An antibiotic stewardship intervention for asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) was associated with a reduction in urine cultures and antibiotic use at four Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals, researchers reported today in JAMA Network Open.
A clearinghouse that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) set up to take questions from industry and stakeholders about a new rule that established the food safety standards for the produce industry is slow to answer questions, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released Nov 28. The produce rule is part of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, passed in 2011.
Two more Ebola cases were confirmed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Equateur province outbreak, raising the total to 112, the World Health Organization (WHO) African regional office said today in a Twitter update.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC's) ministry of health confirmed that the new Ebola outbreak in the eastern reaches of the country is caused by the Zaire Ebola virus species, according to Science magazine.
A phase 2 trial has shown that a 2-week course of triple antiviral therapy with interferon beta-1b plus lopinavir-ritonavir and ribavirin is safe and better at shortening COVID-19 viral shedding than lopinavir-ritonavir alone in patients with mild to moderate illness if started within 7 days of symptom onset.
The recent pattern of a Saudi MERS-CoV case or two a day changed today, as the country's Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 6 new cases, 3 of them in Taif and 1 of those fatal.
With the drop in flu activity gaining momentum, several parts of the US are now below their regional baselines.
People who received the flu vaccine prior to having COVID-19 had less risk of sepsis, stroke, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and disease requiring emergency or intensive care, according to a study presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) this year.
South Africa has identified 6 new mpox cases in an outbreak that began in late May.
In a surprise finding, South Korean researchers observed point mutations in MERS-CoV isolates that rendered the virus less virulent as the outbreak in that country spread last year, a finding that may have ramifications for vaccine development, according to a study today in mBio.
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).
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.
A Mayo Clinic study finds that nearly 90% of patients with acute sinusitis received antibiotics, but only two-thirds met the prescribing criteria.
Utah has now topped 500 measles infections, while Pennsylvania recorded 19 cases in the past 2 weeks.
The analysis looks at medical records of 2.5 million patients across the VA health system.
Saudi Arabia today reported three more MERS-CoV illnesses linked to ongoing hospital-related outbreaks in Riyadh, according to a statement from the country's Ministry of Health (MOH).
People with COVID-19 infections who also used the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) drug infliximab had significantly fewer detectable antibodies than those who used vedolizumab, which treats IBD without the immune suppression, according to a study yesterday in Gut.
Researchers who analyzed the genome of a new coronavirus (CoV) from a South African bat sample demonstrated that it may be the ancestor of MERS-CoV, that a host switch from bats to camels may have taken place in Africa, and that camels are likely infecting humans rather than vice versa, according to a study yesterday in the Journal of Virology.
Vaccine effectiveness (VE) for both US-approved rotavirus vaccines— the five-strain (RV5) and single-strain (RV1) versions—is 80% in children, according to a study published yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
A randomized, controlled clinical trial involving high-risk healthcare workers found that pre-exposure prophylaxis with hydroxychloroquine once or twice weekly did not significantly reduce COVID-19 compared with placebo, researchers reported late last week in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The value of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing as an additional tool to screen for cervical cancer—joining the traditional Pap smear—has been affirmed by a new meta-analysis and an expert panel’s recommendation based on that analysis, as explained in a set of articles today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Blue Bell Creameries, which has been linked to 10 listeriosis cases in four states in an outbreak that spans several years, had evidence of Listeria in its Oklahoma plant as early as March 2013, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) report today said, according to an Associated Press (AP) story.
A total of 126 more people have been sickened by a strain of Salmonella Newport in an outbreak tied to JBS Tolleson, Inc. beef products, and three more states are affected, according to an outbreak update yesterday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
With about 2.4 million dengue cases reported in the Americas so far, the 2019 total will probably top the number for the last epidemic year, which occurred in 2015, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said its latest update late last week.
China reported its second H7N9 avian flu case this year, with both cases in Guangdong province near Hong Kong, according to a report today from Xinhua, the country's state-run news agency.
