An online calculator that predicts the risk for early onset sepsis (EOS) can cut antibiotic use in newborns nearly in half, according to a study yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics.
In the latest avian flu developments, two European countries confirmed more highly pathogenic H5N8 in wild birds, as India and Niger reported poultry outbreaks from the H5N1 subtype, according to reports to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Also, Chile's agriculture ministry yesterday reported a second low-pathogenic H7 outbreak in turkeys.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) reported two new cases of MERS-CoV today in men from Buraydah, a city in the central part of the country.
Both men are Saudi nationals and described as having primary exposure to MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus), meaning they did not contract the virus from someone else. One man is 94 years old, and the other 61. Both remain in critical condition.
Sepsis accounts for nearly a quarter of newborn deaths in India, with most episodes occurring within 3 days of birth.
The condition strikes quickly and can lead to tissue failure, organ damage, and death.
Saudi Arabia today reported two more MERS-Cov cases in different cities, after a weekend with no new cases.
An Austrian pharmaceutical company today reported promising findings from a phase 1 study of its candidate chikungunya vaccine. The vaccine, which uses a standard measles vaccine vector, induced a significant neutralizing immune response and appeared to be safe, according to a press release from the Vienna-based company, Themis Bioscience.
