Healthcare & Laboratory News

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HealthDay (7/31, Mundell) reports a study found that “a single shot of gene therapy given to newborn monkeys appears to shield them from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, for at least three years.” Researchers noted that the findings hinge “on the notion that in the first few weeks of a primate’s life – humans are primates, too – the body’s immune system is naturally more tolerant of ‘invaders,’ including gene therapies.” Nevertheless, it is unclear if it will work in human infants “since it’s possible infants might be less amenable than monkeys to therapies that are delivered via AAV, the team said. The monkey trial also used only one strain of simian-human immunodeficiency virus, which is similar in some ways to HIV but may not reflect the variety of circulating strains of HIV strains.” The study was published in Nature.

The AP (7/31, Stobbe) reports new CDC data posted Thursday show that US kindergarten vaccination rates “inched down again last year and the share of children with exemptions rose to an all-time high.” Data show that “the fraction of kids exempted from vaccine requirements rose to 4.1%, up from 3.7% the year before. It’s the third record-breaking year in a row for the exemption rate, and the vast majority are parents withholding shots for nonmedical reasons. Meanwhile, 92.5% of 2024-25 kindergartners got their required measles-mumps-rubella shots, down slightly from the previous year.” Reuters (7/31, Levine, Erman) reports an HHS spokesman said the data showed a “majority” of children continue to get routine childhood immunizations, and that vaccination remains the most effective way to protect children from measles and whooping cough. He said, “The decision to vaccinate is a personal one. Parents should consult their healthcare providers on options for their families.” NBC News (7/31, Edwards) also provides coverage.

ABC News (7/31, Haworth) reports health officials confirmed Thursday that “one person is dead and at least 22 people have become sick from a Legionnaires’ disease cluster in New York City since last Friday.” The New York City Health Department provided an update “into its investigation of a community cluster of Legionnaires’ disease in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City and the surrounding communities.” They advised people “who have been in the affected area since late July with flu-like symptoms, fever, cough, or difficulty breathing should seek immediate medical attention.” USA Today (7/31, Khan) adds that the “risk to most people is low, and the disease is not contagious, the agency said. Some people, including those older than 50, smokers or those with a weakened immune system, are at higher risk for the disease.” According to NYC Health, “the likely source of the bacteria causing the Legionnaires’ cluster is a cooling tower in the area. Cooling towers, which are water systems typically found on the top of buildings, spray mist that can contain the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, the agency said.”

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The New York Times (7/30, Isai) reports Canada’s public health agency “has recorded about 4,200 measles cases this year, more than three times as many as the 1,300 cases recorded in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” Health officials in Alberta, “a hot spot for the outbreak, have urged the provincial leader to declare a public health emergency to stave off infections.” The western province “has recorded about 1,600 cases.”

Infectious Disease Advisor (7/30, Nye) reports a study found that “detectable resistance to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in individuals with HIV infection is associated with lower CD4+ count, increased risk for opportunistic infections, higher economic burden, and greater hospitalization frequency.” Researchers observed that “patients with detectable RAMs or major RAMs had significantly lower rates of HIV viral suppression when compared with those with no ART resistance (4.2% and 2.0% vs 13.9%, respectively). They also had significantly lower median CD4+ counts within 60 days of index resistance testing, as well as significantly higher rates of CD4+ counts below 200 cells/mm3. Further analysis showed opportunistic infections were significantly more common among patients with any RAMs than in those without RAMs.” Patients without detectable ART resistance also “showed lower rates of hospital admission relative to those with any or major RAMs.” The study was published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

HealthDay (7/30, Gotkine) reports a study found that “nirsevimab is effective for protecting infants against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-associated lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD).” For the study, the researchers “identified 35 and 462 RSV LRTD episodes among nirsevimab-immunized infants and nonimmunized infants. Nirsevimab effectiveness was 87.2, 98.0, and 71.0 percent against RSV LRTD, hospitalized RSV LRTD, and PCR-confirmed RSV, respectively. Fewer encounters and lower odds of hospitalization were seen for nirsevimab-immunized infants with RSV LRTD than nonimmunized infants.” The study was published in Pediatrics.

USA Today (7/30, Rodriguez) reports a study published in Nature found that “respiratory viruses, such as the flu and COVID-19, may be able to ‘wake up’ dormant cancer cells in patients who have a history of cancer.” The researchers “tested this hypothesis in mice that contained disseminated cancer cells, which are cells that have broken away from the primary tumor and spread to other organs, where they remain dormant. They exposed the mice to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, or the influenza viruses. In both cases, the infections triggered inflammation that awakened the dormant cells located in the lungs.” According to USA Today, the study “builds on previous studies from 2020 that found COVID-19 doubled patients’ risk of dying from cancer.”