Top stories in infectious disease: Vaccine mishandling leads to multistate outbreak of M. fortuitum, illegal drug diversion source of hepatitis C virus infections

The top two stories in infectious disease last week, both from the CDC’s Annual Epidemic Intelligence Service Conference, were a video-interview regarding how inappropriate vaccine storage and handling procedures led to a recent multistate outbreak of injection-site Mycobacterium fortuitum infections and an investigation that identified a health care worker who was diverting injectable narcotics for personal use as the likely source of 13 hepatitis C virus infections in an ED.

Other highlights included Gilead reporting that a generic Truvada will be available in 2020, a hospital in London using genetically engineered bacteriophages to successfully treat a teenager’s extensively drug-resistant mycobacterial infection following a double lung transplant for cystic fibrosis and a study that found asymptomatic aging women with HIV treated with antiretroviral therapy exhibited increased myocardial fibrosis and reduced diastolic function.

VIDEO: Multistate outbreak of M. fortuitum linked to vaccine mishandling

ATLANTA — Infectious Disease News spoke with Erin Blau, DNP, MSN, a CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service officer assigned to the Kentucky Department of Public Health, about how inappropriate vaccine storage and handling procedures led to a recent outbreak of injection-site Mycobacterium fortuitum infections in three states, affecting more than 100 people. Read more.

Hepatitis C virus transmission among ED patients result of illegal drug diversion

ATLANTA — An investigation identified a health care worker who was diverting injectable narcotics for personal use as the likely source of 13 hepatitis C virus infections in an ED in Washington state, according to a speaker. Read more.

Gilead says generic Truvada will be available in 2020

The HIV medication Truvada will come off patent a year early in the United States and will be available to patients and providers as a generic starting in 2020, according to Gilead Sciences. Read more.

In a first, engineered phages used to treat teen’s mycobacterial infection

Establishing several firsts, a hospital in London used genetically engineered bacteriophages to successfully treat a teenager’s extensively drug-resistant mycobacterial infection following a double lung transplant for cystic fibrosis, researchers said. Read more.

Subclinical findings may explain heart failure risk in women with HIV

Asymptomatic aging women with HIV who are being treated with antiretroviral therapy exhibited increased myocardial fibrosis and reduced diastolic function compared with women who are not infected with HIV, according to study results. Read more.