Clinicians' Biosecurity News Archive: 2016
                     

• 12-30-2016: Bypassing Rural Hospitals for Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock Increases Mortality A new study suggest that bypassing the closest hospital in order to reach a tertiary hospital may increase mortality among septic patents.
• 12-16-2016: The US Zika Pregnancy Registry: A Preliminary Analysis Provides Important Insight A detailed exploration of the US Zika Pregnancy Registry reveals that 6% of babies born to mothers in the US with confirmed Zika had Zika related birth defects.
• 12-02-2016: Targeting the Virulence Factors of MRSA A new report suggests that despite antimicrobial “resistance” oxacillin may be an effective adjunctive treatment for MRSA.
• 11-04-2016: Candida auris: An Emerging Fungal Infectious Disease A new paper reports on the multinational emergence of an ominous new pathogen, drug-resistant Candida auris, a fungus that tends to infect compromised patients.
• 10-21-2016: Significant Reduction in Hospitalizations Despite Influenza Vaccine Mismatch A study demonstrates that even during a year of influenza vaccine “mismatch,” vaccination may decrease the incidence of hospitalization.
• 10-07-2016: The Benign Course of Postnatal Zika Infection New evidence suggests that Zika infection in children usually has a benign clinical course with no immediately obvious neurological manifestations.
• 09-23-2016: Livestock-associated MRSA: A Foodborne Illness? One of the main fronts in the battle against antimicrobial resistance involves the presence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in the food supply.
• 09-02-2016: Vertical Transmission of Zika: Of Epidemiologic Significance? We discuss the epidemiological significance of a new study that suggests that Zika may be passed from one generation of mosquitos to another through their eggs.
• 08-19-16: Hutterite Flu Vaccine Trial: Questions on Optimal Flu Vaccine In a study, children in 52 Hutterite colonies received IIV or LAIV to assess whether LAIV was superior in inducing herd immunity.
• 08-05-2016: Learning from the First Autochthonous Zika Outbreak This issue provides an update on the local transmission of Zika in Florida and speculates on the risk of further transmission in the US.
• 07-22-2016: Infection Control in a Superspreading Event: MERS in South Korea A recently published article documents the experience of a South Korean tertiary care center’s infection control activities during the MERS outbreak.
• 07-08-2016: Yellow Fever: A Vaccine-Preventable Infectious Disease Emergency Large outbreaks of yellow fever are occurring in Africa with cases being exported around the world. There is an effective vaccine, just not enough of it.
• 06-24-2016: Facilitating Antibiotic Stewardship with Procalcitonin As antibiotic overuse becomes an increasing concern, a study tests procalcitonin to help discontinue antibiotics.
• 06-10-2016: Pre-Zika Public Attitudes Toward Genetically Modified Mosquitoes New survey shows that prior to Zika many in Key West were opposed to the use of genetically modified mosquitoes to mitigate the risk of mosquito-borne diseases.
• 05-27-2016: Zika and Solid Organ Transplantation: Expert Guidance When an emerging infectious disease becomes endemic, we cope with it differently. Transplant surgery is uniquely attuned to the risk of infections.
• 05-13-2016: Tetanus-Diphtheria Boosters: Is 10 Years Too Soon to Boost? A new study demonstrates nearly lifelong immunity to tetanus and decades-long immunity to diphtheria after the initial vaccination series.
• 04-29-2016: Elizabethkingia, Situational Awareness, and Astute Clinicians We review what is known about the large and expanding epidemic in the upper mid- west of this highly lethal and rarely recognized bacterial pathogen.
• 04-15-2016: Sepsis and Chikungunya A new study sheds light on cases of sepsis and death resulting from chikungunya infection which typically has been thought to have a low case fatality rate.
• 04-01-2016: A Clinical Tool for Anthrax Meningitis Screening in Mass Casualty Settings Meningitis can be a complication of anthrax infection but can be difficult to diagnose in a mass casualty setting.
• 03-18-2016: Quantifying the Impact of the Unvaccinated A new literature review reveals that most cases of measles in the US can be attributed to lack of vaccination and most of that was for nonmedical reasons.
• 03-04-16: Redefining Sepsis The SCCM has issued a new definition for sepsis and septic shock based on life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by dysregulated host response.
• 02-19-2016: Zika Virus: Known Unknowns and Unknown Unknowns The apparent explosive spread of the Zika virus and its association with apparent rises in cases of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome is alarming.
• 02-05-2016: Severe H1N1 Influenza: Still a Risk The CDC has been notified of severe flu infections in young to middle-aged adults, some of whom died. Rapid antigen diagnostic testing was negative in some.
• 01-22-2016: Community-Acquired Pneumonia: An Opportunity for Antimicrobial Stewardship Molecular diagnostic testing was able to identify a specific microbiologic diagnosis in over 80% of community acquired pneumonia cases in a new study
• 01-08-2016: An Influenza Viral Swarm infections are actually made up of a swarm of related but distinct virus and that many different variants may be transmitted from one individual.