Top in ID: Progress with vaccines for mosquito-borne diseases
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Healio spoke with several experts to get their feedback on the first two malaria vaccines ever recommended for use and how they will impact the fight against the disease, which threatens half the global population.
Although having two vaccines is seen as a major advancement, “vaccination is not a silver bullet,” Stephen Sosler, PhD, MPH, an epidemiologist and head of vaccine programs at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, told Healio.
Experts agreed that it will be important to use malaria vaccines combined with other proven prevention methods.
It was the top story in infectious disease last week.
In another top story, researchers completed the first human challenge trial for Zika virus.
Anna Durbin, MD, director of the Center for Immunization Research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and colleagues deliberately infected female volunteers with the virus and identified two viral strains that can be safely used to test vaccine candidates.
Researchers have also began evaluating controlled infections in men, according to Durbin.
Read these and more top stories in infectious disease below:
Malaria vaccines: A first for parasitic diseases
In the last few years, major strides have been made in the fight to control malaria, including the first two malaria vaccines ever recommended for use. Read more.
Researchers infect women with Zika virus to help find a vaccine
Researchers completed the first ever human challenge trial for Zika virus, deliberately infecting volunteers to identify strains of the virus that can be safely used to test vaccines against the mosquito-borne pathogen. Sarah B. Mulkey, MD, PhD, an expert in congenital infections who was uninvolved in the study, offered her reaction to the findings. Read more.
What is the world’s top vaccine priority?
Scientists have successfully developed the first vaccines against malaria and respiratory syncytial virus, but other vaccine targets remain. Healio asked Robin C. Colgrove, MD, FIDSA, attending physician in infectious diseases at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, what tops his list. Read more.
Diagnostic stewardship and AI could improve UTI care
In this Pharmacology Consult column, Jeff Brock, PharmD, MBA, BCPS-AQ ID, explores how artificial intelligence is being used to aid antimicrobial stewardship efforts, specifically those surrounding asymptomatic bacteriuria — “one of the most frustrating” issues for stewardship pharmacists. Read more.
Survey: Almost half of providers skip TB testing for high-risk patients
Almost half of health care providers in the United States do not routinely test patients born outside the U.S. for tuberculosis, despite CDC recommendations that say they should, a survey found. Read more.