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Top stories in infectious disease: Hepatis C virus treatment beneficial in primary care settings, malaria parasites common among blood donors
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Among the top stories in infectious disease last week were a study that found as many as 1 in 10 healthy blood donors may carry malaria parasites and research that suggested providing direct acting antivirals for hepatitis C virus infection in primary care settings significantly increased treatment uptake and cure rates in people who inject drugs.
Other highlights included a study that found antibiotic prophylaxis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis was less effective in cirrhotic patients with known multidrug-resistant organisms, a Q&A focusing on the establishment of a nonprofit model to sustain antibiotic development and a study that found hepatitis B virus serostatus identification is critical before hemodialysis.
Malaria parasites common among blood donors
Globally, as many as 1 in 10 healthy blood donors may carry malaria parasites, making transfusion-transmitted malaria one of the most common transfusion-associated infections, according to results from a systematic review and meta-analysis published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. Read more.
Providing direct acting antivirals to people who inject drugs in primary care increases uptake, cure rates
Providing direct acting antivirals for hepatitis C virus infection in primary care settings significantly increases treatment uptake and cure rates in people who inject drugs, suggesting HCV treatment should be available in primary care, researchers found. Read more.
Multidrug-resistant organisms jeopardize antibiotic prophylaxis for spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in patients with cirrhosis
Antibiotic prophylaxis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is less effective in cirrhotic patients with known multidrug-resistant organisms, according to a recent study. Read more.
Q&A: Nonprofit model for antibiotic development ‘overdue’
The antimicrobial market is broken and not everyone agrees on how to fix it. Read more.
Hepatitis B virus serostatus identification is critical before hemodialysis
A multistep process may help to confirm whether hemodialysis patients are chronic carriers of hepatitis B virus and protect other patients from HBV exposure, according to findings published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. Read more.