Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

FDA to review Emergent's adjuvanted anthrax vaccine for adults

Emergent BioSolutions said in a news release late last week that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review an adjuvanted version of its anthrax vaccine for post-exposure prophylaxis (prevention) of anthrax.

US, global monkeypox cases climb ahead of WHO meeting

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday reported 29 more monkeypox cases, raising the nation's total to 142.

So far 24 states and the District of Columbia have reported cases, up from 21 in the CDC's last update. The most affected states include California, New York, Illinois, and Florida.

Flu on the rise in some Southern Hemisphere regions, notably Australia

In a global flu update that covers the last half of May, the World Health Organization (WHO) said this week that overall activity has declined since a March peak, but levels are rising in some temperate Southern Hemisphere countries, including Australia.

Childcare-related work disruptions increased by a third during COVID-19

Work disruptions related to a lack of childcare in 2020 increased by one-third relative to before the pandemic—especially for caregivers of children with special healthcare needs, low-income families, and those from racial minority groups, estimates a study published today in JAMA Pediatrics.

Backyard poultry-linked Salmonella outbreaks sicken 219 in 38 states

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday said it and health officials in multiple state are investigating Salmonella outbreaks tied to backyard poultry that have sickened 219 people, 1 fatally, in 38 states.

Risk of COVID-related syndrome lower in kids after breakthrough Omicron

The risk of COVID-19–related multisystem inflammatory system in children (MIS-C) was significantly lower among vaccinated versus unvaccinated Danish children after infection with the Omicron variant rather than with previous strains, according to a research letter published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics.

Gender bias may affect acceptance of antibiotic stewardship efforts

A single-center study suggests gender bias may play a role in whether antibiotic stewardship recommendations by pharmacists are accepted by hospitalists, researchers reported yesterday in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

Data show Paxlovid halves the risk of severe Omicron disease, death

A study of 4,737 COVID-19 patients in Israel conducted during the Omicron surge concludes that Pfizer's antiviral drug Paxlovid roughly halves the risk of severe COVID-19 or death, according to findings published yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Study says dogs 97% sensitive at detecting COVID-19 in patients

Compared with reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing, dogs can detect COVID-19 infections via scent with high sensitivity (97%)—though lower specificity (91%)—even when patients are asymptomatic, according to a study in PLOS One yesterday.

Asymptomatic COVID-19 may not spread as easily as symptomatic

Symptomatic COVID-19 cases are responsible for more viral transmission than asymptomatic infections, suggests an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of 130 studies published yesterday in PLOS Medicine.