News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Two new studies shed some light on risk factors for drug-resistant healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP), one suggesting which factors carry the most weight and the other showing that a simple clinical scoring method can help identify the patients at greatest risk.

Editor’s Note: This article covers research conducted in part by CIDRAP researchers. Please note that CIDRAP News operates independently in relation to CIDRAP's research and policy programs.

See also: Strict meta-analysis raises questions about flu vaccine efficacy

(CIDRAP News) – Researchers at a national infectious disease conference yesterday raised concerns about the availability of antibiotics, citing new information about the lack of new treatments against resistant Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) and shortages of current drugs that appear to be affecting patient care.

(CIDRAP News) – Survey results presented at a medical conference today suggest that younger doctors may be a little more skeptical about vaccines than their older counterparts are, but that most pediatricians work to overcome parental reluctance to have their children vaccinated.

(CIDRAP News) – A national group that represents infection control experts said today that a recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documenting low flu vaccination rates among healthcare workers raises patient safety concerns.

(CIDRAP News) – Canadian researchers have shown that an Ebola virus species that can kill humans can also infect pigs and spread among them, raising the specter of Ebola virus as a potential foodborne pathogen.

(CIDRAP News) – Sanofi Pasteur's intradermal influenza vaccine, which involves a shallow needle prick into the skin instead of deep into muscle tissue, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the company announced today.