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BA.5 now makes up 53.6% of cases, BA.4 makes up 16.5%, and both are highly transmissible.
A study of US hospital data found that fewer than 10% of COVID-19 patients had bacterial or fungal co-infections, but they had a higher risk of antibiotic-resistant, healthcare-associated infections than flu patients, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers reported late last week in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
A new study shows that the proportion of children diagnosed as having COVID-19 and croup was significantly higher during the Omicron surge than in earlier waves dominated by other variants.
Croup is an upper airway infection generally affecting children. It causes swelling around the larynx, trachea, and bronchi, resulting in labored breathing and a "barking" cough.
The mobile units are geared toward reaching high-risk communities and come as the US and other countries battle rising COVID activity.
Europe's cases have tripled over the last 2 weeks, and US cases approach 400, with New Hampshire and Puerto Rico reporting their first cases.
Though all benefited, those at lowest and highest body weights were at greater risk, possibly due to differences in immune response.
Flu activity is rising in some of the Southern Hemisphere's temperate countries, including Australia, New Zealand, and southern Africa. At the global level, however, levels are declining following a March peak, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a global flu update that roughly covers the first half of June.
Other areas seeing rises are Chile and southern China, where H3N2 is the dominant strain.
Our weekly wrap-up of antimicrobial stewardship & antimicrobial resistance scans
A study of children hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) suggests that antibiotic decisions made in the emergency department (ED) have a significant impact on inpatient antibiotic use, researchers reported today in Pediatrics.
The study also found that nearly a third of children without radiographic evidence of pneumonia received antibiotics, suggesting that overuse is common.
Findings were similar to adults, but testing policy changes limited the study's ability to assess longer term impact.
In US developments, the CDC reported dozens more cases and Texas reported community spread of the virus.
Following a vaccine advisory group input earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today recommended that vaccine companies update their booster shots to target BA.4 and BA.5, two Omicron subvariants that are driving up cases in a number of countries.
A report yesterday from the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency (FSA) shows that that the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli in retail beef and pork samples remains low.
Faster antimicrobial treatment did not lead to increased antibiotic use.
COVID-19 cases jumped 18% last week and are at their highest levels since April, the WHO says.
Deaths may have been directly related to COVID-19 or exacerbated by COVID-19 or by healthcare disruptions, study authors say.
WHO director says he's worried monkeypox could spread to children and pregnant women.
Symptoms of long COVID are more frequently reported by women, those with poor overall health before the pandemic, and those aged 50 to 60, according to a new UK-based study in Nature Communications.
The study was based on results gathered from 6,907 people with self-reported COVID-19 from 10 population-based longitudinal health surveys in the United Kingdom that had been in place prior to the pandemic.
A new report from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, formerly OIE) shows global use of antimicrobials in animals fell by 27% from 2016 through 2018.
VRBPAC experts approved the booster recommendation by a 17-to-2 vote.
