Smallpox

Bavarian Nordic has received a US government contract for $120 million to manufacture more of its Jynneos smallpox/mpox vaccine.

1.6 million US COVID survivors may still have impaired sense of smell

Upwards of 700,000—perhaps as many as 1.6 million—US COVID-19 survivors haven't recovered their sense of smell after more than 6 months, according to a research letter yesterday in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

Monoclonal antibodies shown effective for breakthrough COVID-19 cases

New research from the Mayo Clinic shows monoclonal antibodies reduce the risk of hospitalization 77% in 1,395 patients who had breakthrough COVID-19 infections. The research was published yesterday in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Study: 1 in 5 physicians highly distressed during first COVID-19 triages

A survey of 164 New York physicians found that one in five were severely distressed during their first COVID-19 triage decisions and last-minute training did not appear to alleviate stress, according to a study yesterday in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.

Experts estimate global COVID-19 deaths may actually be double

Direct COVID-19 deaths may be more than double previous estimates, according to a report yesterday by the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

Physical proximity may increase COVID-19 risk for poultry plant workers

A study published today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) highlights factors that may increase the risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, among US poultry facility workers—especially those who are foreign-born.

Drug firm teams with nonprofit to develop new antibiotic

The Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) this week announced a partnership with Venatorx Pharmaceuticals to accelerate development of an investigational beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor combination for treating multidrug-resistant hospital infections.

UK reports imported monkeypox case linked to Nigeria

Public Health England (PHE) today confirmed that a person in the southwest of England has been diagnosed as having monkeypox, likely contracted after a recent visit to Nigeria.

The United Kingdom documented its first cases of the rare virus last year, in two patients who also likely contracted the disease in Nigeria, plus a case involving a healthcare worker—the first instance of spread of the disease in the country.

Pakistan, several African countries report vaccine-derived polio cases

Pakistan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Angola each reported new cases of vaccine-derived polio, according to the latest weekly update today from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), and Pakistan also confirmed cases involving the wild-type virus.