Healthcare & Laboratory News

Reuters (5/2, Roy) reports, “Measles cases in Texas rose 3% to 683 over three days, the state’s health department reported on Friday, as nationwide cases of the childhood disease approach the 1,000-mark.” As of May 1, “935 confirmed measles cases were reported by 30 jurisdictions, with 12 outbreaks reported this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.” The number of cases in Gaines County, which is “the center of the outbreak, was 396, same as its last update, the Texas Department of State Health Services said.”

Infectious Disease Advisor (5/2, Nye) reported a study found that “older adults hospitalized with influenza show significantly reduced risk of mortality following treatment with oseltamivir regardless of vaccination status, including those who initiate treatment more than 48 hours after admission.” Researchers observed that “compared with no antiviral treatment, the risk of 30-day mortality was significantly reduced among patients who received oseltamivir regardless of whether administration occurred within or after 48 hours of hospital admission. However, the relationship between oseltamivir and reduced mortality was significant among only patients with influenza A and not among those with influenza B.” Researchers concluded, “Our findings confirm the effectiveness of oseltamivir in a typically underrepresented group in clinical trials, challenging hesitancy towards late antiviral treatment and emphasizing prompt intervention.” The study was published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

Infectious Disease Advisor (5/2, Basilio) reported a study found that “strategies to prevent and mitigate the risk for long COVID remain a public health priority, with the highest disease incidence observed in older adults, women, and those with preexisting conditions.” Researchers failed to observe any evidence “among adult and pediatric patients across 3 large cohorts to suggest reduced risk for long COVID over time, indicating long COVID remains an ongoing public health concern.” Across all three cohorts, “researchers noted higher long COVID risk among female vs male patients, particularly in the N3C cohort. Intensive care unit admission during the index event also consistently contributed to significantly higher long COVID risk.” Researchers concluded, “Peaks in long-COVID cases aligned with emergence of new viral variants, suggesting a potential association between viral dynamics and the development of long-COVID.” The study was published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

The AP (5/2, Stobbe) reported more US children have “died this flu season than at any time since the swine flu pandemic 15 years ago, according to a federal report released Friday.” The 216 pediatric deaths reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “eclipse the 207 reported last year” and are the “most since the 2009-2010 H1N1 global flu pandemic.” The season “has not only been hard on children. CDC officials have described it as ‘highly severe,’ and estimate that so far there have been at least 47 million illnesses, 610,000 hospitalizations and 26,000 deaths this season.”

Abstract Not Available

Abstract Not Available

Abstract Not Available

CNN (4/30, Tirrell) reported that HHS “said it will require that all new vaccines be tested in placebo-controlled trials before they’re licensed for use, raising urgent questions about the system used to clear updated Covid-19 boosters each respiratory virus season.” The FDA usually selects strains for updated COVID-19 vaccines in June so they can be ready by the fall. Experts fear that “requiring placebo-controlled trials before clearing new versions – which could involve enrolling participants, giving some the vaccine and some a placebo shot, and waiting some period of time to assess safety and efficacy – would delay availability of updated Covid shots by months, putting vulnerable people at risk.” NBC News (5/1, Lovelace Jr.) reports the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee is “expected to meet in May or June to make a recommendation on which strains should be included in the next round of shots.” If the agency “deems Pfizer’s and Moderna’s updated vaccines ‘new’ products, requiring fresh trials, it’s extremely unlikely the doses would be ready for the fall, experts said.” The Hill (5/1, O'Connell-Domenech) reports HHS indicated “in its release that none of the vaccines on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s childhood recommended schedule were tested against an inert placebo, but health experts say this is false.”

CNN (5/1, Hetter) says there have been about 6,600 cases of whooping cough reported in the US this year, “nearly four times the number at the same point last year.” There were 35,000 cases of whooping cough reported in 2024, resulting in 10 deaths “including six babies less than 1 year old.” The disease “is especially dangerous in infants. Globally, it is a significant cause of disease and death in infancy, according to the World Health Organization.”

The AP (5/1, Shastri, Janetsky) reports measles outbreaks in the US, Mexico, and Canada “continue to balloon, with more than 2,500 known cases; three people have died in the U.S. and one in Mexico.” The outbreak has reached 663 cases in West Texas, while Mexico’s Chihuahua state “is up to 786 cases since mid-February.” Meanwhile, six out of Canada’s 10 provinces have reported measles cases, with Ontario’s case count reaching 1,020 as of Wednesday. The outbreaks are located “in areas with a notable population of certain Mennonite Christian communities who trace their migration over generations from Canada to Mexico to Seminole, Texas.” Mexican and US officials also warn that “the genetic strains of measles spreading in Canada match the other large outbreaks.”