Respiratory Infections News

Tunnels filled knee-high with bat guano caused a deadly outbreak of histoplasmosis in the Dominican Republic, raising awareness of what may be an underdiagnosed infection in Latin America, investigators said.

The number of suspected and confirmed cholera cases in war-torn Yemen is nearing 1 million, while suspected cases of diphtheria there have surpassed 2,000, according to WHO.

A single dose plus a booster of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was equal or superior to the current two-dose plus booster schedule for most targeted serotypes in a recent study.

Johns Hopkins University researchers said they discovered a genetic mutation in the nasal spray influenza vaccine that could be altered to restore the vaccine’s effectiveness.

In a small survey conducted at a St. Louis hospital, many health care personnel could not describe the correct transmission-based precautions for patients with influenza, and some even said they had reservations about the safety and effectiveness of the influenza vaccine.

Water cultures are significantly more sensitive than swab cultures in detecting Legionella pneumophila, according to a comparison of the two recommended methods that was mostly conducted in the wake of a hospital outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Pittsburgh.

In intubated adult ICU patients, the diagnosis of MRSA ventilator-associated pneumonia, or VAP, is based on epidemiologic/microbiologic criteria. The characteristic clinical features of MRSA pneumonia are well-known from decades of clinical experience with MRSA community-acquired pneumonia in patients with influenza. This is the gold standard of diagnosing MRSA pneumonia.

A single, 50-mg dose of MEDI8897, a monoclonal antibody immunoprophylaxis designed to prevent respiratory syncytial virus, was safe and effective in healthy preterm infants, supporting protection within the standard 5-month season, according to research presented at IDWeek.

Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing rates increased 12 months after behavioral interventions stopped, according to findings recently published in JAMA.

An outbreak of plague in Madagascar has started to decline in recent weeks, with 12 previously affected districts reporting no new confirmed or probable cases, according to WHO.