Infectious Disease

The CDC issued a report on the state of the avian influenza, or bird flu, at the end of last week.

Global coverage for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis has reached its lowest point in 15 years.

The updates follow the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practice meeting held June 26 to 28, 2024.

Through a test-and-treat approach, patients who test positive for HCV RNA with the Xpert HCV test and GeneXpert Xpress System can be connected to care as soon as the same health care visit.

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The theme of this year’s National HIV Testing Day encourages individuals to self-test for HIV as a means of demonstrating their compassion for themselves.

Cases of Dengue virus—the most common global arboviral disease—are on the rise.

In a webinar conducted by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), experts gathered to publicly address the ongoing bird flu outbreak across many US states.

The SpeedySwab COVID + FLU A&B Self-Test from Watmind is intended for at-home and point-of-care use and can simultaneously detect COVID-19, influenza A, and influenza B in 15 minutes.

While US health officials continue to monitor the outbreak in dairy cattle across the country, a second human recently tested positive after a mutation of the bird flu virus.

Research presented at DDW 2024 found there was no significant association between immune response and hepatitis B vaccine types in patients with Hepatitis C.

Over half of the money is set to assist the overall effort to stop the virus, while the remaining funds will go to dairy farms affected by the bird flu outbreak.

The federal agency said the delay was due to administrative constraints and did not cite any vaccine safety, efficacy or quality issues.

As the H5N1 bird flu virus continues to spread across dairy cattle in the US, researchers and government health officials are ramping up testing to stop the spread.

US health officials are growing increasingly worried about rising syphilis cases and have begun creating framework to slow down the spread.

With expertise through antimicrobial stewardship experience, researchers believe antimicrobial stewardship pharmacists are vital in assisting diagnostic stewardship.

A study from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that a positive PCR test was not associated with an increased risk of a new asthma diagnosis in patients ages 1 to 16.

Since a 2019 measles outbreak, the CDC has seen an increasing number of cases in the US.

The CDC addressed an HPAI A(H5N1) virus infection reported by a commercial dairy farmer in Texas.

The antibiotic was approved to treat Staphylococcus aureas bacteremia, acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections, and community-acquired bacterial pneumonia.

Tenofovir alafenamide was originally approved by the FDA in 2016 to treat adults with chronic HBV infection with compensated liver disease and in 2022 to treat pediatric patients aged 12 years and older.

Participants of a recent study who received automated text messaging and monitoring, as well as peer support and coaching, increased PrEP uptake from 11% to over 20%.

With over 3% of the world’s population affected by chronic hepatitis B, TherVacB has the potential to address a critical unmet need for a cure.

Of the 2596 patients included in the study, the hospitalization rates were 31.5% for Omicron, 27.7% for influenza, and 81.7% for RSV.

The use of tecovirimat for monkeypox and other non-variola orthopoxvirus infections is under an expanded access IND protocol, according to the CDC.

The vaccine, called mRNA-1345, demonstrated an efficacy of 83.7% against RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease with at least 2 signs or symptoms and 82.4% against the disease with at least 3 signs or symptoms.

Biologic approvals ranged from gene therapies for hemophilia A to a cellular therapy to treat type 1 diabetes.

Vaccine approvals included two immunizations for RSV and a new pentavalent meningococcal shot.

Patients hospitalized for either virus had an increased risk of death, hospital readmission, and health problems in multiple organ systems over 18 months of follow-up.

Three posters presented at ASHP Midyear 2023 delved deeper into the topic of antimicrobial stewardship programs and their impact on antibiotic resistance.