Healthcare & Laboratory News

ABC News (4/1, Kekatos) reports the measles outbreak in western Texas has reached 422 cases as of Tuesday, with 22 new cases confirmed over the last five days. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, “almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown.” Children and teens between ages 5 to 17 “make up the majority of cases at 169, followed by children ages 4 and under at 141.” Meanwhile, Reuters (4/1) adds that New Mexico “reported four additional measles cases from March 28, taking the total to 48 in the state, its health department said.” Oklahoma reported an additional case since its last report on Friday, raising the state’s total to 10 cases. The CDC recently “said there were a total of 483 confirmed measles cases in the country as of March 27, more than last year’s nationwide count of 285.”

Healio (3/31, Stulpin) reported a study found that “clostridioides difficile isolates with reduced fidaxomicin susceptibility may emerge during treatment and could spread to other patients.” Researchers found that “of 108 patients treated with fidaxomicin, six had isolates with reduced fidaxomicin susceptibility three achieved clinical cure with fidaxomicin, two had clinical failure and one refractory CDI.” In addition, they “noted that none of the isolates with reduced susceptibility had mutations associated with rifamycin resistance and that all were susceptible to vancomycin, rifampin, moxifloxacin and erythromycin.” Researchers concluded, “Clinicians should be aware that reduced susceptibility should be considered as a potential contributor to fidaxomicin treatment failure.” The study was published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Healio (4/1, Southall) reports data show that “sick workers contaminating food with foodborne germs led to the majority of viral outbreaks across the U.S. between 2014 and 2022.” Researchers identified “food temperatures that led to germ growth and survival...as the most common food worker practice associated with bacterial outbreaks.” The results “showed an increase in the proportion of bacterial outbreaks from 41.9% from 2014 to 2016 to 48.4% from 2020 to 2022, but a decrease in the proportion of viral outbreaks from 33.3% to 23.2% during these times.” In conclusion, the researchers encouraged restaurant managers to “play an important role in reducing these practices that contribute to outbreaks,” such as establishing clear policies “on managing sick workers” and training employees “about proper temperature control of food.” The data were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

MedPage Today (4/1, George) reports, “A novel plasma-based assay was more strongly associated with tau tangle pathology in Alzheimer’s disease than other established blood biomarkers, researchers said.” This “assay measured a new plasma tau species known as endogenously cleaved, microtubule-binding region containing residue 243 (MTBR-tau243), which specifically reflected tau tangle pathology.” The investigators found that “plasma MTBR-tau243 was associated with tau PET binding...and cognitive performance...outperforming other markers like phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) and p-tau205.” MedPage Today adds, “The assay was tested in three cohorts. It distinguished between early- versus later-stage Alzheimer’s disease and separated Alzheimer’s disease from non-Alzheimer’s tauopathies.” The findings were published in Nature Medicine.

Infectious Disease Advisor (3/31, McSwiggin) reports a study suggests that “patients with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) may be at increased risk for severe outcomes when infected with COVID-19, highlighting the need to prioritize infection prevention and vaccination efforts in this population.” Researchers found that “patients in the PWS group were hospitalized longer than those in the non-PWS group (median, 6 vs 5 days) and exhibited higher rates of ventilator use (18.6% vs 11.8%) and obesity (47.5% vs 28.4%).” Additionally, they noted “in-hospital mortality was less common among patients with vs without PWS (8.5% vs 12.8%), but the median age at death was lower for those with PWS (30 vs 72 years). Patients in the PWS group also had higher total hospital charges (median, $64,804 vs $47,846).” Results from the study were published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A.

Reuters (3/31, Godoy) reports the Federal Trade Commission has expressed concern “about the potential sale or transfer of Americans’ personal information by 23andMe ancestry testing company which recently filed for bankruptcy.” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a letter to the US trustee “that any purchaser of 23andMe assets should agree to be bound by the company’s existing privacy policy.” Officials including California Attorney General Rob Bonta “had questioned what would happen to the genetic data collected by 23andMe” since filing for bankruptcy protection on March 23 “amid weak demand for its ancestry testing kits. It has said the bankruptcy process will not affect how it stores, manages or protects customer data.”

HCPlive (3/31, Smith) reports, “Psoriasis is potentially associated with metabolic disorders, new findings suggest, and resistin may provide a biomarker for disease severity.” Researchers “noted that an increase in markers can suggest inflammatory processes among patients that point to the risk of conditions accompanying psoriatic disease.” The study found “that children with psoriasis were shown to have higher serum levels of resistin, homocysteine, leptin, and pentraxin 3.” They concluded that in the “study, the levels of the analyzed biomarkers in” patients with psoriasis “were not related to body weight, which implies that psoriasis without accompanying obesity may be an independent risk factor for systemic inflammation.” However, they said, “resistin, in particular, appeared to be a potential marker of psoriasis severity, which could be used for monitoring disease progression. However, this relationship requires further investigation.” The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine.

Infectious Disease Advisor (3/31) reports a study found that “a focused effort to ensure equitable and timely access to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines is needed to increase uptake among infants and high-risk pediatric patients in the United States.” Researchers “evaluated RSV immunization coverage among pregnant individuals and infants” and determined the highest maternal RSVpreF vaccine uptake “was observed among patients who identified as non-Hispanic other Asian or Pacific Islander (25.5%), those aged 30 to 44 years (58.8%), and those with private insurance at the time of delivery (21.1%).” In regard to infant immunization coverage, “those born to parents who identified as non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native and those with Medicare or BadgerCare insurance at the time of delivery showed the highest vaccine uptake (20.3% and 19.5%, respectively).” Results from the study were published in Vaccine.

Healio (3/28, Feller) reported a study found that “ensitrelvir reduced transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by 67% when given to uninfected household contacts of a person with COVID-19 within 3 days of that person developing symptoms.” The FDA “granted ensitrelvir fast-track designation as a COVID-19 therapeutic in 2023 and an additional fast-track designation earlier this year for use as post-exposure prophylaxis.” Researchers concluded, “The ensitrelvir post-exposure prophylactic reductions in COVID-19 events within households suggest a potential for protection in other settings where there is virus transmission, such as outbreaks in acute- or long-term care facilities.” The study was presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.

The AP (3/28, Shastri) reported that at least five states “have active measles outbreaks as of Friday, and Texas’ is the largest with 400 cases.” Already, the US has “more measles cases this year than in all of 2024, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said. Other states with outbreaks – defined as three or more cases – include New Mexico, Kansas, Ohio and Oklahoma.” The new outbreaks “confirm health experts’ fears that the virus will take hold in other U.S. communities with low vaccination rates and that the spread could stretch on for a year.” The World Health Organization also “said...cases in Mexico are linked to the Texas outbreak.” Reuters (3/28, Roy, Sunny, Singh, Steenhuysen, Beasley) reported that experts have “warned that declining U.S. vaccination rates can make the population vulnerable to highly contagious measles.” The disease, “which can be especially serious in young children, was considered eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. But vaccination rates have since fallen, and just 80% of those in the Texas county where the outbreak began were inoculated against measles, well below the 95% needed for so-called herd immunity.” Overall, ABC News (3/29, Kekatos, Benadjaoud, Salzman) reported the CDC “has so far confirmed 483 measles cases this year in at least 19 states: Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Washington. This is likely an undercount due to delays in states reporting cases to the federal health agency.”