Meningococcal Disease

The FDA has approved an expanded indication of Soliris, an IV-administered monoclonal antibody for patients aged 6 years and older with generalized myasthenia gravis who are anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody positive.

NEW YORK — In this video at the Infectious Diseases in Children Symposium, Catherine Mary Healy, MBBCh, describes what she called “an exciting time” for meningococcal vaccines.

An analysis of STI screening for gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis at 11 EDs revealed that less than 3% of patients tested for one of the three STIs were also tested for HIV, despite the CDC’s recommendation for HIV co-testing.

The FDA on Monday cleared Qiagen’s 1-hour PCR test for meningitis and encephalitis, which the company said could help treat meningococcal disease more quickly.

A CDC advisory committee on Thursday voted unanimously to “harmonize” serogroup B meningococcal vaccine recommendations for healthy adolescents and young adults and children who have a higher risk for infection.

A second person has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1), after being exposed to dairy cattle that were presumably infected with the virus.

The CDC alerted clinicians in the United States about a rise in invasive meningococcal disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup Y bacteria that could present with symptoms not typical of meningitis.

Researchers determined that first-year college students living on campus and/or affiliated with campus Greek life have an increased risk for meningococcal disease.

A CDC advisory committee voted 10-4 on Wednesday to recommend administering a newly approved pentavalent meningococcal vaccine when vaccination with both a MenACWY and MenB vaccine are indicated at the same visit.

Pfizer announced that the FDA has approved Penbraya, the first and only pentavalent vaccine for coverage against the most common serogroups causing meningococcal disease in people aged 10 to 25 years, according to a company press release.