CIDRAP newsletters options
Flu is rising in several parts of the world, with 2009 H1N1 dominant, but many locations experiencing H3N2 circulation, as well, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday in a global flu update, covering activity through Feb 3.
A protocol involving urinalysis, absolute neutrophil count, and procalcitonin levels showed 97.7% sensitivity and 60.0% specificity.
Five new Ebola cases were recorded in recent days, bringing the total to 840.
A new study led by scientists from US Department of Agriculture (USDA) found that antibiotic resistance genes persist in a beef cattle environment even 2 years after cessation of operations.
According to updates posted this weekend and through today, Saudi Arabia has three more MERS-CoV cases, including two in Wadi ad-Dawasir.
The country's health ministry reports 6 new cases and 5 new deaths, including that of an infant.
Clinic visits for influenza-like illness increased from 4.3% to 4.8%, 6 more pediatric deaths were confirmed, and the H3N2 strain appears to be surging.
Electronically delivered prescribing feedback and decision support interventions reduced antibiotic prescribing for respiratory infection (RTI) in adults by 12%, according to the results of a clinical trial published this week in the British Medical Journal.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH), in its epidemiologic week 7 update, today added another MERS-CoV case to its growing total, in a man from its most recent hardest-hit city, while the World Health Organization (WHO) provided details on Saudi cases confirmed in January.
Six months of decolonization lowered MRSA rates 30% and any type of infection 17%.
Protection against flu was 47% overall and 46% against the predominant H1N1 strain.
British investigators conducted an international survey and found that postgraduate training and support in antibiotic prescribing remain low among nurses and pharmacists, and, although antibiotic policies and committees are established in most institutions, surveillance of antibiotic use is not, according to a new report in Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control.
Bunia, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the 19th health district to confirm an Ebola case, the DRC's ministry of health said today in its daily update.
The case in Bunia is in a 6-month-old baby whose mother died from the virus. The mother was from Katwa, and her corpse was intercepted in Komanda, where the baby is currently being treated in an Ebola treatment center.
Stewardship programs were tied to lower fluoroquinolone prescribing, but some prescribing appeared to shift to after hospital discharge.
The developments lift the outbreak total to 823 cases, including 517 deaths.
Today health officials in Saudi Arabia and Oman reported one new case of MERS-CoV each. This is the sixth case recorded in recent weeks in Oman; in Saudi Arabia, the new case is possibly linked to an ongoing hospital outbreak in Wadi ad-Dawasir.
According to the Muscat Daily yesterday, the Omani Ministry of Health tweeted that a new patient had been diagnosed as having MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus).
A team of dentists, pharmacists, and physicians at the University of Illinois reported today in Open Forum Infectious Diseases that implementation of a comprehensive antibiotic stewardship intervention in a dental practice was associated with a significant improvement in antibiotic prescribing.
Also, the health ministry reports 3 more cases in 3 different locations.
Vaccine mistrust after problems with the launch of Dengvaxia is one factor fueling the Philippines' outbreak.
