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The International Society for Infectious Diseases' (ISID's) Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED) today announced that it is teaming up with Public Health England to boost global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance efforts.
A study today in the Journal of Infectious Diseases found that egg-based adjuvanted and high-dose (HD) flu vaccines had slightly higher relative vaccine effectiveness (RVE) than egg-based quadrivalent (four-strain) vaccines in nearly 13 million Medicare beneficiaries 65 and older during the 2018-19 flu season.
In Europe, Austria, Croatia, and Switzerland reported their first cases, with links to Italy, as Middle East countries reported more cases, fueled by Iran's outbreak.
"Not a question of if, but when, and of how many ... will have severe illnesses."
Even COVID-19 pneumonia patients without symptoms have abnormal lung findings on CT, the study found.
CARB-X announced today that it will award Peptilogics of Pittsburgh up to $2.56 million in funding to develop a new class of peptide antibiotics with broad activity against drug-resistant bacteria.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported a new MERS-CoV case today. This raises the number of MERS cases recorded this month to 11.
The JAMA study reveals a 49% death rate in critically ill patients; for a much smaller study it was 62%.
Also, cases continue to surge in South Korea and Italy, and the US reports more positive tests in evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
After additions of what might be retrospective cases, the World Health Organization's (WHO's) online Ebola dashboard shows a case count of 3,444 today, which represents 11 more cases than the total reported at the end of last week. The death toll now stands at 2,264 in an outbreak that has lasted 18 months in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
A new study by researchers from Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health suggests that outpatient prescribing of penicillins is associated with rates of mortality with sepsis in older US adults.
Korea confirms 379 new cases and 602 overall, and infections in Italy spike to 132.
In other developments, Italy's outbreak expanded and a California city blocked a plan to move evacuees from Travis Air Force Base.
The antibiotics were tied to a 55% increased risk of malformation.
As infections outside of China increase, China's total tops 75,000 cases.
"The day may come when we may need to implement such measures as seen in Asia," a CDC official says.
Our weekly wrap-up of antimicrobial stewardship & antimicrobial resistance scans
York University this week announced a $2 million grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to support the development of a global network to address infectious disease and antimicrobial resistance.
After a month-long rise, US flu levels dropped last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its weekly FluView report. But most regions are still experiencing elevated influenza activity, and 13 more pediatric deaths were recorded, raising the 2019-20 flu season total to 105.
In the US, the vaccine did not protect against H1N1, which is now circulating more.
