July 20, 2018
Klebsiella pneumoniae resistance to 3 types of antibiotics increased within six months of use. Using quarterly consumption and resistance data for β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitors (BLBLI), third-generation cephalosporins, and fluoroquinolones at a tertiary care hospital in South Korea, CDDEP researcher Eili Klein and colleagues in Korea found that resistance to piperacillin/tazobactam significantly increased between 2012 and 2016, and that consumption of BLBLIs was significantly correlated with the rate of resistance to piperacillin/tazobactam. The correlation occurred with a lag of about 6 months. Rates of resistance to third-generation cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones were also correlated with resistance rates on a seasonal basis. [Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control]
Serious infectious illness linked to non-completion of 9th grade; mild illness did not impact school achievement. A cohort of 598,553 children in Denmark was studied to examine the associations between childhood infections and scholastic achievement. Infections leading to one or more hospitalizations were linked to lower completion of ninth grade (OR = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.79–0.85). The number of antibiotic prescriptions taken by a child, used as a proxy for less severe infections, predicted slightly poorer scores on scholastic aptitude tests but did not predict ninth grade completion rates. Researchers concluded that infections were associated with lower cognitive ability and worse academic performance. [EurekAlert, The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal]
Lack of clean water linked to diabetes rates in Mexican town. Two journalists explored the soaring diabetes rates in the San Cristóbal de las Casas, where carbonated sugary drinks have been a part of local culture and religion since the introduction of Coca-Cola to the region in the 1960s. More than 3,000 deaths per year in the region are attributable to diabetes, and residents of San Cristóbal drink more than two liters of soda a day on average. Inadequate water and sewer infrastructure plus a decline in rainfall make the soda beverages more accessible than potable water. The local bottling plant has a contract with the federal Mexican government to extract 300,000 gallons per day of water. In protests, residents of the area have demanded that the bottling plant be closed or that federal government direct the funds from the contract towards improving infrastructure. [New York Times]
Antibiotic prescribing in traditional vs. retail healthcare settings shows variability and overuse. A recent study suggests that US urgent care centers have the highest rate (45.7%) of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for respiratory symptoms compared to retail clinics (14.4%), emergency departments (24.6%), and traditional doctor’s offices (17.0%), and the highest percentage of healthcare visits resulting in an antibiotic prescription (39.0%). The researchers conclude that as Americans increasingly use urgent care clinics, antibiotic stewardship programs specific to that sector are urgently needed. [EurekAlert, JAMA Internal Medicine,Washington Post]
Recent surveillance systems for pandemic preparedness provide substantial data on influenza. Data collected from surveillance systems created for national pandemic preparedness efforts informed a new analysis of influenza burden worldwide. These data have closed the gap in information available on seasonal influenza in low income and tropical countries and have sparked increasing interest in seasonal flu vaccination, which historically has been of most interest in high income countries. A lack of information on severe influenza and high-risk groups still remains. [Emerging Infectious Diseases]
Review on antibiotic resistance in Helicobacter pylori measures the association between treatment failure and resistance. Following the World Health Organization (WHO) designation of clarithromycin-resistant H. pylori as a priority for antibiotic research and development, researchers undertook a systematic review to assess the distribution of resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics and to evaluate the association between resistance and treatment failure. Their analysis found levels of 15% or more primary and secondary resistance to clarithromycin, metronidazole, and levofloxacin in all WHO regions, and a six-fold level of treatment failure in cases whose isolate was resistant to clarithromycin. The researchers recommend developing antibiotic stewardship programs based on local resistance patterns to promote eradication of H. pylori. [Gastroenterology]
Novartis drops antibacterial and antiviral research. Just two years after pledging to fight antimicrobial resistance, Novartis joins the ranks of pharmaceutical companies that are ending their antibiotic research programs. According to observers, market forces and the nature of antibiotic resistance itself are mostly to blame for pharmaceutical companies’ exodus from antibiotic development, as new antibiotics bring in a pittance compared to cancer drugs and biologics, new antibiotics do not sell in large quantities, and they are expensive to develop. Novartis will likely sell off the antibiotic products it had in various stages of development. [Bloomberg]
No increased risk of abortion for women receiving quadrivalent HPV vaccine. A recent study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology asserts that there was no increased risk of spontaneous abortion in women who received the quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (4vHPV) shortly before or during pregnancy. In the records of 2,880 pregnancies, spontaneous abortion occurred 10.4% of the time when vaccination occurred in the distal stage (16–22 weeks before the last menstrual period), 11.2% when vaccination was given in peripregnancy (within six weeks before last menstrual period), and 8.6% when vaccinated during pregnancy. [MedicalXpress, Obstetrics & Gynecology]
FDA approves first drug to treat smallpox. Despite the 1980 eradication of smallpox disease in humans, concerns remain that it could re-emerge as a bioweapon. The first smallpox treatment, tecovirimat (TPOXX), has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, which deemed the “novel small molecule antiviral therapy” safe after animal and human testing. Developed by SIGA Technologies in conjunction with the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, the drug was fast-tracked by the FDA. [FDA, CIDRAP, SIGA]
In Africa, Middle East, and Southeast Asia, more than 70% of children are under vaccinated. A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO), Explorations of inequality: Childhood immunization, presents 2012 to 2016 data from ten different countries. Simply put, “children from poor households were less likely to receive vaccinations than those in rich households,” says the WHO. Factors such as mother’s education level, mother’s age, location within the country, and birth order played a large role as to how likely it would be if the child was vaccinated. Subnational variation was substantial in some countries, especially Afghanistan, where immunization coverage differed by more than 80 percentage points across the 34 provinces. [WHO]
Photo Credit: Drew Taylor, Unsplash.com
