Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Infectious Disease for August 2010. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Recommendations Updated
MONDAY, Aug. 30 (HealthDay News) -- The American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Infectious Diseases has updated its recommendations on the routine use of trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine as well as antiviral medications for the prevention and treatment of influenza among children; the recommendations are part of a policy statement published online Aug. 30 in Pediatrics.
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Vaccination Coverage Estimate Shrinks With New Method
FRIDAY, Aug. 27 (HealthDay News) -- As the result of a recent change to the method for measuring Haemophilus influenzae serotype b (Hib) vaccination coverage, the proportion of children aged 19 to 35 months considered fully vaccinated has dropped by nearly a third, according to an article published in the Aug. 27 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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CDC's Revised Influenza Death Estimates Show Wide Variation
FRIDAY, Aug. 27 (HealthDay News) -- From 1976 through 2007, the number of annual influenza-related deaths in the United States ranged from 3,349 to 48,614, according to a report published in the Aug. 27 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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ACOG Makes Recommendations for Use of HPV Vaccination
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Girls should be routinely vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) at the age of 11 or 12, though vaccination may be advisable in girls as young as 9, according to recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists published in the September issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
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ACOG Recommends Antibiotics Before Cesarean Delivery
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 25 (HealthDay News) -- All women undergoing cesarean delivery should receive antimicrobial prophylaxis within 60 minutes of the start of the delivery unless they're already receiving appropriate antibiotics for issues such as chorioamnionitis, according to recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists published in the September issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
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Rotavirus Vaccine Effective in Preventing Hospitalizations
TUESDAY, Aug. 24 (HealthDay News) -- High three-dose coverage with a universal infant pentavalent rotavirus vaccine (RV5) is effective in preventing rotavirus and non-rotavirus acute gastroenteritis (AGE) hospitalizations in vaccinated children and older individuals who are unvaccinated, according to a study published online Aug. 23 in Pediatrics.
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Virus May Be Associated With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
TUESDAY, Aug. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have found evidence of the murine leukemia virus (MLV) in a group of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS); their findings were published online Aug. 23 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Hepatitis E Vaccine Found to Be Effective and Safe
MONDAY, Aug. 23 (HealthDay News) -- A recombinant hepatitis E vaccine (HEV 239) appears to be effective and well-tolerated in the general adult population, according to a study published online Aug. 23 in The Lancet.
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More HIV-Exposed Uninfected Infants Have Group B Strep
MONDAY, Aug. 23 (HealthDay News) -- HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) infants may be more susceptible to invasive group B streptococcal (GBS) infections in terms of incidence and severity than babies born to HIV-uninfected mothers, according to research published online Aug. 23 in Pediatrics.
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Hepatitis C, Hispanic Ethnicity Linked to HCC Mortality
FRIDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Hepatitis C infection and Hispanic ethnicity are associated with a higher risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-related mortality, according to research published in the August issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
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Recommended Vaccinations Up Among U.S. Teens
FRIDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Vaccination rates in U.S. adolescents for the vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices have increased since 2008, but there is still room for improvement, according to research published in the Aug. 20 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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MRSA Infection Risk Found Higher Among Illicit Drug Users
FRIDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Patients who use illicit drugs are three times more likely to acquire USA300 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia than patients who don't use illicit drugs, according to a study conducted in veterans hospitals and reported in the September issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
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HIV Viral Populations in Semen Different Than in Blood
FRIDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- HIV-1 living in the genital tract displays genetic differences from HIV-1 in the bloodstream, suggesting three mechanisms leading to the virus getting into semen, according to a study published online Aug. 19 in PLoS Pathogens.
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Long-Term Entecavir Therapy Improves Histology in HBV
THURSDAY, Aug. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Long-term treatment (at least three years) with entecavir appears to result in histologic improvements and regression of fibrosis or cirrhosis in people with chronic hepatitis B virus, according to research published in the September issue of Hepatology.
