Search

CDC: 1 in 5 hospitalized younger adults with COVID-19 need ICU care

While younger adults with no underlying health conditions have been considered safer from COVID-19's severe outcomes, of those who were hospitalized, 22% were admitted to intensive care units (ICUs), 10% needed mechanical ventilation, and 0.6% (3 patients) died, reports a study published yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Extensively drug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains detected in Italy

Two extensively drug-resistant strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae identified in two patients at an Italian hospital in May appear to be a dangerous variant of a strain that caused an outbreak in Tuscany in 2018 and 2019, Italian scientists reported yesterday in Eurosurveillance.

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

Pandemic avoidance of medical care tied to more appendix rupture in kids

A JAMA Network Open study late last week suggests that a pattern of delayed medical care during the pandemic may be responsible for a greater incidence of a ruptured appendix related to appendicitis in children.

CDC report shows declines in healthcare-associated infections

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows some encouraging declines in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) across four US healthcare settings, including one linked to antibiotic use.

Primary care stewardship cuts antibiotics, costs for respiratory infections

A cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted in Spanish primary care settings suggests a multifaceted stewardship intervention helped reduce antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) and was cost-effective, Spanish researchers reported yesterday in Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control.

Study suggests childcare workers not at higher risk for COVID-19

A large study of childcare providers in Pediatrics today found that childcare staff were not at higher risk for COVID-19 during the early months of the US pandemic.

Italian child had COVID back in December 2019

A 4-year-old boy living outside of Milan with no travel history is now the earliest confirmed SARS-CoV-2 case in Italy, a team based in Italy reported in a research letter to Emerging Infectious Diseases yesterday.

Study spotlights high COVID-19 death rate for US native populations

Data published today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) show nearly double the COVID-19 mortality rate among people of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) ethnicity compared with whites.

First US case of gonorrhea with resistance-conferring mutation identified

A paper today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR) describes the first US case of Neisseria gonorrhoeae harboring a genetic element that confers resistance to a first-line antibiotic.

Trial finds no impact on trachoma from mass azithromycin distribution

A randomized clinical trial in Niger found that mass distribution of azithromycin to preschool-aged children was no more effective at reducing incidence of trachoma than placebo, researchers reported today in JAMA Network Open.

Long COVID relatively rare in children and teens, study suggests

A study published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics suggests that long COVID is uncommon in children and teens and that risk factors include severe SARS-CoV-2 infection, younger age, and complex underlying chronic diseases.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines long COVID as continuous, relapsing, or new symptoms or conditions persisting at least 1 month after the initial infection.

Life expectancy fell amid COVID, especially for Hispanic and Black males

In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, life expectancy in the United States fell by 4.5 and 3.6 years for Hispanic and Black males, respectively, while declining 1.5 years for their White counterparts, finds a study published yesterday in PNAS.

WHO: COVID deaths for 2022 pass 1 million worldwide

At a World Health Organization (WHO) briefing today, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said COVID-19 deaths for 2022 alone passed 1 million this week, as he pressed countries to do more to vaccinate all healthcare workers, older people, and others at highest risk. Since the pandemic began in early 2020, 6,472,848 deaths have been reported, according to the Johns Hopkins online dashboard.

Ebola vaccination launches in latest DRC outbreak area

Within days of confirming a new Ebola case in North Kivu province, medical teams in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today launched an Ebola vaccination campaign in Beni, the area where the fatal case was reported.

On Twitter, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it provided 200 vaccine doses and is supporting the country's ring vaccination campaign.

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

Study: US C difficile prevalence fell during COVID-19 pandemic

The prevalence of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in the United States declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, but inpatient mortality and treatment costs were higher, according to a paper published yesterday in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

Even young kids can accurately self-collect nasal swabs for COVID-19 tests

Children aged 4 to 14 years can accurately self-collect nasal swabs for COVID-19 testing after viewing simple instructions, suggests a study late last week in JAMA.

Algorithm may aid appropriate antibiotic prescribing for kids with diarrhea

A randomized trial of children with diarrhea in two low-income countries found that use of an algorithm to predict the likelihood of viral etiology resulted in reduced antibiotic use in children who had a higher likelihood of viral illness, researchers reported today in JAMA Pediatrics.

Stewardship tied to reduced inappropriate antibiotics for asymptomatic urinary issues

A single-center study in North Carolina showed that a multifaceted initiative was associated with a significant and sustainable decrease in inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB; bacteria in the urine) and asymptomatic pyuria (ASP; elevated white blood cells in the urine), researchers reported today in Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epide

CDC urges providers to watch for variant flu infections

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday urged health providers to ask patients with suspected flu infections outside of the regular flu season to ask about any recent exposure to pigs.

WHO Director: World does not need to live with monkeypox

Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, of the World Health Organization (WHO) today said many European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, were showing continued slowing of new monkeypox cases, while countries in the Americas (save for Canada) are still seeing increased case counts.

Study: Previous COVID-19 infection offers protection against BA.5

Infections with previous COVID-19 variants offer more protection against the Omicron BA.5 subvariant in vaccinated people compared with vaccinated people who had no previous  infections, according to a New England Journal of Medicine study yesterday.

Avails receives additional CARB-X funding for rapid susceptibility test

Diagnostics company Avails Medical announced today that it has received an additional $1.7 million in funding from CARB-X (the Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) to continue developing a rapid electronic antibiotic susceptibility test (AST).

BSAC launches global plan to accredit antimicrobial stewardship efforts

Yesterday, the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) launched the Global Antimicrobial Stewardship Accreditation Scheme (GAMSAS), which aims to support healthcare organizations globally by recognizing good practices to combat antimicrobial resistance, identifying areas for improvement, and supporting education and training.