Search

Four countries report more polio cases

Four countries in the Middle East and Africa reported a total of nine new cases this week, according to the latest update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).

Our weekly wrap-up of antimicrobial stewardship & antimicrobial resistance scans

Study shows rising use of second-, third-line antibiotics in Indian hospitals

Originally published by CIDRAP News May 14

CARB-X to fund development of anti-toxin for recurrent C difficile

CARB-X today announced an award of up to $1.26 million to Facile Therapeutics of Belmont, California, to develop a new oral drug for recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections.

Black residents bear brunt of US COVID-19 epidemics, study finds

The nearly 22% of US counties with higher proportions of black people accounted for 52% of COVID-19 cases and 58% of related deaths, according to a study published late last week in the Annals of Epidemiology.

The researchers accessed public data on Apr 13 to compare predictors of COVID-19 infections and deaths in counties with 13% or more black people and those with lower percentages.

Church pastor tied to COVID-19 super-spreader events in Arkansas

Church events held between Mar 6 and 11 at an Arkansas church—where the pastor and his wife were positive for COVID-19 and showing symptoms—led to 35 confirmed COVID-19 cases among 92 people (38%) who attended events. The super-spreading event is described today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

Study finds high antibiotic use in US hospitals

A retrospective study of inpatients treated at 576 US hospitals in 2016 and 2017 found that nearly two-thirds received antibiotics, and that broad-spectrum antibiotic use was common, US researchers reported in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

CDC: Backyard poultry Salmonella outbreak sickens 97 in 28 states

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) today announced that it—along with local public health officials—is investigating an outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to contact with backyard chicks and ducklings that sickened 97 people in 28 states from Feb 26 to May 1.

Drug-resistant Salmonella Typhi in US patients linked to Pakistan, Iraq

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have identified 33 cases of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi in the United States linked to travel in Pakistan and Iraq, according to an update today in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

Wedding triggered surge of coronavirus cases in Jordan

An investigation into a wedding-related COVID-19 outbreak in Jordan found a high transmission rate and a high rate of asymptomatic carriers, researchers from Jordan reported yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Clinicians detail coinfections with C difficile, COVID-19 virus

A study by researchers from Detroit Medical Center and Wayne State University highlights the risk of Clostridiodes difficile infection (CDI) among COVID-19 patients linked to antibiotic use. The findings appeared in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Our weekly wrap-up of antimicrobial stewardship & antimicrobial resistance scans

Study: Low oxygen, inflammation predict critical COVID-19 illness, death

Low oxygen levels at hospital admission and signs of inflammation were the strongest predictors of serious COVID-19 illness and death in a prospective cohort study published late last week in BMJ.

French study finds high antibiotic use for viral respiratory infections in kids

An assessment of community antibiotic prescribing in French children found high rates of prescribing for viral respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and broad-spectrum antibiotic use, particularly among clinicians 50 years and older, French researchers reported yesterday in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

Review supports WHO guidance against post-surgery antibiotics

A review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) has found no conclusive evidence that post-operative antibiotic prophylaxis reduces incidence of surgical-site infections, a finding that supports the World Health Organization's (WHO's) recommendation for discontinuation of the practice, researchers reported yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Study shows loss of smell and taste among COVID-19 patients

A study yesterday in the Annals of Internal Medicine of more than 2,000 Europeans diagnosed as having mild to moderate COVID-19 shows that 87% reported loss of smell, and 56% reported taste dysfunction. The study suggests olfactory symptoms and taste disorders may be a common feature of COVID-19 infection.

Racial disparities seen in Louisiana's COVID-19 patients

Yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine a study of Louisiana COVID-19 patients showed major racial and ethnic differences in both hospitalization rates and in-hospital deaths.

CARB-X to fund antibiotic for cystic fibrosis-related lung infections

CARB-X today announced an award of up to $6.1 million to support the preclinical development of an inhaled antibiotic to treat cystic fibrosis (CF)-related pulmonary infections

Study: 11% of diabetics die within 1 week of hospitalization for COVID-19

The first major study of diabetics hospitalized with COVID-19 shows more than 1 in 10 die within 7 days of admission, and about 1 in 5 is intubated within 1 week. The study appears today in Diabetologia.

Canadian data show rise in MRSA, VRE blood infections

Data collected from Canadian acute care hospitals show significant increases in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) bloodstream infections (BSIs) in recent years, according to a study in the Canada Communicable Disease Report (CCDR).

Our weekly wrap-up of antimicrobial stewardship & antimicrobial resistance scans

Asymptomatic carriers unknowingly spread COVID-19 in Asia, reports say

A multicenter study published yesterday in Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease shows that 60% of asymptomatic (symptom-free) COVID-19 patients in Sichuan province, China, were diagnosed as having pneumonia on their first computed tomography (CT) scan.

WHO touts growth of global antibiotic surveillance system

The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that a record number of countries are now monitoring and reporting data on antibiotic resistance but warned that the data reveal worrisome trends.

Cefiderocol gets FDA approval for use in nosocomial pneumonia

Drug maker Shionogi & Co. of Osaka, Japan, announced yesterday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the company's supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) and granted Priority Review designation for the use of cefiderocol to treat adults with nosocomial pneumonia.

COVID-19 takes heavy toll on new doctors' mental health, study finds

First-year medical residents in Shanghai—500 miles away from the Chinese COVID-19 epicenter of Wuhan—had a steep decline in mood, increased depression and anxiety, and twice the level of fear of workplace violence in the first month of the pandemic, according to a research letter published yesterday in JAMA Network Open.

US study finds small decline in inappropriate outpatient antibiotics

The proportion of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions issued by US physicians' offices and emergency departments (EDs) decreased minimally from 2010 through 2015, driven mainly by a decrease in unnecessary prescriptions for children, researchers reported yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases.