Top stories in infectious disease: More than 1 million new STIs acquired each day worldwide; tuberculosis rates higher in US, Canada-born contacts

Among the top stories in infectious disease last week were data from the World Health Organization that determined 1 million new urogenital STIs are acquired each day worldwide and a study that found tuberculosis rates were four times higher among U.S. and Canada-born contacts than among foreign-born contacts.

Other highlights included research that suggested many commonly used interventions to reduce cardiac implantable electronic device infections are ineffective, trial results that indicated nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors can safely be omitted from HIV-1 salvage therapy regimens without compromising the efficacy and durability of response and a study that found an investigational vaccine for the prevention of Clostridioides difficile infection was safe, well-tolerated and immunogenic in healthy adults aged 65 to 85 years.

WHO: 1 million new urogenital STIs acquired each day worldwide

There was an estimated global total of 376.4 million new chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis and syphilis infections in men and women aged 15 to 49 years in 2016, averaging out to more than 1 million new infections daily, according to the latest WHO data. Read more.

Tuberculosis rates fourfold higher among US, Canada-born contacts compared with foreign-born contacts

Tuberculosis rates were four times higher among U.S. and Canada-born contacts than among foreign-born contacts, according to a study. Read more.

Time-consuming cardiac implantable electronic device infection interventions create gap in care

Many commonly used interventions to reduce cardiac implantable electronic device infections are ineffective, and the simplest strategies often have the greatest potential for improving CIED infection outcomes, according to results from a large, multicenter cohort study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. Read more.

Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors can be safely omitted from HIV-1 salvage therapy

Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors can safely be omitted from HIV-1 salvage therapy regimens without compromising the efficacy and durability of response, but the new regimen must contain the cumulative activity of two or more active drugs, according to 96-week findings from the OPTIONS trial. Read more.

Phase 2 study shows promising results for C. difficile vaccine

An investigational vaccine for the prevention of Clostridioides difficile infection was safe, well-tolerated and immunogenic in healthy adults aged 65 to 85 years, according to findings from a phase 2 study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Read more.