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Canadian surveillance shows rise in multidrug-resistant pathogens

The proportion of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae found in Canadian hospital patients increased substantially from 2007 through 2018, according to a surveillance study published today in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

Diaphragm dysfunction found in patients who died of COVID-19

A research letter published yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that patients who died of COVID-19 in the Netherlands were more than twice as likely to have scarring of their diaphragms than patients who died of other causes.

Study links COVID restrictions to increased UK dental antibiotic use

A study published late last week in the British Dental Journal suggests that restricted access to dental care in England during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a sharp rise in dental antibiotic prescribing.

Duke says testing program prevented campus COVID-19 outbreaks

Duke University's aggressive pooled surveillance COVID-19 testing program enabled large-scale testing, successfully reduced transmission, and prevented major outbreaks seen on other college campuses, according to a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) study yesterday.

Childhood vaccine uptake down 26% this year, report estimates

Nine million childhood vaccines are projected to be missed by the end of this year in the United States—a 26% decrease compared with 2019—according to a Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) report. This decline would cause a gap between vaccination rate and that required for herd immunity of 4.8 percentage points for measles and 12.7 percentage points for pertussis (whooping cough).

Report says COVID-19 holds lessons for response to AMR

The COVID-19 pandemic, and the global response, contain important lessons that can be used to avert a future pandemic caused by antimicrobial resistance (AMR), according to a new report from the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP).

Public transit use drops 73% in pandemic, with vulnerable most affected

Public transportation usage dropped 72.7% across the United States from Feb 15 to May 17, but vulnerable populations and essential or physical workers were most likely to continue using it, according to a study published yesterday in PLOS One.

Study details tracheal injuries in long-term ventilated COVID patients

A study yesterday found that 47% of COVID-19 patients who required prolonged mechanical ventilation developed potentially life-threatening tracheal (airway) complications.

CWD confirmed in 2 Minnesota deer, bringing 2020 total to 16

Two deer recently tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), reports the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), bringing the state's 2020 cases to 16 and total cases to 95.

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

Report says COVID-19 holds lessons for response to AMR

Originally published by CIDRAP News Nov 19

Danish stewardship intervention tied to improved pneumonia prescribing

An antibiotic stewardship intervention implemented at four regional hospitals in Denmark was associated with significantly lower overall antibiotic exposure for patients who had community acquired pneumonia (CAP) and a higher likelihood of patients being treated with recommended antibiotics, Danish researchers reported late last week in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Lung capacity issues, severe health problems in COVID-19 survivors

A Dutch study late last week found reduced lung capacity in 42% of COVID-19 patients 3 months after recovery, with many patients reporting severe problems with fatigue, functional impairment, and quality of life (QoL).

Poor outcomes noted for mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients

A PLOS One study yesterday showed a 43% overall mortality rate for mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients, with an even higher risk of death for patients of advanced age.

CWD slowly spreading in Montana and Virginia

Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal neurologic prion disease that affects members of the deer family, was detected in two cervids in Montana and Virginia. In 2019, 144 cases of CWD were reported in Montana and 1 case was reported in Virginia.

Loss of taste/smell, stomach upset, headache may predict COVID in kids

A study of SARS-CoV-2–positive Canadian children in CMAJ yesterday showed that 64.1% of children were symptomatic, with loss of taste or smell, stomach upset, headache, and fever most predictive of infection.

Different CWD strains in North America, Europe, researchers conclude

While both North America and Europe have detected chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids such as deer, the two continental strains are distinct, reports a study yesterday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

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

Danish stewardship intervention tied to improved pneumonia prescribing

Originally published by CIDRAP News Nov 23

SARS-CoV-2 may enter the brain through the nose

A small German autopsy study of COVID-19 victims in Nature Neuroscience today demonstrates the presence of SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—in nasal structures and the brain, suggesting that the virus crosses into the central nervous system (CNS) via nasal surfaces that contain nerve endings for smell.

Experts develop research agenda for pediatric infections, stewardship

A group of clinicians and researchers with expertise in pediatric healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial stewardship has developed a list of high-priority research topics for improving health outcomes in children.

Blood donations suggest COVID-19 was in US last December

A study in Clinical Infectious Diseases yesterday found that 1% of US blood donations late last year and in early 2020 contained SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, suggesting that the virus was present in the United States earlier than previously thought.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was first recognized in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, and the initial US case was identified on Jan 19.

CARB-X to fund treatments for S aureus pneumonia, Pseudomonas

CARB-X today announced two new funding awards for German scientists working on therapies for difficult-to-treat bacterial infections.

Cancer patients may shed viable COVID-19 virus for 2 months

A New England Journal of Medicine study yesterday of cancer patients with COVID-19 demonstrated viral RNA shedding for up to 78 days and live virus for up to 61 days, suggesting extended infectiousness in patients whose immune system is suppressed.

Higher-than-expected antibiotic prescribing during UK COVID lockdown

Telephone consultations could be the reason why antibiotic prescribing at general practices in the United Kingdom was higher than expected during the first COVID-19 lockdown, researchers with the University of Nottingham reported yesterday in the Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Increased COVID-19 testing linked to lower transmission

A Sri Lankan analysis of global COVID-19 intervention measures showed that increased testing had the greatest impact on transmission: a 10-fold increase in the ratio of tests to new cases (TCR) reduced a country's average transmission by 9%. The study authors suggest that intense testing combined with isolation may be the most effective and least costly strategy for controlling COVID-19.

A fifth of DRC health workers had Ebola antibodies after 2014 outbreak

A year after the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Boende, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 22.5% of healthcare workers (HCWs) had Ebola virus (EBOV) antibodies in their blood, even though only 15.1% reported contact with suspected, probable, or confirmed Ebola virus patients, according to a study today in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.