Biosecurity Issues

Draft recommendations from a panel that advises the NIH would tighten oversight of potentially dangerous pathogens.

Spero, GSK to partner on oral carbapenem for complicated UTIs

Biopharmaceutical company Spero Therapeutics announced today that it has entered into a licensing agreement with GSK for the antibiotic tebipenem pivoxil hydrobromide (HBr).

Study: 59% of long-COVID patients had nerve damage

A retrospective study of 17 COVID-19 survivors with lingering symptoms reveals that 10 (59%) had nerve damage, which the researchers said could have been triggered by potentially treatable infection-related immune dysfunction.

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.

Monoclonal antibodies shown effective for breakthrough COVID-19 cases

New research from the Mayo Clinic shows monoclonal antibodies reduce the risk of hospitalization 77% in 1,395 patients who had breakthrough COVID-19 infections. The research was published yesterday in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Rapid test linked to quicker optimal therapy for blood infections

Implementation of a test that provides rapid bacterial identification and susceptibility results from positive blood cultures shortened the time to optimal antibiotic therapy and reduced unnecessary antibiotic exposure in hospitalized patients with bacteremia, researchers reported late last week in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

PAHO/WHO taps CDC as biosafety and biosecurity collaborating center

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced yesterday that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO) have designated the CDC's Center for Global Health as a PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for Biosafety and Biosecurity.

NIH study will gauge immunogenicity of adjuvanted seasonal flu vaccines

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) yesterday announced that researchers have started enrolling participants in a phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate immunogenicity and safety of two licensed seasonal flu vaccines given with and without novel adjuvants.

DRC reports more daily double-digit Ebola rises

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) saw no let-up in Ebola cases over the weekend, reporting 39 new cases, which would boost the outbreak total to 2,763, according to updates from the World Health Organization (WHO) online Ebola dashboard.

Based on data reported for Aug 2, the DRC reported 17 more cases, and for Aug 3 the country reported 12 more infections.