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CARB-X to fund Group A Strep vaccine candidate

CARB-X today announced an award of more than $1.6 million to biopharmaceutical company SutroVax of Foster City, Calif., to develop a vaccine to prevent infections caused by Group A Streptococcus.

DRC confirms 6 more Ebola cases as schools open

Health officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) confirmed 6 more Ebola infections, raising the overall outbreak total to 3,049, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) online dashboard today. Also, outbreak responders are still investigating 327 suspected cases.

Ten more people died from their infections, raising the fatality count to 2,045.

Trump administration sued over expanded use of antibiotics on citrus trees

The Center for Biological Diversity today sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for refusing to provide documents related to the EPA's decision to allow expanded use of medically important antibiotics on citrus trees.

Study links resistance rates with national income status

A study of antibiotic resistance surveillance systems and gross national income (GNI) in 67 countries suggests that low-income status is linked to higher rates of invasive infections caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens, German and Italian researchers reported today in The Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

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

CDC reports 7 new measles cases, 1,241 total

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today it has received reports of 7 more measles cases last week, lifting the number of confirmed cases this year to 1,241 from 31 states. However, it noted that only 2 of the patients were recently sick and that the other 5 are past cases.

Study: Meropenem could be alternative treatment for bacterial meningitis

New data from a study by Swedish researchers indicates meropenem is an effective alternative empirical treatment option for adults who have community-acquired acute bacterial meningitis (ABM). The findings appeared yesterday in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

DRC Ebola total grows by 7 more cases, to 3,091

Seven more confirmed Ebola infections were reported today in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), raising the outbreak's overall total to 3,091, according the World Health Organization (WHO) online Ebola dashboard. Health officials are also investigating 451 suspected cases.

One more person died from Ebola, listing the fatality count to 2,071.

Chick-fil-A reached goal of antibiotic-free chicken in all its restaurants

Chick-fil-A today announced it has reached its goal of serving only chicken raised without the routine use of antibiotics, an ambition it set in 2014, according to a company news release.

India joins global effort to spur antibiotic research and development

India announced yesterday that it has joined the Global Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Research and Development (R&D) Hub, becoming the 16th nation to join the global partnership.

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

India joins global effort to spur antibiotic research and development

India announced yesterday that it has joined the Global Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Research and Development (R&D) Hub, becoming the 16th nation to join the global partnership.

Study underscores need for early diagnostic tests in severe sepsis

US and Canadian researchers, writing in the Annals of Internal Medicine today, said they have determined that, among patients with severe manifestations of sepsis, initiation of empirical antimicrobial therapy significantly reduces the sensitivity of blood cultures drawn shortly after treatment began—underscoring the need for early diagnostic blood tests.

Study rules out association between flu vaccination and miscarriage

A study over three flu seasons found no association between flu vaccination and miscarriage, according to findings published yesterday in Vaccine.

USDA study finds resistance levels aren't lower in antibiotic-free pork

A new study by scientists from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has found similar levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in pork chops from pigs raised without antibiotics and those raised conventionally.

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

USDA study finds resistance levels aren't lower in antibiotic-free pork

Originally published by CIDRAP News Sep 19

A new study by scientists from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has found similar levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in pork chops from pigs raised without antibiotics and those raised conventionally.

HHS, CDC celebrate commitments to fight antimicrobial resistance

Officials from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York that they've received nearly 350 commitments from corporations, non-profit organizations, and health officials in 33 countries to take specific actions against antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

PAHO/WHO taps CDC as biosafety and biosecurity collaborating center

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced yesterday that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO) have designated the CDC's Center for Global Health as a PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for Biosafety and Biosecurity.

Study finds ceftolozane-tazobactam non-inferior for serious pneumonia

An international group of researchers, in a phase 3 trial, have demonstrated that ceftolozane-tazobactam—an antibiotic approved in 2014 for complicated urinary tract and intra-abdominal infections—is non-inferior to meropenem for serious cases of nosocomial (hospital-acquired) pneumonia, paving the way for a potential new tool for the disease.

Rapid test for bloodstream infections tied to faster optimal antibiotics

Use of a rapid molecular identification test on positive blood cultures from critically ill patients with bloodstream infections was associated with significantly reduced time to optimal antibiotic treatment, Belgian researchers reported yesterday in PLOS One.

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

Rapid test for bloodstream infections tied to faster optimal antibiotics

Use of a rapid molecular identification test on positive blood cultures from critically ill patients with bloodstream infections was associated with significantly reduced time to optimal antibiotic treatment, Belgian researchers reported yesterday in PLOS One.

Targeted stewardship may reduce post-discharge fluoroquinolones

Researchers conducting a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) study involving 122 hospitals have determined that a targeted inpatient fluoroquinolone stewardship program (ASP) is tied to improved fluoroquinolone prescribing at hospital discharge, with urinary tract infections (UTIs) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) most often associated with inappropriate prescribing of the drugs, according to findings pub

VA study finds negative MRSA nasal swabs effective at ruling out infection

A study today in Clinical Infectious Diseases indicates that nasal screening of patients for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization has a high negative predictive value (NPV) for ruling out MRSA infection and could be a powerful antibiotic stewardship tool.

Saudi Arabia records new MERS case in southwest

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) today reported another MERS-CoV case, the first in October. The case-patient is from Abha, a city in the southwestern region of the country.

The new MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) case involves a 34-year-old man with unknown camel exposure. His illness is listed as "primary," meaning it's unlikely he contracted the virus from another person.

Accelerate Diagnostics touts data on rapid diagnostic test

Accelerate Diagnostics presented three studies today at IDWeek 2019 in Washington, DC, that show promising results for its rapid phenotypic susceptibility test, according to a company press release.

Amid more polio cases, WHO says disease is still public health emergency

The World Health Organization said yesterday that ongoing transmission of wild poliovirus in Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as a rash of new vaccine-derived cases in Africa and Asia, means polio is still a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).