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Mali Health Official Estimates More Than 20 Deaths From Dengue Fever

The AP (12/6, Ahmed) reports, “Authorities say dengue fever is on the rise in Mali, posing a new threat to the West African nation struggling with extremist attacks and political turbulence.” The country’s director general of health and public hygiene “told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday that his department had counted 21 deaths and 600 cases of the disease as of Monday.”

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Bluetooth Low-Energy-Based Contact-Tracing System Successfully Identified Potential COVID-19 Contacts, Providing Specific Additional Data, Study Finds

Healio (12/6, Stulpin) reports, “A Bluetooth low-energy-based contact-tracing system successfully identified potential COVID-19 contacts, providing specific additional data including location, date and cumulative contact time, researchers found.” The findings were published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

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Organ Transplant Patients Impacted By CMS Decision On Lifesaving Blood Tests

USA Today (12/5, Cuevas) reports that a recent CMS decision “has a chilling effect across the health care industry,” causing some to lose out on simple blood tests for organ transplant patients. Medical experts and patient advocates say the limits “put transplant patients at immediate risk, particularly low-income people and people of color who face existing barriers to access to care.” Meanwhile, “transplant surgeons told USA TODAY the change makes it more difficult to have successful, long-term outcomes for patients.”

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Study Supports Wider Use Of Germline Genetic Testing In Patients With Lung Cancer, Researchers Say

Cancer Therapy Advisor (12/5, Lawrence) reports “results of a new study support wider use of germline genetic testing in patients with lung cancer, according to researchers.” The research found “that about 1 in 7” patients with lung cancer “who underwent genetic testing had a pathogenic germline variant.” That “frequency is higher than previously reported and suggests it may be appropriate to perform germline genetic testing in all” patients with lung cancer, according to researchers. The findings were published in JCO Precision Oncology.

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P-Tau217 Outperforms Other Blood-Based Biomarkers To Identify Which Patients May Benefit Most From Anti-Amyloid Alzheimer’s Drugs, Study Shows

MedPage Today (12/5, George) reports “plasma phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) outperformed p-tau181, p-tau231, and other blood-based biomarkers to identify which patients might benefit most from anti-amyloid Alzheimer’s drugs, a cohort study showed.” The research found “plasma p-tau217 helped rule out two groups who would not likely benefit: those who were amyloid-negative, and those who were amyloid-positive but had a high tau burden.” The findings were published in JAMA Neurology.

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Clinical Outcomes Of Mpox Infection Following Treatment With Tecovirimat Similar Between Patients With HIV Infection, Those Without Immunocompromised Conditions, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (12/5, Chan) reports, “Clinical outcomes of mpox infection following treatment with tecovirimat are similar between patients with HIV infection and those without immunocompromised conditions,” according to a study. The findings were published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

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Mpox Response In Democratic Republic Of Congo Hindered By Stigma, Regulatory Hurdles, Officials Say

Reuters (12/5, Rigby) reports, “Vaccines and treatments that could help tackle an mpox epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo are lying unused outside the country despite a death rate far higher than from the global outbreak that began last year.” The article adds, “Stigma, regulatory hurdles and competing disease outbreaks are all factors holding back the response, according to almost a dozen scientists, public health officials and drugmakers involved.”

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WHO Says Disease, Illness May Be Growing Threat In Gaza Amid Israel-Hamas Conflict

CNN (12/4, Howard) reports, “As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues, there’s growing concern about how the situation may raise the risk of disease and illness in Gaza.” According to a warning from the World Health Organization, indirect health impacts of conflict “are mainly caused by the destruction of civilian infrastructure, which provides food, water, shelter and health care, as well as by forced displacement.” These impacts can include “cases of infectious gastrointestinal diseases such as cholera ... and contagious respiratory disorders such as measles, tuberculosis and Covid-19.”

