Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

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News Scan for Dec 07, 2021

Study finds high level of inappropriate testing for fungal disease

A study conducted at a large teaching hospital in Tokyo found that most tests used to diagnose invasive fungal disease were inappropriate, Japanese researchers reported yesterday in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

  • Unneeded tests for fungal disease
  • CDC on H5N6 avian flu risk
  • Fish Salmonella outbreak
  • French lab worker CJD death

News Scan for Dec 06, 2021

CWD detected for first time in southern Arkansas

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) recently announced the first positive chronic wasting disease (CWD) test in a hunter-harvested deer in Union County, far from the nearest known positive finding in the state.

  • CWD expands in Arkansas
  • Global malaria rise
  • Avian flu in European poultry

News Scan for Nov 29, 2021

Study: 1 in 100 hospitalized COVID-19 patients suffers brain complications

During a meeting tomorrow at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), scientists will present data from the largest multi-institutional international study to date on brain complications of COVID-19 and share that 1 in 100 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 will likely develop complications of the central nervous system like stroke, hemorrhage, and other potentially fatal complications.

  • COVID-19 and neurologic problems
  • COVID reinfection less severe
  • Novel H1 flu in Oklahoma
  • CWD detected in Idaho deer
  • Avian flu in Iran, Europe, China

News Scan for Nov 24, 2021

Study shows rising use of ceftazidime-avibactam for CRE infections

A large study of patients in Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals shows a significant increase in the use of ceftazidime-avibactam for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) infections, US researchers reported today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

  • Antibiotics for CRE infections
  • Low-path H5 avian flu in Minnesota
  • Slight global flu rise
  • Polio public health emergency

News Scan for Nov 23, 2021

Antibiotic spectrum index could boost antibiotic stewardship in NICUs

Use of an antibiotic spectrum index (ASI) helped identify patterns of empiric antibiotic prescribing at three neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and could help guide stewardship efforts, US researchers reported today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

  • Antibiotic spectrum in NICUs
  • Avian flu outbreaks in Europe

News Scan for Nov 22, 2021

Disrupted care, discrimination tied to less infant vaccination during COVID

US infants born early in the pandemic were less likely to receive routine childhood vaccinations if their mothers had perinatal care disruptions (those just before or after birth) or experienced discrimination during pregnancy, according to a prospective study today in JAMA Pediatrics.

  • Non-COVID infant vaccines in pandemic
  • Risk of H5N6 avian flu cases
  • OIE avian flu surveillance alert

News Scan for Nov 19, 2021

1.6 million US COVID survivors may still have impaired sense of smell

Upwards of 700,000—perhaps as many as 1.6 million—US COVID-19 survivors haven't recovered their sense of smell after more than 6 months, according to a research letter yesterday in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

  • COVID-19 and loss of smell
  • Global COVID vaccine inequality
  • No smallpox in vials
  • More Salmonella illnesses
  • US flu uptick
  • H9N2 avian flu death in China
  • Polio in Nigeria

News Scan for Nov 18, 2021

CDC survey shows COVID-19 vaccine uptake stalled at 70% in HCWs

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a new comprehensive survey of vaccine uptake in healthcare workers (HCWs), showing that after initial enthusiasm, vaccine uptake stalled at 70% by Sep 15, 2021. Results of the survey are published in the American Journal of Infection Control.

  • COVID-19 vaccine uptake in health workers
  • H5N1 avian flu outbreaks

News Scan for Nov 15, 2021

Women, racial minority health workers struggle to find respirators that fit

Most respiratory protective equipment (RPE) used in healthcare is not designed for women or racial minorities amid a dearth of research into how facial dimensions across sex and race affect respirator performance, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published late last week in BMJ Global Health.

  • Women, minorities, and respirator fit
  • Depression, anxiety amid COVID-19
  • Avian flu in Europe, Japan

Flu Scan for Nov 12, 2021

US flu shows another small rise, with 90% of cases in young people

Though the nation's flu activity is still at low levels, the number of detections has increased in recent weeks, mostly due to the H3N2 strain and with 90% of cases in people ages 5 to 24, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in an update that covers last week.

  • Slight rise in US flu
  • Avian flu in Europe, Asia

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