Respiratory Infections News

The number of deaths attributable to pneumococcal disease and Haemophilus influenzae type b decreased significantly on a global scale between 2000 and 2015, with approximate decreases of 90% in influenza b–related deaths and 51% in pneumococcal disease-related deaths reported.

ATLANTA — Predicting the impact of climate change on the spread of infectious diseases is “not straightforward” and requires input from experts from various backgrounds, according Virginia E. Pitzer, ScD, associate professor of epidemiology and co-director of public health modeling concentration at the Yale School of Public Health.

Influenza viruses, including H1N1, H3N2 and H3N8, have spread from swine to pet dogs in the Guanxi Zhuag autonomous region in China, according to findings published in mBio. These viruses pose a potential risk to humans, researchers said.

Respiratory viruses, including influenza, were associated with an increased risk of treatment failure in children who presented to the ED with moderate or severe asthma exacerbations, according to recently published study results in Pediatrics.

No additional or new adverse events related to immunization with DTaP vaccines currently licensed for administration in the United States were found in an analysis conducted on the vaccines’ safety.

Study findings showed that an automated system that uses an algorithm to detect ventilator-associated events, or VAEs, in hospitalized patients is more accurate and efficient than traditional manual surveillance performed by infection control staff, who are prone to human error, researchers said.

The 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine had an unadjusted vaccine effectiveness of around 73% against vaccine-type community-acquired pneumonia in the first real-world test of the vaccine among seniors in the United States, researchers reported in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Among patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia, diabetes is an independent predictor of mortality after controlling for age, other respiratory diseases and H1N1 infection, according to study findings presented at the European Congress of Endocrinology annual meeting.

An early-stage clinical trial will test the safety of two human monoclonal antibodies as a targeted treatment for people infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or MERS-CoV.

Hotel pools are a frequent source of recreational waterborne disease, causing 32% of all swimming-related disease outbreaks in the United States, according to new research published today by the CDC.