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Adjunctive Systemic Corticosteroid Therapy Associated With Reduced All-Cause Mortality Among Patients Hospitalized With Community-Acquired Pneumonia, Study Shows

Infectious Disease Advisor (12/4, Kuhns) reports, “Adjunctive systemic corticosteroid therapy is associated with reduced all-cause mortality among patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia,” according to a study. The findings were published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

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Multiple African Countries Authorize Vaginal Ring For HIV Prevention In Adults

Healio (12/4, Feller) reports, “The dapivirine vaginal ring, a long-acting form of HIV prevention, has been licensed for use in 11 sub-Saharan African nations,” according to the Population Council. The flexible silicon ring “has been approved or authorized for adults in Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and is available...through implementation and pilot studies in six of these countries...according to” the organization.

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Prescriptions For HIV PrEP Increased Among Adolescents From 2018 To 2021, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (12/4, Kuhns) reports, “The number of prescriptions for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among adolescent patients increased from 2018 to 2021.” According to a study, “prescriptions for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis increased...primarily in older, male adolescent patients.” The findings were published in Pediatrics.

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Genetic Testing Should Be Component Of Diagnostic Evaluations For Adult Patients With Epilepsy, Research Suggests

Healio (12/3, Herpen) reports “genetic testing, which is likely to identify underlying genetic causes for the condition, should be a component of diagnostic evaluations for adult patients with epilepsy, according to new research.” The study found 36.4% of “patients’ genetic tests yielded pathogenic variants related to epilepsy, with the most common variants being mutations in TSC2 (15.4%), SCN1A (8.8%), TBC1D24, and TSC1 (4.4% each).” The findings were presented at the American Epilepsy Society annual meeting.

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Study Reveals Mediators Of Persistent HIV Viremia

Pharmacy Times (12/1, McGovern) reported a study “uncovered mediators of persistent HIV viremia.” The study found that non-suppressible HIV viremia (NSV) “is primarily composed of 1 to 2 large plasma viral clones that are made of greater than 70% of plasma viruses.” Furthermore, “the viral clones act as the primary driver of NSV across multiple longitudinal time points; however, evidence did not confirm plasma viral sequence changes and evolution.” The findings were published in Nature Medicine.

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Variants Of SYNGAP1 Gene May Increase Risk Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Study Suggests

Pharmacy Times (12/1, Hunter) reported, “Variants of the SYNGAP1 gene may increase the risk of developing autism spectrum disorder,” according to a study. The research suggests “that the disease-causing gene variation can disrupt the early development of the brain’s cortex, expanding on the previous notion that synapse malfunction was the only factor associated with autistic traits.” The findings were published in Nature Neuroscience.

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Prone Positioning May Not Benefit Patients With ARDS Weaning Off ECMO, Study Finds

MedPage Today (12/1, Short) reported, “Early application of prone positioning did not help patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome – mostly from COVID – get off venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation any faster compared to supine positioning, a randomized trial found.” The findings were published in JAMA. Healio (12/1, Hornick) also covered the story.

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RSV, Flu Vaccine Safe For Older Adults When Given Together, Study Finds

Healio (12/1, Stulpin) reports, “When given together, Pfizer’s respiratory syncytial virus vaccine and the seasonal influenza vaccine generated robust immune responses and were well tolerated among older adults when coadministered, data from a recent study showed.” Additionally, “the study also showed that immune responses to both Pfizer’s RSV vaccine and the seasonal influenza vaccine were noninferior when the vaccines were given at the same time compared with when the vaccines were given 1 month apart.” The findings were published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

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CDC Says Flu Cases Rising As RSV Infections Fade

The AP (12/1, Stobbe) reported the CDC announced that “flu is picking up steam while RSV lung infections that can hit kids and older people hard may be peaking.” The agency “is also looking into reports of pneumonia outbreaks in children in two states,” although COVID-19 “continues to cause the most hospitalizations and deaths among respiratory illnesses – about 15,000 hospitalizations and about 1,000 deaths every week.”

