A team of scientists in the United States and the United Kingdom have identified additional benefits in a new class of antibacterial compounds that specifically kill Clostridium difficile strains without disrupting beneficial bacteria in the gut, according to a study today in Science Translational Medicine.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) reported two new cases of MERS-CoV yesterday and today.
Yesterday, a 37-year-old Saudi man from Al Hofuf was diagnosed as having MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus). He is in critical condition. The MOH said the source of his infection was primary, meaning he likely did not contract the disease from another person.
In the latest gain-of-function (GOF) study, South Korean researchers have substituted genes from H5N1 avian influenza onto an H5N8 avian flu virus and found that it caused greater pathogenicity and up to a 1,000-fold greater virulence in mice.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) reported another new case of MERS-CoV in Riyadh today.
A 48-year-old male expatriate from the capital city was diagnosed as having MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) after presenting with symptoms of the virus. He is in critical condition. The man's source of infection is listed as "pimary," meaning it's unlikely he contracted the virus from another person.
Flu vaccination in adults ages 50 and older doesn't appear to raise the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), according to a new study published in Vaccine that examined the connection between the two factors.
A systematic review by South African experts yesterday of 10 studies estimates the prevalence of colonization with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase–producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) at 17% in pregnant or postpartum African women, higher than women in middle- to high-income settings.
The results represent a risk for colonization of neonates with ESBL-E.
Our weekly wrap-up of antimicrobial stewardship & antimicrobial resistance scans
New research presented today at the annual meeting of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) indicates that children with asthma are more likely to be prescribed antibiotics than those without a diagnosis of asthma, even though antibiotics are not recommended for asthma treatment.
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has awarded drug maker Summit Therapeutics $32 million over the next 2 years for development of a new antibiotic for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI).
Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, who stepped down as the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at the end of the Obama administration, today announced the launch of a $225 million initiative to combat infectious disease outbreaks and heart disease and stroke throughout the world, according to media reports.
Although overuse of antimicrobials is a known contributor to antimicrobial resistance in general, researchers reported yesterday they could find no association between numbers of US antimicrobial prescriptions during a recent 8-year period and resistance in the bacteria that causes gonorrhea.
German researchers have found indications that the risk of acquiring healthcare-associated vancomycin-resistant enterococci (HA-VRE) is linked to the use of specific antimicrobial agents, according to a study yesterday in Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control.
Pregnant women who received the pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccine in 2009 or 2010 were no more likely to have adverse birth outcomes than women who received the seasonal flu shot at the time, according to a study published yesterday in Vaccine.
Results from a new study in Pediatrics confirmed high performance of a novel diagnostic test to distinguish bacterial from viral infection in febrile children.
Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP) today reported a new case of H7N9 avian flu in Liaoning province, further evidence that the virus has not disappeared during the summer.
Researchers at the University of Washington report in Clinical Infectious Diseases that a subclone of the emerging global pathogen Escherichia coli sequence type (ST) 131 is not as prevalent in children as adults but is nearly as dominant in drug-resistant E coli infections in children.
Italy has now confirmed 14 cases of locally acquired chikungunya, 6 of them in Rome, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a Sep 15 statement.
Symbiomix Therapeutics announced yesterday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Sep 15 approved its antibiotic Solosec (secnidazole) for treating bacterial vaginosis (BV) in adults, the first single-dose option for the condition.
Postoperative antibiotics more than cut in half the rate of surgical site infection (SSI) within 30 days after delivery among obese women undergoing cesarean delivery, according to the results of a randomized controlled trial published yesterday in JAMA.
High flu activity continues in several parts of the world, especially in Australia, as well as some countries in southern Asia and southeast Asia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest global flu update.
A multidrug-resistant parasite lineage that has become dominant in Cambodia, with spread to parts of Thailand and Laos, has now spread to southern Vietnam, where it has been linked to an alarming number of treatment failures in patients who were given the nation's first-line treatment.
More funding, public health efforts, and surveillance are needed to ensure responsible use of antimicrobials in food animals and humans, Maria Helena Semedo, deputy director-general with the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said yesterday. She was speaking to participants at a UN General Assembly event on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported a new case of MERS-CoV to the World Health Organization (WHO), according to a WHO update yesterday.
A 78-year-old man from Al Ain was hospitalized on Aug 11 with symptoms of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. The man was not a healthcare worker, but no other details of his exposure or risk factors were available at this time.
