Respiratory Infections News

The winter holidays bring generations of families together. The season also brings a heightened risk for respiratory infections, such as influenza and pneumococcal disease, as children come in close contact with older relatives.

How long an infant experiences symptoms of their first respiratory infection may be influenced by the bacteria present in the nasal microbiota, according to research published in ERJ Open Research.

Midturbinate swabbing was found to be as effective as standard nasopharyngeal swabbing in detecting respiratory syncytial virus in infants, and was preferred by most parents, according to a study published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.

NEW YORK — The best method to prevent infection with Bordetella pertussis is vaccination, but more information is needed about people’s immune responses to the infection and optimal vaccination strategies, according to a presentation at the Annual Infectious Diseases in Children Symposium.

A recent prospective cohort study found that regardless of the trimester of vaccination, women who received the influenza and pertussis vaccines did not have adverse birth outcomes compared with unvaccinated mothers.

Increasing the frequency of filter changes from quarterly to monthly in automated endoscope reprocessors stopped a pseudo-outbreak of Mycobacterium avium in an outpatient bronchoscopy clinic, researchers said.

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.

The 10 leading causes of death in the United States in 2017 were the same as 2016, with heart disease and cancer topping the list, according to a National Center for Health Statistics Data Brief published by the CDC.

NEW YORK — The AAP’s tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment guidelines in the 2018 Red Book have been updated to reflect recent developments in the field, according to a presentation at the Annual Infectious Diseases in Children Symposium.

Patients with diabetes diagnosed with tuberculosis are more likely to present with advanced disease and cavitation in the lungs vs. those with TB who do not have diabetes, according to findings from a cross-sectional study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.