Gastrointestinal Infections News

Treatment with either pegylated interferon with ribavirin or direct-acting antivirals for hepatitis C correlated with a significantly lower risk for cardiovascular disease, especially among patients who achieved sustained virologic response, according to a study published in Gastroenterology.

Surveillance data show that norovirus outbreaks caused by a single genotype, GII.4, and those occurring in health care facilities include higher rates of severe outcomes — findings that should guide vaccine development, researchers said.

An automated pop-up screen in the electronic ordering system reduced unnecessary testing for Clostridioides difficile — formerly called Clostridium difficile — infections and saved on overall costs, according to study findings published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

Mavyret demonstrated 97% sustained virologic response in a large, real-world cohort of patients with hepatitis C over an 8-week course and extended 12-week to 16-week courses, according to recently published data.

NEW YORK — According to a presentation at the annual Infectious Diseases in Children Symposium, 61% of all children in the United States attend some type of out-of-home child care. Exclusions from school or child care are often unnecessary — especially for diarrheal illness — and they add to the burden of lost work time, the presenter said.

The Medicines Patent Pool signed a royalty-free license agreement with AbbVie to enable quality-assured manufacturers to develop and sell generic medicines including Mavyret, according to a press release.

In this guest editorial, Diane C. Halstead, PhD, DABMM, FAAM, who has over 35 years of experience as a clinical infectious disease laboratory director, discusses current data supporting T2 Biosystems’ T2Bacteria Panel, which patients should be tested using the technology, its potential economic benefits for both labs and hospitals, and how the test fits into a larger strategy to curb the use of inappropriate antibiotics.

Results from a retrospective review of patients infected with hepatitis C in childhood revealed that those with perinatal infection developed cirrhosis earlier than other risk groups, according to a recently published study.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, has issued a new warning about kratom, stating that the agency found “disturbingly high levels of heavy metals” in 26 kratom products.

An outbreak of Escherichia coli in romaine lettuce that led to a nationwide disposal of the leafy greens just days before Thanksgiving has been linked to a growing region in California. Officials said companies will begin voluntarily labeling romaine to make it easier to identify the source of future outbreaks.