Healthcare & Laboratory News

Healio (6/23) reports that the FDA has approved a generic version of Priftin (rifapentine) to treat patients with “two types of tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, marking the first generic of this drug, according to an agency notice.” The agency “outlined that the generic of Priftin (rifapentine) is for patients aged 12 years and older with active pulmonary TB and for patients aged 2 years and older with latent tuberculosis infection at high risk for progression to TB disease.”

Pulmonology Advisor (6/23, Stong) reports, “COVID-19 infection is associated with a significantly increased risk for subsequent development of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, food and medication allergies, urticaria, and atopic dermatitis (AD) in children and adults, according to study findings.” Investigators came to this conclusion after conducting a retrospective cohort analysis that “assessed development of allergy- or atopy-associated sequelae after COVID-19 infection using data of TRICARE beneficiaries aged 64 years and younger from the TRICARE Management Activity’s Military Health System Data Repository (MDR) from July 2018 to December 2022.” The findings were published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Reuters (6/23, Sunny, Mahatole, Rigby) reports the US “has provided doses of an experimental antibody drug from Mapp Biopharmaceutical for use in clinical trials to fight the widening Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo, a Health Department spokesperson said.” The HHS spokesperson “declined to comment on the number of doses it will provide, saying by email that the drug is being made available for compassionate use in Congo as well as to advance a clinical trial in the outbreak region.” The spokesperson also indicated that the trial data could assist with informing possible US approval. Meanwhile, the New York Times (6/23, Mandavilli) reports that clinicians treating patients with Ebola in the DRC “say the symptoms may be milder than in previous outbreaks of the disease.” There is not enough data yet to be sure, though an evaluation “by the ministry of health in Congo suggests that about 90 percent of patients do not seem to develop the extensive internal and external bleeding that can arise in the disease’s horrific end stages, according to Dr. Marie-Roseline Belizaire, who leads the World Health Organization’s response to the outbreak.”

Infectious Disease Advisor (6/22, Khaja) reports, “Candidemia incidence and 30-day mortality increased in the United States between 2015 and 2024, with a concurrent rise in Candida auris infections and antifungal resistance among select Candida species,” results published in Clinical Infectious Diseases show. Researchers in the retrospective cohort study “additionally found increasing fluconazole resistance among C parapsilosis and C tropicalis isolates over the study period. Fluconazole resistance in C parapsilosis increased from 2.5% in 2015 to 10.8% in 2024 (P =.02), while resistance among C tropicalis isolates rose from 6.2% to 18.1% (P =.03).”

The AP (6/22, Kabumba, Same Bagalwa) reports confirmed Ebola cases “in eastern Congo have reached 1,003, including 254 deaths, officials said, as tracing those who had been in contact with patients remains a major challenge.” A total of 100 individuals “have recovered in the outbreak concentrated in the Ituri province since it was declared on May 15, Congo’s Ministry of Health said Sunday. At least 365 patients are in hospitals or in isolation, it said.” Health workers also are “yet to identify the outbreak’s patient zero and still need to trace more than 35,000 people who have come in contact with infected individuals as of last week, authorities said.” Meanwhile, The Hill (6/22, Fields) says, “Health workers fear that a displacement camp in Ituri filled with 20,000 people will soon become a breeding ground for the virus.”

Infectious Disease Advisor (6/22, Khaja) reports, “Individuals with HIV experience a substantial burden of diabetes, with antiretroviral therapy (ART) exposure and longer treatment duration associated with a higher incidence of the metabolic condition, according to study results.” In order “to better characterize diabetes risk among individuals with HIV, researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating incident diabetes and prediabetes in adults with HIV,” while also assessing “differences in diabetes incidence according to HIV status, ART exposure, and ART duration.” The findings were published in HIV Medicine.

Reuters (6/18, Santhosh, Sunny, Erman) reports the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee “on Thursday backed approval of Moderna’s flu vaccine for adults aged ‌50 and older, saying its benefits outweigh its risks, boosting the company’s chances of launching the first mRNA-based seasonal flu shot.” The Hill (6/18, Weixel) reports, “According to company data, Moderna’s vaccine reduced flu cases by about 27 percent compared with those from the standard dose vaccine in adults 50 and older.” Meanwhile, “in a smaller study of people ages 65 and older, the mRNA shot generated a strong protective immune response compared with an existing high-dose flu vaccine already recommended for that age group.”

The New York Times (6/19, Zimmer) reports the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) “is spending $150 million to create what it calls ‘an immune system for every building,’” a system “that one day might serve to protect children in day care from airborne pathogens.” Researchers said a prototype of the system can quickly detect 10 allergens and diseases in a building’s air, including influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and E. coli. The Times says ARPA-H “researchers hope their sensor will detect up to 100 pathogens. They’re also building software that can recognize when the sensor signals mean that occupants are at high risk of getting infected.”

Politico (6/18, Paun) reports the US “has decided to start phasing out HIV funding for South Africa following the country’s ‘failure to make demonstrable progress on policy requests by the administration,’ a State Department official told POLITICO on Thursday.” The funding drawdown “is from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief – PEPFAR – of which South Africa has been a top beneficiary. The country has the highest number of people living with HIV in the world: around 7.8 million, according to the latest World Health Organization data.”

Reuters (6/18, Kingimi) reports Nigeria’s Borno state is facing a rapidly-spreading cholera outbreak, with more than 12,000 infected and at least 90 fatalities, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The organization on Thursday said the death toll has risen from 74 since the outbreak first began in early May. Reuters adds that aid agencies are “scaling up treatment, surveillance and access to clean water to support government efforts to contain the outbreak.”