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Antibiotic Sponges Fail to Fend Off Infections
TUESDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- In cardiac surgery patients with diabetes and/or a high body mass index, the use of two gentamicin-collagen sponges does not reduce the sternal wound infection rate 90 days post-surgery compared with no intervention, according to a study published in the Aug. 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Quality of Care Lackluster for Patients With Hepatitis C Virus
TUESDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Nationwide, the quality of care provided to patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is substantially below proposed Medicare standards, though care that involves both specialists and generalists is associated with the highest quality, according to a study in the Aug. 17 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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1,097 Foodborne Outbreaks Occurred in U.S. in 2007
FRIDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) -- In 2007, nearly 1,100 foodborne outbreaks were reported in the United States, resulting in 21,244 cases of illness and 18 deaths, according to data published in the Aug. 13 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Decline Seen in Peptic Ulcer Disease Hospitalizations
FRIDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Hospitalization rates for peptic ulcer disease (PUD) and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection have decreased substantially since 1998, according to an analysis in the September issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
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Proteinuria Prevalent in Injection Drug Users With HIV
FRIDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Proteinuria is common among injection drug users, especially those who have HIV, according to a study published online Aug. 12 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
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Screening, Eradication Curtail Post-Surgery Staph Infections
FRIDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) colonization is more prevalent among orthopedic surgeons than a high-risk patient group, but an institution-wide prescreening program for detecting and eradicating methicillin-sensitive and methicillin-resistant S. aureus among orthopedic surgery patients is feasible and can reduce surgical site infection rates, according to a pair of studies in the Aug. 4 issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
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Cell Phones Offer New Tool in Infectious Disease Surveillance
THURSDAY, Aug. 12 (HealthDay News) -- A survey invitation sent to hundreds of thousands of cell phone subscribers in Mexico during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic demonstrates a new model for enlisting new technology for surveillance during outbreaks of infectious disease, according to a letter published in the September issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
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Travel Linked to Spread of Antibiotic Resistance Gene
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 11 (HealthDay News) -- A gene that creates antibiotic resistance has been found to be widespread in Enterobacteriaceae of patients in India and Pakistan and in patients from the United Kingdom who have visited India or Pakistan for elective surgery; this could indicate an emerging public health threat, according to research published online Aug. 11 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
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Patients, Doctors Often Have Communication Discrepancies
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Hospitalized patients and physicians may have differing beliefs regarding patients' knowledge and aspects of their care, suggesting a need for improved patient-physician communication, according to research published in the Aug. 9/23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Health Care-Linked MRSA Rate Shows Recent Decline
TUESDAY, Aug. 10 (HealthDay News) -- In a recent four-year period, rates of invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections declined in patients thought to have hospital-onset infections and those thought to have health care-associated infections that began in the community, according to research published in the Aug. 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Boceprevir Can Improve Response Rate in Hepatitis C
MONDAY, Aug. 9 (HealthDay News) -- The addition of boceprevir, an NS3 protease inhibitor, to the standard regimen of peginterferon alfa-2b and ribavirin for patients with treatment-naive genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C infection can nearly double the sustained virological response (SVR) rate, according to a study published online Aug. 9 in The Lancet.
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Dry Pet Food May Be Contaminated With Salmonella
MONDAY, Aug. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Household use of dry dog and cat food manufactured at a specific plant has been linked to illness among young children over a three-year period, demonstrating for the first time that dry pet food may be associated with Salmonella infection in humans, according to research published online Aug. 9 in Pediatrics.
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Low Hep B Viral Load Linked to Surface Antigen Seroclearance
FRIDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, a low viral load appears to predict the natural seroclearance of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), according to research published in the August issue of Gastroenterology.
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Two Surveillance Systems in Haiti Monitor Disease Trends
FRIDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Two national surveillance systems established in Haiti after the magnitude-7.0 earthquake on Jan. 12 aim to enable government and community organizations to better monitor disease trends and coordinate relief efforts, according to two reports published in the Aug. 6 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Assessment Found Useful in Inactive Hep B Carriers
FRIDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Assessment of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-DNA and hepatitis B surface antigen provides identification of inactive carriers of hepatitis B with high diagnostic accuracy, according to research published in the August issue of Gastroenterology.
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Sponges Do Not Prevent Surgical-Site Infections
THURSDAY, Aug. 5 (HealthDay News) -- The use of gentamicin-collagen sponges in patients undergoing colorectal surgery is not an effective method for preventing surgical-site infection, and even appears to increase the risk of infection, according to a study published online Aug. 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Risk Higher With Chronic Hepatitis
THURSDAY, Aug. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is associated with an increased risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), according to research published online Aug. 4 in The Lancet Oncology.
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Industry-Funded Clinical Trials Yield More Positive Outcomes
TUESDAY, Aug. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Drug clinical trials supported by industry are more likely to produce favorable results than trials supported by government or nonprofit/nonfederal organizations, and they are less likely to be published within two years of the study being completed, according to research published in the Aug. 3 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Fever Alone Unreliable Indicator of H1N1 Infection
MONDAY, Aug. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Standard diagnostic criteria used for the diagnosis of 2009 H1N1 influenza infection, based on the presence of fever, may fail to identify patients with the disease, and respiratory symptoms may be more reliable indicators, according to research published in the August issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.
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FDA Issues Label Change for Afluria Influenza Vaccine
MONDAY, Aug. 2 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has updated the Warnings and Precautions sections of the Prescribing Information for the influenza virus vaccine Afluria, as the vaccine has been associated with an increased incidence of fever and febrile seizure in children younger than 5 years of age in Australia.
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Most Pediatricians, Family Doctors Offering HPV Vaccine
MONDAY, Aug. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly all pediatricians and most family physicians were offering human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine by 18 months after licensure, though fewer strongly recommend the vaccine for 11- and 12-year-olds than for 13- to 15-year-olds, according to research published online Aug. 2 in Pediatrics.
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