso, Trial Shows

MedPage Today (1/17, Kahn) reports, “Azithromycin did not prevent infant deaths when provided at routine healthcare visits in the West African country of Burkina Faso, a randomized controlled trial demonstrated.” The research found that “among infants who received a single oral dose of azithromycin at routine visits, 0.52% died before 6 months of age compared with 0.48% who received a placebo.” The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Healio (1/17, Weldon) reports “the evidence showed no effect of azithromycin on mortality in any of the prespecified subgroups, including subgroups defined according to age, sex and baseline weight, and no difference between the two trial groups in the incidence of adverse events.”

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Isolation Of Carbapenem/MDR A Baumannii Among Patients Admitted To ICU Tied To Prior Use Of Certain Antibiotics, Research Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (1/17, Nye) reports “isolation of carbapenem/multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii among patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) is associated with prior use of certain antibiotics, according to results of a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Data “showed that isolation of carbapenem/MDR A baumannii was associated with previous exposure to several antibiotics,” including nitroimidazoles, carbapenems, glycylcyclines, aminoglycosides, and third-generation cephalosporins. The findings were published in the Journal of Hospital Infection.

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Oral Simnotrelvir/Ritonavir Treatment Shortens COVID-19 Illness, Lowers Viral Loads, Trial Finds

MedPage Today (1/17, Kahn) reports that “with oral simnotrelvir/ritonavir treatment in a vaccinated population, COVID-19 symptoms went away about 1.5 days earlier and SARS-CoV-2 viral loads fell, a” trial found. The research found that “in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19, the median time to sustained symptom resolution was significantly shortened from 216 hours to approximately 180 hours when simnotrelvir/ritonavir was taken within 72 hours of symptom onset and continued twice daily for 5 days.” The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Gene Expression Analysis Can Help Rule Out Melanoma Among Patients With Skin Of Color, Study Finds

Healio (1/16, Forand) reports, “In patients with Fitzpatrick skin types IV through VI, gene expression analysis can help rule out melanoma, according to a poster presented at the Winter Clinical Dermatology Conference.” In the study, “the negative predictive value of the skin types I to III group was 0.9989, compared with 1 in the skin types IV to VI group. Sensitivity and specificity were also both 90% or greater in each group.”

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Survey Finds Patients’ Insurance Status, Out-Of-Pocket Expenses Figure Prominently In Oncologists’ Use Of Genomic Testing

MedPage Today (1/16, Bankhead) reports, “Patients’ insurance status and out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses figured prominently in oncologists’ use of genomic testing to guide treatment decisions, according to a national survey.” Roughly “half of the 1,049 oncologists surveyed said insurance and OOP expenses were ‘very important’ considerations, and another 30% said the factors were ‘somewhat important.’” The findings were published in JCO Oncology Practice.

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Study Outlines Independent Risk Factors For Catheter-Associated UTIs Among Older Adult Inpatients

Infectious Disease Advisor (1/16, Barowski) reports, “Among older adult inpatients, independent risk factors for catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) include moderate to severe dependence on others for self-care, diabetes, malnutrition, prolonged hospitalization, male sex, and advanced age.” These findings were published in BMC Infectious Diseases.

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Study Finds Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir Did Not Reduce Risk For Long COVID

Healio (1/16, Feller) reports, “Paxlovid [nirmatrelvir/ritonavir] did not reduce the risk for long COVID among vaccinated, nonhospitalized people who received it within a month of their first SARS-CoV-2 infection, a study showed.” In a study published in the Journal of Medical Virology, “roughly 16% of patients treated with Paxlovid experienced long COVID compared with 14% of patients not treated with Paxlovid.”

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Ravgen Wins $57M Verdict In Genetic-Testing Lawsuit

Reuters (1/16, Brittain) reports, “Genetic-testing company Natera must pay Maryland biotech company Ravgen $57 million in damages for infringing one of Ravgen’s patents, a jury in Austin, Texas, said on Tuesday.” While “the jury agreed with Ravgen that Austin-based Natera’s Panorama prenatal screening tests violate Ravgen’s patent rights in cell-free DNA testing technology,” Natera said in a statement that the award was “significantly less than the $410 million Ravgen was seeking.”

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Risk Associated With SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination, Guillain-Barré Syndrome Is Slight, Analysis Finds

MedPage Today (1/16, George) reports, “Risk associated with SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) – or possibly with Bell’s palsy – is slight and shouldn’t change vaccine recommendations, reviewers concluded.” An analysis of almost 70 “papers on neuro-immunologic disease and COVID vaccines showed that 11 studies specifically assessed relationships with GBS.” Ten of those “studies found links between GBS and the adenoviral vector vaccines from Johnson & Johnson or AstraZeneca.” One paper “also reported an association between GBS and Pfizer’s BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine (Comirnaty).” The findings were published in JAMA Neurology.

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CDC Data Indicate Slight Downtick In Flu Cases For The First Week Of January, But Experts Warn Flu Season Far From Over

CNN (1/12, McPhillips) reported, “The United States started the new year awash in respiratory illness, with high levels of flu, Covid-19 and RSV across most of the country.” CDC data “notes that some measures of flu activity dipped in early January, but the single week of decrease is not a trend – and experts warn that more increases are likely to come.” NBC News (1/12, Edwards) reported, “The latest numbers are from the first week in January, and may simply reflect that schools were closed and that people tend to be less likely to see their doctor over the holidays.”

