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In another encouraging trend, deaths have fallen for the second week in a row.
Our weekly wrap-up of antimicrobial stewardship & antimicrobial resistance scans
A revised antimicrobial prophylaxis protocol for patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was associated with reduced broad-spectrum antimicrobial use in those patients, without increased risk of infection or poor outcomes, researchers from the Mayo Clinic reported today in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
A single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was immunogenic in 92% of recipients, with no difference in immunogenic response between men and women but a decreasing response among older recipients, researchers from Israel's Bar-Ilan University reported yesterday in Eurosurveillance.
Those fully vaccinated and exposed to a case no longer need a 14-day quarantine.
Patients given the monoclonal antibody were less likely to die or need a ventilator.
"Right now, it’s a thin line between the hope of a vaccine and a false sense of security," a European official says.
Delaying antibiotics for uncomplicated respiratory tract infections did not result in longer or more severe symptoms.
A second fatal Ebola case was reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in a person from North Kivu province, where the first case was recently reported in the wife of an Ebola survivor, according to media reports that cited a joint statement from the DRC and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Presymptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases contributed at least 50% of transmissions during New York City's first COVID surge, according to a study published yesterday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Also, the WHO says overall cases and deaths are falling, but more nations are reporting variant viruses.
Nursing homes with more than 40% non-white residents had COVID-19 death rates 3.3 times higher.
New CDC data show the fit of face masks may significantly reduce COVID-19 spread.
Hospitalized adults with COVID-19 are 3.5 times more likely to die than adults with the flu, reports a study today in CMAJ. The study also found that those with COVID were 1.5 times more likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and have 1.5 times longer hospital stays.
Telemedicine visits in Brazil performed under rigorous adherence to antibiotic stewardship guidelines were associated with appropriate antibiotic prescribing for patients with low-risk conditions, Brazilian and Australian researchers reported yesterday in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.
In another sign that a former hot spot is recovering, New York City restaurants can soon resume indoor dining.
"Learn the lesson of Tuskegee and do everything in our power to ensure African Americans get the vaccine."
Experts say virus introduction through an intermediary host species is the most likely of 4 scenarios they presented.
Few preschoolers attending 22 daycare centers in France last spring had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in their blood.
A study today in mBio offers support to continue breastfeeding infants even when mothers have mild to moderate COVID-19 infections. The study showed breastmilk samples did not contain SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) RNA, but the authors suggest risk of transmission via breast skin to baby should be evaluated.
