Zoonotic Infections News

A study of animal-use probiotics in China showed that approximately one-third contained “life-threatening” pathogens, and that colonized animals shed pathogens into the environment, facilitating spillover to humans.

Colorado State University announced a $9.5 million partnering agreement with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI, to develop a single-dose vaccine for Rift Valley fever, or RFV.

Although subspecialization training encompassing two fellowships is almost unheard of, this experience is where I began my journey in infectious disease clinical practice. As a fourth-year medical student rotating on the pediatric infectious disease service, getting the opportunity to observe the breadth of disease in the category, gain a deeper understanding of “bugs and drugs” and hone my diagnostic skills from truly gifted physicians was awe-inspiring. What impressed me most was that all of the attendings I met were both excellent diagnosticians and had excellent general practitioner skills.

A new skin test for detecting bovine tuberculosis has shown equal or better sensitivity in diagnosing TB in cattle than the widely used standard assay, according to a recent study.

Since 2017, Nigeria has been experiencing the largest documented outbreak of human monkeypox caused by the West African clade of the virus, with some evidence of secondary human-to-human transmission, according to a newly published clinical and epidemiological report.

Over a 10-year period in Hawaii, health officials identified 82 cases of rat lungworm disease, two of which were fatal, according to findings published in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Hepatitis E virus circulates in domestic pigs and represents a “permanent zoonotic disease risk,” particularly among occupationally exposed individuals, according to a recent study performed in Hanoi, Vietnam.

A man in southern Texas became only the second person ever in the United States diagnosed with philophthalmiasis, a rare eye infection caused by a certain trematode, according to a report published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

SAN FRANCISCO — Researchers investigated 79 cases of pet-associated Pasteurella multocida infection that occurred over a 30-month period and found that 34 were not associated with a bite from a dog or cat, the usual mode of transmission, according to findings presented at ASM Microbe.

It was my first week of intern year, in the medical ICU. He presented in extremis and died within 90 minutes. He was reportedly bitten by his dog 3 days prior. I remember leaving the MICU in tears, overcome with emotion, feelings of guilt and helplessness, wishing I could have changed his outcome. When his admission blood cultures later grew Capnocytophaga canimorsus, I was intrigued. I was unfamiliar with the organism at the time and yearned to learn more. Henceforth, I was “hooked on ID,” forever.