Top in ID: Iowa resident dies of Lassa fever; mpox boosters may be needed
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An Iowa resident died of Lassa fever after returning home from travel to West Africa, according to Iowa health officials.
Pending CDC diagnosis, this would be the ninth travel-related case of Lassa fever in the U.S.
The Iowa Department of Health and the CDC said that threat to the public and risk for transmission of the virus is low. This includes people on the same return flight from West Africa, as the resident who died was not sick while traveling, which is required for Lassa virus to be transmitted.
“I want to assure Iowans that the risk of transmission is incredibly low in our state,” Robert Kruse, MD, MPH, FAAFP, Iowa state medical director, said in a press release. “We continue to investigate and monitor this situation and are implementing the necessary public health protocols.”
It was the top story in infectious disease last week.
In another top story, patients who never received a smallpox vaccine in childhood had a short-lived immune response of less than a year in response to the Jynneos mpox vaccine, raising questions about the need for mpox booster doses.
Read these and more top stories in infectious disease below:
Iowa resident dies of Lassa fever after returning from West Africa
An Iowa resident who traveled to West Africa has died of Lassa fever after returning home, Iowa health officials said. Read more.
Study raises questions about need for mpox booster doses
Neutralizing antibodies against mpox generated by the Jynneos vaccine were short lived — lasting less than a year — if patients had never received a smallpox vaccine as children, researchers said at IDWeek. Read more.
VIDEO: Quick, cheap assay for bacterial infections wins incubator award at IDWeek
A panel of experts awarded David Roach, MD, instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and his team a $5,000 grant to aid in the development of a low-cost, easy-to-use assay for bacterial bloodstream infections at IDWeek. Watch here.
CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index predicts CDI severity, mortality
The four core concepts of the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index could be used to predict the severity of Clostrioides difficile infection and all-cause mortality, according to a study presented at IDWeek. Read more.
Q&A: First case of bird flu in a US pig raises concern
The United States Department of Agriculture this week confirmed the first case of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in a U.S. pig, raising concerns about the potential health risk to humans. Read more.