Top in ID: Parental hesitancy with HPV vaccination; CDC’s new HBV testing guideline

Despite an increase in adolescent HPV vaccination over the last decade, many parents remain unsure about whether it is necessary to have their children vaccinated, researchers reported in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

According to Jodie L. White, MHSc, research data analyst at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and colleagues, “there were minimal changes in parental intent to vaccinate over the study period, with approximately two-thirds of parents of unvaccinated male and female teens in 2019 to 2020 remaining hesitant to initiate HPV vaccination.”

It was the top story in infectious disease last week.

Another top story was about the CDC’s recommendation for all adults in the United States to be tested for hepatitis B virus. Rita K. Kuwahara, MD, MIH, a primary care internal medicine physician at Georgetown University and Healio Primary Care Peer Perspective Board member, said the updated guidance “provides us with the critical missing tool we need to eliminate HBV in the U.S.”

Read these and more top stories in infectious disease below:

HPV vaccination rate improves but many parents remain hesitant

The rate of teenagers vaccinated against HPV is improving but a significant number of parents remain hesitant about their children receiving the vaccine, a study found. Read more.

CDC recommends hepatitis B testing for all adults

The CDC has updated its guidance for hepatitis B testing for the first time since 2008 and now recommends that all adults in the U.S. be tested for HBV at least once in their lifetime. Read more.

‘Unspecified mycosis’ code often listed for patients positive for specific fungal disease

Nearly half of patients who received a diagnosis code of “unspecified mycosis” had positive laboratory test results for a specific fungal disease, with the most common being invasive candidiasis, researchers found. Read more.

Experts fear impact of US plan to end COVID-19 emergencies

In the early months of 2020, amid a rapidly worsening pandemic, the U.S. government declared public health and national emergencies to help the country respond to COVID-19. Read more.

Drug use, homelessness double HCV reinfection risk

Hepatitis C reinfection rates were high among a population of people who had experienced homelessness but increased even more among those experiencing homelessness at the time of treatment, researchers found. Read more.