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Top stories in infectious disease: FDA approves first tuberculosis drug developed by non-profit; CDC OKs new testing algorithm for Lyme disease

The top stories in infectious disease last week were the FDA’s approval of the first tuberculosis drug developed by a non-profit organization for resistant infections and the CDC’s endorsement of a two-tier testing algorithm for Lyme disease.

Other highlights included a study that found an influenza vaccine was associated with reduced risk for death and stroke in elderly ICU survivors, findings that stated scaling up access to direct-acting antivirals is the most cost-effective intervention for reducing hepatitis C virus among people who inject drugs and research that concluded persistent inflammation in sepsis survivors increased the risk for death and hospital readmission.

Pretomanid, first tuberculosis drug developed by non-profit, gets FDA approval for resistant infections

The FDA has approved pretomanid — the first tuberculosis drug developed by a non-profit organization — as part of a three-drug regimen for the treatment of extensively drug-resistant TB, or XDR-TB, and other resistant forms of the disease. Read more.

CDC OKs new two-tier testing algorithm for Lyme disease

The CDC issued an updated recommendation for the serologic diagnosis of Lyme disease, endorsing the use of a two-tier testing algorithm that uses a second enzyme immunoassay in place of a western immunoblot assay. Read more.

Flu vaccine associated with reduced risk for death, stroke in elderly ICU survivors

In Denmark, elderly ICU survivors who received an influenza vaccine had an 8% decreased risk for death and a 16% reduced risk for hospitalization for stroke in the year after discharge compared with patients who were not vaccinated, according to findings from a population-based cohort study published in Intensive Care Medicine. Read more.

Direct-acting antivirals cost-effective for reducing HCV in people who inject drugs

Scaling up access to direct-acting antivirals is the most cost-effective intervention for reducing hepatitis C virus among people who inject drugs when only health sector costs are considered, according to findings from a computer simulation study. Read more.

Persistent inflammation in sepsis survivors linked to death, readmission

Around two-thirds of patients in a 5-year, multisite study who survived hospitalization for sepsis demonstrated persistent elevated levels of inflammation and immunosuppression biomarkers for up to 1 year, placing them at risk for worse long-term outcomes, including death or readmission, researchers found. Read more.