Healthcare & Laboratory News

Reuters (9/14, Biryabarema) reported a Ugandan health official on Saturday said the number of mpox infections in the country has risen to 10, with all patients carrying the more transmissible clade 1b strain of the virus. Clinicians already have treated and discharged six of the 10 patients. Reuters added, “The World Health Organization declared the recent outbreak of the disease a public health emergency in mid-August after the new variant was identified.”

Infectious Disease Advisor (9/13, Basilio) reported, “Monovalent XBB.1.5, the updated COVID-19 vaccine for the 2023 to 2024 season, provides protection against XBB and JN lineage hospitalization,” study results show. However, immune escape may attenuate “protection against the JN lineage, according to” the findings published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

MedPage Today (9/13, Kahn) reported new research shows that “in 2022, none of the 5 quality-of-life (QoL) goals set by the US National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) were met for adults with HIV ages 50 or older, and if the trend continues, it’s unlikely 2025 NHAS goals will be met either.” Rates of patients “reporting good or better health, as well as reductions in rates of unmet needs for mental health services, unemployment, hunger or food insecurity, and unstable housing, fell short of changes needed to achieve 2025 NHAS goals, according to” the CDC data published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Rheumatology Advisor (9/13, Maitlall) reported, “Certain autoantibodies were significantly associated with neuropsychiatric (NP) manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), emphasizing their utility for accurately diagnosing and managing this complex condition,” study results show. In a study of 945 patients with SLE, researchers found, for example, that “anti-β2-glycoprotein 1 antibodies were associated with psychosis.” The findings were published in Clinical Rheumatology.

The New York Times (9/13, Nolen) reported the WHO on Friday authorized the “first vaccine to protect against mpox, a decision announced in such haste...that it caught even the head of the company that makes the vaccine by surprise.” The organization previously “defended its slow pace of review” of Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos vaccine, “saying that it needed to subject the vaccine to careful study.” However, “on Friday morning, the WHO suddenly said it was authorizing the shot.” Reuters (9/13, Mishra, Rigby) said the WHO and partners on Friday also established “a scheme to help bring mpox vaccines, tests and treatments to the most vulnerable people in the world’s poorest countries, similar to efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, after earlier approving the first shot for the fast-spreading disease.” The steps should ease access to the vaccine as mpox spreads. The Hill (9/13, O'Connell-Domenech) reported, “Bavarian Nordic said its vaccine has been cleared for the immunization against smallpox, mpox and related orthopoxvirus in adults 18 and older.”

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The AP (9/12, Stobbe) reports CDC officials “on Thursday said they don’t know how a Missouri person caught bird flu but believe it may be a rare instance of a ‘one-off’ standalone illness.” CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Nirav Shah said, “Right now, evidence points to this being a one-off case.” According to the AP, CDC officials also “said the risk to the general public remains low. The Missouri case raised questions about the possibility of human-to-human bird flu transmission, but officials said there is no evidence of other people being infected.” Reuters (9/12, Douglas, Steenhuysen) reports the investigation into the infection’s origin remains ongoing.

Infectious Disease Advisor (9/12, Basilio) reports, “Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) and catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) are associated with increased risk of mortality and prolonged hospitalization,” investigators concluded in a meta-analysis of 36 studies. The research was published in the Journal of Hospital Infection.

Gastroenterology Advisor (9/12, Khaja) reports, “Serum CA 19-9 levels are ineffective in distinguishing between autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), posing challenges in differentiating these conditions even with advanced diagnostic techniques, which may lead to unnecessary pancreatic resection, according to” researchers who “assessed 368 studies.” The results were published in BMC Gastroenterology.

The Washington Post (9/12, Johnson) reports that as the World Health Organization carries out a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza, the threat of polio to the US “is only in communities that have low vaccination levels. This was the case in July 2022, when New York announced that an unvaccinated man in Rockland County had contracted the first case of polio in nearly a decade.” Still, the Post adds, “as public pushback against vaccines has grown in recent years, scientists are concerned a polio outbreak would be more difficult to contain.”