October 23, 2017
Drug-resistant gonorrhea cases trending upward in the US. A study in Clinical Infectious Diseases reports that five percent of gonorrhea cases among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Seattle and King County, Washington are resistant to azithromycin. The researchers analyzed data between 2012 and 2016 and found that in 2012 and 2013, none of the 263 patients with gonorrhea were resistant to the drug. But by 2016, data revealed that collectively, approximately five percent of cases were drug resistant. [Clinical Infectious Diseases]
Discontinuing contact precautions for MRSA may not increase infection rates. A study in the American Journal of infection Control finds that hospitals that discontinued contact precautions for MRSA and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) did not result in a significantly increased rate of infections. In fact, a statistically significant reduction in VRE infections was noted. However, the researchers caution that this may not be applicable in outbreak situations. [American Journal of Infection Control]
Strengthening surveillance for gonococcal antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have strengthened the Enhanced Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Program (EGASP) to assess resistance patterns of gonorrhea in high-risk populations and to provide country-wide guidelines. The surveillance will set up more sentinel sites to collect laboratory, clinical, and behavioral data, while enhancing the capacity for countries to conduct robust surveillance. [Emerging Infectious Diseases]
US report finds threat to animal agriculture. A report by the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense finds an increasing rate of emerging and re-emerging animal diseases in the US and explores its subsequent impact on the US economy. The avian influenza outbreak in December 2014 affected twenty-one US states and reportedly cost $3.3 billion. The report underscores the need for new, improved ways to detect wildlife diseases and the necessity for increased funding for the National Veterinary Stockpile. [Defense of Animal Agriculture report, Press release]
Drug-resistant TB in India, China. Two studies found an increase in drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) cases in India and China. A review of 75 studies in the BMC Public Health, involving more than forty-five thousand TB patients in India, found that forty percent of cases were drug resistant. Another study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases revealed an increase in drug-resistant TB among children in China. Between 2006 and 2015, pediatric drug-resistant TB rose from 14.7% to 27.5%, while MDR-TB increased from 1.3% to 15.4%. [BMC Public Health, Emerging Infectious Diseases]
Climate change spurs disease outbreaks. A study in GeoHealth says that climate change has likely spurred infectious disease outbreaks, including Zika, malaria, and dengue. The researchers found a twelve-fold increase in Zika cases in the months following an earthquake in Manabi, Ecuador in April 2016. Extra rainfall and warm temperatures contributed to higher transmission rates. [GeoHealth, Press release]
Ebola-like Marburg virus in Uganda. Uganda has reported a death from the Marburg virus, a highly infectious hemorrhagic fever which is similar to Ebola. A rapid response team has been dispatched to the Kween District in Eastern Uganda where a fifty-year-old woman died. Ten health workers listed as contacts have also been isolated. Marburg is transmitted though contact with an infected person or the handling of infected animals. [Statement by Uganda Health Ministry, Reuters, VOANews]
New Zika guidelines for pregnant women. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new guidelines for infants born to mothers with possible Zika virus infection during pregnancy. The guidelines recommend that pregnant women should be screened for symptoms of congenital Zika, as laboratory tests may not be conclusive. Asymptomatic pregnant women who have a history of living in or traveling to Zika-affected areas should additionally undergo the Zika nucleic acid test (NAT) at least once per trimester. [CDC guidelines]
Antimicrobial restrictions led to significant decrease in consumption of restricted antibiotics. A study in the American Journal of Infection Control finds that restrictions on antibiotic use significantly decreased the consumption of restricted antibiotics in more than half of the medical units, but not in surgical units at a tertiary care center in Virginia. The analysis conducted between January 2013 and May 2015 found significant reductions in consumption in 57 percent of medical units. However, increased consumption of antibiotics was reported from twenty-nine percent of the medical units and twenty-five percent of the surgical units. [American Journal of Infection Control]
Image courtesy: NIH (CC By 2.0)
