Top in ID: Remembering Adaora Adimora, MD, MPH, FIDSA; CDC investigates TB outbreak

Adaora Adimora, MD, MPH, FIDSA, an infectious disease physician, researcher and mentor, has died at the age of 67 years following a long illness.

Adimora was a distinguished professor of medicine and professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina. She was also the first African American woman in the university’s department of medicine ever to achieve tenure. The university described Adimora as a “brilliant and compassionate scientist” and “a true pioneer.”

“Ada was a true positive force in infectious diseases and public health and will be sorely missed,” said Healio | Infectious Disease News Chief Medical Editor Paul A. Volberding, MD, Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “She was both a great scientist in addressing challenges in prevention and also a leading and highly articulate teacher, able to reach a wide audience.”

It was the top story in infectious disease last week.

Another top story was about a second tuberculosis outbreak associated with a viable bone allograft product. The first outbreak occurred in 2021 and resulted in 113 cases across 18 states. So far, the current outbreak has been linked to five cases and two deaths.

“This second outbreak of bone allograft-related TB in recent years underscores the urgent need to implement improved donor screening and culture-based testing to prevent tissue-derived M. tuberculosis transmission,” according to Jonathan M. Wortham, MD, lead of the CDC’s Division of Tuberculosis Elimination Outbreak Investigations Team.

Read these and more top stories in infectious disease below:

‘A true pioneer’: ID physician, researcher Adaora Adimora, MD, MPH, FIDSA, dies at 67

Adimora, an infectious diseases physician, researcher and mentor described as a trailblazer in her field, has died. Read more.

Second TB outbreak linked to a viable bone allograft product

A second tuberculosis outbreak linked to a viable bone allograft product contaminated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis resulted in five more cases and two deaths, according to the outbreak investigation. Read more.

Study shows risk for invasive fungal infection after lung transplant is ‘very complex’

Researchers found that risk factors of invasive fungal infections for lung transplant recipients receiving universal antifungal prophylaxis varied in terms of early and late infection and invasive mold- and candidiasis-type infections. Read more.

Is the US prepared for the next pandemic?

In September 2021, the Biden administration introduced the American Pandemic Preparedness Plan, a proposal to transform the country’s capabilities to respond to future pandemics. Read more.

Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic: What can we do better?

The COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult for all Americans, with unprecedented morbidity and mortality, economic hardship and social stressors. Read more.