Top stories in infectious disease: Zerbaxa noninferior to meropenem, multistate E. coli outbreak linked to ground beef

Among the top stories in infectious disease last week were phase 3 trial data that suggested Zerbaxa was noninferior to meropenem for the treatment of adult patients with ventilated nosocomial pneumonia and a report from the CDC that said health officials have linked a multistate outbreak of Escherichia coli to ground beef, but no common supplier, distributor or brand has been identified.

Other highlights included a preliminary estimate published by the World Health Organization that indicated the Ebola virus vaccine being used in the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been more than 97% effective, a Q&A focusing on the prevention and surveillance of catheter-associated UTIs and a study that found the monoclonal antibody UB-421 “demonstrated unprecedented and sustained” virologic suppression in the absence of antiretroviral therapy among people with HIV.

Zerbaxa noninferior to meropenem for treating nosocomial pneumonia

Zerbaxa is noninferior to meropenem for the treatment of adult patients with ventilated nosocomial pneumonia, according to phase 3 data from the ASPECT-NP trial presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases. Read more.

Multistate E. coli outbreak linked to ground beef

Health officials linked a multistate outbreak of Escherichia coli to ground beef, although no common supplier, distributor or brand has yet been identified. Read more.

Ebola vaccine more than 97% effective in Democratic Republic of the Congo outbreak

The Ebola virus vaccine being used in the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been more than 97% effective, according to a preliminary estimate published by the World Health Organization. Read more.

Q&A: The evolution of catheter-associated UTIs and need for better metrics

Current metrics used to monitor progress in the prevention of catheter-associated UTIs may underestimate infectious and noninfectious catheter harm and may need to be updated, experts argued. Read more.

Monoclonal antibody demonstrates ‘unprecedented’ virologic suppression in HIV study

The monoclonal antibody UB-421 “demonstrated unprecedented and sustained” virologic suppression in the absence of antiretroviral therapy among people with HIV during a nonrandomized, open-label, phase 2 clinical study, according to findings published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Read more.