Infection News

The CDC issued a health advisory alerting clinicians to a spike in extensively drug-resistant shigellosis in the United States, urging them to consider this infection in cases of acute diarrhea, especially among higher risk patients.

SEATTLE — The effort to find a cure for hepatitis B faces steep challenges, Anna Suk-Fong Lok, MD, told Healio after her plenary presentation at the Conference for Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.

A recent study published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases outlined the clinical characteristics of invasive Escherichia coli disease by stratifying cases by acquisition setting, patient age and infection outcome.

The FDA has rejected Phathom Pharmaceutical’s vonoprazan new drug application for erosive esophagitis, as well as its post-approval supplement for Helicobacter pylori, due to the presence of nitrosamine impurities.

Bezlotoxumab and fecal microbiota transplantation were similarly effective at preventing both early and late recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection, according to a study published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

A probiotic safely reduced Staphylococcus aureus colonization in a phase 2 human trial without harming other gut microbiota, suggesting a potential approach to preventing infection without using antibiotics.

Antibiotic prophylaxis failed to reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections or overall mortality among patients with decompensated cirrhosis, according to data published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Testing for HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C increased among U.S. Medicaid enrollees initiating treatment for opioid use disorder. However, a recent study showed approximately three-quarters of enrollees were not tested for each condition.

Direct-acting antiviral treatment significantly lowered the risk for mortality and liver and non-liver outcomes in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection, regardless of disease stage, researchers reported.

The largest outbreak of acute gastroenteritis recorded in the Grand Canyon National Park backcountry occurred from April to June 2022 and affected at least 222 backpackers and rafters, data in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report showed.