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New York study finds need for stewardship programs in outpatient clinics

Few outpatient clinics in New York City—one of the nation's most densely populated cities—have antibiotic stewardship programs, according to a study that focused on prescriptions written for acute respiratory infections. A team from several facilities in the city published its findings today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

Uptake of MMR vaccine falls to 91.2% in the UK

For the fourth year in a row, uptake of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine has fallen in the United Kingdom, and now stands at 91.2%, well below the 95% uptake recommended to prevent transmission of the communicable diseases.

DRC Ebola vaccination drive tops 10,000 as cases hold steady

As the number of Ebola cases and deaths held steady in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over the last 2 days, the number of people vaccinated passed the 10,000 mark.

California has 2nd low-path H7N3 avian flu outbreak in turkeys

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials have confirmed a second outbreak of low-pathogenic H7N3 avian flu in a California turkey flock in the same county—Stanislaus—as one reported a week ago, according to a World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) report yesterday.

CARB-X report highlights growing portfolio, new partnerships

A new report from CARB-X highlights the progress the public-private partnership made in its second year of operation.

Ground beef recalled after 18-case deadly E coli outbreak

Cargill Meat Solutions of Fort Morgan, Colo., has recalled more than 130,000 pounds of ground beef products after they were tied to an 18-case, four-state outbreak of Escherichia coli infections that has left one person dead, federal officials said yesterday.

CARB-X report highlights growing portfolio, new partnerships

A new report from CARB-X highlights the progress the public-private partnership made in its second year of operation.

New platform to detect and track drug-resistant infections in the works

The office of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today that the New York State Department of Health (DOH) will partner with ILÚM Health Solutions to develop a research program to detect, track, and manage antibiotic-resistant infections at healthcare facilities across the state.

Nigeria reports suspected monkeypox cases tied to UK illness

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said today that six suspected monkeypox cases are associated with one of the recent monkeypox illnesses in England, in a report that noted two new confirmed cases in the same Nigerian state as the suspected cases.

Antifungal stewardship tied to an 89% drop in inappropriate prescribing

A small single-center UK study has demonstrated that a diagnostics-driven antifungal stewardship (AFS) program was tied to an 89% drop in inappropriate prescribing, according to a study yesterday in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

Adjuvanted TB vaccine shows promise in curbing active infections

A phase 2 study of an adjuvanted subunit vaccine against tuberculosis (TB) in young and middle-aged adults with the latent form of the disease found that it was 54% effective against progression to the active pulmonary form of the disease. An international team led by scientists from GlaxoSmithKline, the vaccine's developer, reported its findings today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Stakeholders recommend incentivizing antibiotic development

Twelve European third-party stakeholders made recommendations for ensuring antibiotic development and the equitable availability and responsible use of effective antibiotics, focusing on new incentives, according to a commentary yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

FDA proposes expanding retailer information in certain food recalls

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today released new draft guidance that spells out when it's appropriate to disclose retail information for recalled products.

UK study: High flu vaccine uptake in seniors but modest protection

Flu vaccine uptake in UK seniors has been high in recent flu seasons, but vaccine effectiveness (VE) has been modest in this age-group and the vaccine has been ineffective against the most severe strain, according to a study today in Eurosurveillance.

CDC reports multidrug-resistant fungus linked to fungicide exposure

A case report today from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) details the detection of a multidrug-resistant fungus in patients from three states.

Study: White people fill twice as many antibiotic prescriptions as others

A new study examining racial and ethnic disparities in antimicrobial drug use in the United States shows that white people filled twice as many antibiotic drug prescriptions per capita compared with people of other races and ethnicities. The study was published yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

CEPI announces partnership to support MERS, Lassa, Nipah vaccines

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) yesterday announced that it has awarded a contract worth as much as $19 million to Oxford University and Janssen Vaccines to advance the development and manufacture of a vaccine against MERS-CoV and do preclinical studies of new vaccines against Lassa and Nipah viruses.

Study: White people fill twice as many antibiotic prescriptions as others

A new study examining racial and ethnic disparities in antimicrobial drug use in the United States shows that white people filled twice as many antibiotic drug prescriptions per capita compared with people of other races and ethnicities. The study was published yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Telemedicine study finds antibiotic Rx linked with shorter encounters

Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic have observed that telemedicine encounters in which antibiotics were prescribed for a respiratory tract infection (RTI) were shorter than encounters where a non-antibiotic or nothing were prescribed.

Saudi Arabia notes 3 more MERS cases, 2 deaths

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) noted two more MERS-CoV cases in epidemiologic week 39 (last week) and one in epidemiologic week 38, and two of the cases proved fatal.

Flu shows signs of decline in some Southern Hemisphere regions

As the Southern Hemisphere's flu season winds down, disease levels in temperate South American and southern Africa countries decreased or have peaked in recent weeks, according to the latest global flu update from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Combo antibiotic for CRE infections performs well in phase 3 trial

The results of a phase 3 randomized, controlled clinical trial show that monotherapy with the antibiotic/beta-lacatamase inhibitor combination Vabomere (meropenem-vaborbactam) in patients with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infections was associated with increased clinical cure, decreased mortality, and reduced kidney toxicity compared with the best available therapy (BAT).

Massachusetts General announces participation in ZMapp study

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) said today it was part of an international multisite study evaluating ZMapp, an experimental Ebola treatment. ZMapp contains three antibodies and is being used in the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Topical phage treatment shows potential, weaknesses, in small clinical trial

The results of a small clinical trial in France show that a topical treatment containing a cocktail of bacteriophages successfully reduced bacterial burden in patients with infected burn wounds, but at a significantly slower rate than standard of care. The findings appeared yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Saudi MOH records new MERS case in Najran

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) today recorded a new case of MERS-CoV for epidemiologic week 40, which is this week.

A 49-year-old man from Najran was diagnosed as having  MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus). The MOH said the man was hospitalized and likely exposed to the virus in a community setting. He had not reported recent contact with camels, a known risk factor.