Aug 13, 2010
Florida officials confirm dengue case in Broward County
Health officials in Broward County, Fla., have confirmed a dengue virus infection in a resident who had not left the county in the 2 weeks before symptom onset, the county health department said yesterday. The case is thought to be the first among the recent spate of dengue infections that was acquired outside Key West. Broward, located in southern Florida, is the state's second-largest county and includes the Fort Lauderdale area. Dr Paul Thaqi, the county health department director, said in the statement that the patient has fully recovered. Broward County mosquito-control authorities are spraying the patient's neighborhood and home and are inspecting the area to help prevent other infections, according to a county news release issued today.
Growth projected in vaccine markets
The global vaccine market will grow at a compounded annual rate of 9.5% over the next 5 years, predicts a new report from Kalorama Information, a New York-based medical market research company. Increased acceptance of and new products in the flu and hepatitis vaccines categories will help drive the growth of the adult vaccine market, the company said in a press release yesterday. Meanwhile, pneumococcal and combination tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) vaccines will help fuel the pediatric sector, the company predicted. In 2009 vaccine sales grew to $22.1 billion, up from $19 billion in2008. Bruce Carlson, Kalorama's publisher, said vaccines were the only bright spot for some biomedical companies in 2009. "It's not a surprise therefore that development is heavy in this sector, and that will contribute to growth over the next five years," he added.
Aug 12 Kalorama press release
Resistant bacteria cases reported in Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, US
In the wake of this week's report of a gene that can jump bacterial species and confer resistance to many antibiotics, several infections with bacteria having the resistance factor have been reported in Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong. The gene enables bacteria in the Enterobacteriaceae family to produce an enzyme called NDM-1, which makes them resistant to carbapenem and several other antibiotics. The Calgary Herald in Alberta reported today that two Canadians have had and recovered from infections with NDM-1-producing bacteria. One was an Alberta resident who contracted an infection while in India, was hospitalized in Alberta, and was discharged weeks ago. The other patient was treated in Vancouver, the story said. An Australian Broadcasting Corp. report carried by Radio New Zealand today said three NDM-1 infections have been reported in Australia, at least two of them in patients who had been in hospitals in India. In addition, the Hong Kong Department of Health said yesterday that a 66-year-old man who was infected with NDM-1-producing E coli was treated successfully with oral antibiotics at a Hong Kong clinic October2009. Meanwhile, Mike Coston, author of the blog Avian Flu Diary, pointed out that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported three cases of NDM-1 bacterial infection in the United States in June, marking the first such report in the United States. All occurred in patients who had received medical care in India. The resistance problem was described in an Aug 11 report in Lancet Infectious Diseases, which said it could become a major global public health problem.
Aug 13 Radio New Zealand report
Aug 12 Hong Kong statement
Jun 25 CDC report on US cases