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JN.1 Variant Driving New Wave Of COVID-19 In US

NBC News (1/13, Syal) reported, “The U.S. is currently in the midst of a Covid wave, fueled by the JN.1 variant that’s driving up hospitalizations and deaths across the country.” However, for most people, “the new variant doesn’t seem to be causing worse symptoms.” The article discussed whether current at-home tests work against the new variant, and who should be most vigilant.

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Linezolid Inferior To Penicillin In The Treatment Of Early Syphilis, Study Finds

MedPage Today (1/12, Kahn) reported, “Linezolid failed to meet noninferiority criteria when compared with standard benzathine penicillin G (BPG) in the treatment of early syphilis, according to findings of the randomized, controlled Trep-AB Study of cisgender men.” In the study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, “only 70% of trial participants with early syphilis who were treated with linezolid were cured, compared with 100% of participants treated with penicillin, reported” researchers.

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Rezafungin May Offer Early Treatment Benefit Over Caspofungin In Treating Candidemia, Invasive Candidiasis, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (1/12, Kuhns) reported, “Although rezafungin and caspofungin are equally effective against all-cause mortality due to candidemia or invasive candidiasis, rezafungin might offer an early treatment benefit with its front-loaded dosing regimen.” Findings from this study were published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

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Public Health Officials Say Low Flu, COVID Vaccination Rates Putting Pressure On Hospitals

Reuters (1/12, Rigby, Steenhuysen) reported, “Low vaccination rates against the latest versions of COVID-19 and influenza are putting pressure on healthcare systems this winter, leading public health officials told Reuters.” Around the world, “there have been reports of rising hospitalizations linked to respiratory infections in recent weeks. Death rates have also ticked up among older adults in some regions, but far below the COVID pandemic peak.”

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Overuse Of Antifungal Skin Medications May Be Contributing To Rise In Drug-Resistant Infections, CDC Report Indicates

HealthDay (1/11, Mundell) reports, “U.S. doctors are prescribing antifungal creams to patients with skin complaints at rates so high they could be contributing to the rise of drug-resistant infections, new research shows.” Looking at 2021 Medicare Part D data, the CDC “found that 6.5 million prescriptions for creams containing antifungals ... were prescribed that year.” Healio (1/11, Gallagher) reports, “Primary care physicians prescribed 40% of topical antifungals – 2.6 million prescriptions overall – but ranked third among all specialties with 12.3 prescriptions written per [clinician].” Meanwhile, “dermatologists had the highest rate of prescribing topical antifungals at 87.1 prescriptions written per [clinician], followed by podiatrists (67.2).” The findings were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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Study Finds Wide Variety Of Pathogenic Bacteria Found On Hospital Surfaces, Despite Compliance With Disinfection Protocols

MedPage Today (1/11, Kahn) reports, “A wide variety of commonplace and unusual pathogenic bacteria were found on hospital surfaces in one Texas hospital, despite compliance with recommended disinfection protocols, a study found.” Notably, “researchers identified 60 different kinds of bacteria, including 18 well-known human pathogens, from 400 samples taken from high-touch areas during June and July 2022.” The findings were published in the American Journal of Infection Control.

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Wastewater Testing Effective At Detecting Mpox, Study Finds

Research Identifies Change In Blood Proteins In People With Long COVID

STIs Common Among Adolescents, Younger Adults With Recently Diagnosed HIV Infection, Research Suggests

Protein Levels In CSF May Be Used As Diagnostic Marker To Identify Presence Of Primary Progressive MS, Study Finds

Azithromycin Fails To Prevent Infant Deaths When Provided At Routine Healthcare Visits In Burkina Faso, Trial Shows

Isolation Of Carbapenem/MDR A Baumannii Among Patients Admitted To ICU Tied To Prior Use Of Certain Antibiotics, Research Finds

Oral Simnotrelvir/Ritonavir Treatment Shortens COVID-19 Illness, Lowers Viral Loads, Trial Finds

Gene Expression Analysis Can Help Rule Out Melanoma Among Patients With Skin Of Color, Study Finds

Survey Finds Patients’ Insurance Status, Out-Of-Pocket Expenses Figure Prominently In Oncologists’ Use Of Genomic Testing

Study Outlines Independent Risk Factors For Catheter-Associated UTIs Among Older Adult Inpatients

Study Finds Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir Did Not Reduce Risk For Long COVID

Ravgen Wins $57M Verdict In Genetic-Testing Lawsuit

Risk Associated With SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination, Guillain-Barré Syndrome Is Slight, Analysis Finds

CDC Data Indicate Slight Downtick In Flu Cases For The First Week Of January, But Experts Warn Flu Season Far From Over

JN.1 Variant Driving New Wave Of COVID-19 In US

Linezolid Inferior To Penicillin In The Treatment Of Early Syphilis, Study Finds

Rezafungin May Offer Early Treatment Benefit Over Caspofungin In Treating Candidemia, Invasive Candidiasis, Study Finds

Public Health Officials Say Low Flu, COVID Vaccination Rates Putting Pressure On Hospitals

Overuse Of Antifungal Skin Medications May Be Contributing To Rise In Drug-Resistant Infections, CDC Report Indicates

Study Finds Wide Variety Of Pathogenic Bacteria Found On Hospital Surfaces, Despite Compliance With Disinfection Protocols