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Climate Change Cited For Worldwide Uptick In Malaria Cases

The New York Times (11/30, Nolen) reports, “There were an estimated 249 million cases of malaria around the globe last year, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, significantly more than before the Covid-19 pandemic and an increase of five million over 2021.” According to the organization, “those new cases were concentrated in just five countries: Pakistan, Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia and Papua-New Guinea.” A WHO official noted that “climate change was a direct contributor in three of them.” Reuters (11/30, Jain, Rigby) reports that progress towards the WHO’s target of 26.2 cases per 1,000 people who are deemed to be at risk by 2025 “is 55% off track ... and will be missed by 89% this year if the trajectory persists.”

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WHO Elevates COVID-19 Strain BA.2.86 To “Variant Of Interest”

CNN (11/29, Goodman) reports, “The World Health Organization has notched up the status of the coronavirus strain BA.2.86 and its offshoots, naming it a ‘variant of interest,’ although the organization says the current risk from this family of viruses appears to be low.” The agency “also has XBB.1.5, XBB.1.6 and EG.5 classified as variants of interest,” although “there are no current variants of concern, the highest designation.”

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Increased Uptake Of Hepatitis A Vaccines May Be Needed To Maintain Progress In Prevention Of HAV-Associated Mortality, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (11/30, Kuhns) reports, “Interventions to increase uptake of vaccination against hepatitis A virus infection are needed to maintain progress that has been made in the prevention of HAV-associated mortality,” according to a study. Notably, “drug use was the most common risk factor for HAV infection and documented in 41% of outbreak-associated deaths,” while “16% of outbreak-associated deaths were among individuals who had experienced homelessness or unstable housing.” The findings were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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Mali Health Official Estimates More Than 20 Deaths From Dengue Fever

Bluetooth Low-Energy-Based Contact-Tracing System Successfully Identified Potential COVID-19 Contacts, Providing Specific Additional Data, Study Finds

Organ Transplant Patients Impacted By CMS Decision On Lifesaving Blood Tests

Study Supports Wider Use Of Germline Genetic Testing In Patients With Lung Cancer, Researchers Say

P-Tau217 Outperforms Other Blood-Based Biomarkers To Identify Which Patients May Benefit Most From Anti-Amyloid Alzheimer’s Drugs, Study Shows

Clinical Outcomes Of Mpox Infection Following Treatment With Tecovirimat Similar Between Patients With HIV Infection, Those Without Immunocompromised Conditions, Study Finds

Mpox Response In Democratic Republic Of Congo Hindered By Stigma, Regulatory Hurdles, Officials Say

WHO Says Disease, Illness May Be Growing Threat In Gaza Amid Israel-Hamas Conflict

Adjunctive Systemic Corticosteroid Therapy Associated With Reduced All-Cause Mortality Among Patients Hospitalized With Community-Acquired Pneumonia, Study Shows

Multiple African Countries Authorize Vaginal Ring For HIV Prevention In Adults

Prescriptions For HIV PrEP Increased Among Adolescents From 2018 To 2021, Study Finds

Genetic Testing Should Be Component Of Diagnostic Evaluations For Adult Patients With Epilepsy, Research Suggests

Study Reveals Mediators Of Persistent HIV Viremia

Variants Of SYNGAP1 Gene May Increase Risk Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Study Suggests

Prone Positioning May Not Benefit Patients With ARDS Weaning Off ECMO, Study Finds

RSV, Flu Vaccine Safe For Older Adults When Given Together, Study Finds

CDC Says Flu Cases Rising As RSV Infections Fade

Climate Change Cited For Worldwide Uptick In Malaria Cases

WHO Elevates COVID-19 Strain BA.2.86 To “Variant Of Interest”

Increased Uptake Of Hepatitis A Vaccines May Be Needed To Maintain Progress In Prevention Of HAV-Associated Mortality, Study Finds