Respiratory Infections News

PHOENIX — Azithromycin failed to prevent infants with severe respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, from later developing recurrent wheeze, according to data presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Meeting.

The NFL’s COVID-19 test-to-release protocol, implemented in December during the omicron surge, helped NFL players and staff members shorten their isolation time, according to a study published in MMWR.

One in three older adults reported one or more new or persistent COVID-19 symptoms following acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, researchers reported in BMJ.

New COVID-19 guidance released by the CDC on Friday indicates that most Americans now live in areas where they can go maskless.

The CDC published a recommendation and interim guidance in MMWR for a 4-month regimen to treat patients aged 12 years or older with drug-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis.

No. Used rationally, rapid nonculture tests can be a powerful complement to cultivating organisms. However, they will not fully replace cultures for the foreseeable future. Having an organism in hand allows phenotypic testing — most notably of antimicrobial susceptibility — and strain typing. Cultures can confirm results of rapid tests. They can provide insights not available by certain rapid tests, such as detection of organisms not included in a particular diagnostic panel. They can give noncorroborative data that are important in shaping interpretation of rapid test results and in guiding clinical decision-making.

Rapid diagnostic tests, now synonymous with COVID-19, are instrumental to patient care, helping to improve antimicrobial therapy, patient outcomes and even infection control, experts said.

“Soap, water and common sense are the best disinfectants.” - William Osler.

Sanofi and GSK announced Wednesday that they will submit data from booster and phase 3 efficacy trials to support authorization of their two-dose protein-based COVID-19 vaccine.

The interval between the first and second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines can be up to 8 weeks for certain people, the CDC said in updated interim guidance.