Infection Control News

Respiratory syncytial virus incidence rates among pregnant people are lower than those seen in older adults and young children, although researchers say rates are still significant and warrant consideration in vaccine policy decisions.

Routine vaccination rates among kindergartners in the United States remained lower than pre-pandemic levels last school year as vaccine exemptions increased to an all-time high, according to data published Thursday by the CDC.

Many health care personnel working in acute-care hospitals and nursing homes are not up to date on recommended COVID-19 or influenza vaccinations, new study findings suggest.

Nearly half of patients who responded to a survey said they stop antibiotic treatment early, usually because they feel better, and three-quarters said they keep the leftover antibiotics, often intending to use them in the future.

Cases of congenital syphilis increased more than 10-fold between 2012 and 2022, the CDC reported Tuesday in another warning about the worsening epidemic of sexually transmitted infections in the United States.

The highest ever reported number of tuberculosis diagnoses was reported in 2022, a feat likely due to the recovery of TB services following the COVID-19 pandemic, according to WHO’s 2023 Global TB report.

The COVID-19 pandemic was not associated with changes in parental vaccine hesitancy overall, but there were other effects, including a polarization of vaccine attitudes and changes in trust about vaccine information, a study found.

Researchers found that implementing generic PrEP programs for young men who have sex with men at risk for HIV — a group known to have adherence and engagement issues — would reduce new infections and be cost-effective.

Doxycycline reduced the risk for Clostridioides difficile infection by almost half compared with azithromycin among patients hospitalized with community-acquire pneumonia who had a C. difficile infection in the past year, a study found.

The number of adolescents with a prescription for HIV prevention medication increased by more than 75% during the first 3-plus years the medicine was available to them, according study findings published in Pediatrics.