Critics Say CDC Advisors’ Infection Control Guidance Isn’t Strong Enough
A CDC advisory committee voted unanimously on Friday to approve draft infection control guidelines, though some critics charge the recommendations don’t go far enough and ignore lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. At the heart of the controversy is a new “air” category for pathogen transmission, and three levels of air precautions based on how transmissible […]
COVID Vaccine, Infection May Affect Migraine Course Slightly
COVID vaccination or SARS-CoV-2 infection may play a small role in migraine worsening, preliminary data suggested. While some patients reported migraine worsening after either vaccination or infection, headache diaries did not reflect significant differences in migraine frequency, reported Patricia Pozo-Rosich, MD, PhD, of Vall d’Hebron Hospital in Barcelona, Spain, and co-authors. “Our preliminary data point […]
Long COVID Symptoms May Emerge Months After Infection
Long COVID symptoms may emerge months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, data from the prospective multicenter INSPIRE study suggested. Symptom prevalence decreased over 1 year among long COVID patients, but persisted or emerged at different time points in some cases, reported Sharon Saydah, PhD, of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, and co-authors in […]
Adenovirus May Trigger Thrombocytopenia, Thrombosis, Case Studies Suggest
In rare cases, symptomatic human adenovirus infection may trigger a life-threatening prothrombotic anti-platelet factor 4 (PF4) disorder resembling vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), according to a report based on two patients. A 5-year-old boy and a 58-year-old woman based in the U.S. developed serious — and in the case of the boy, ultimately fatal — […]
COVID Cleared of Increasing Risk of Type 1 Diabetes in Kids?
COVID-19 infection didn’t appear to precipitate a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in kids, a prospective multinational cohort study suggested. Researchers tested more than 4,500 adolescents every few months for type 1 diabetes, SARS-CoV-2 infection, and vaccination antibodies from January 2020 through December 2021. However, there was no difference among the 45 kids diagnosed with […]
Long-Acting Injection Preferred Over Daily Pills for PrEP
BRISBANE, Australia – When given a choice for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent infection with HIV, women preferred injectable cabotegravir (Apretude) every 2 months rather than an oral pill daily, researchers reported here. About 78% of women enrolled in the landmark HPTN 084 trial said they preferred the injection over taking the pills, said Mina […]
Shorter Antibiotic Course Not as Effective for Children With UTIs
Abbreviated antibiotic treatment didn’t measure up for children with urinary tract infection (UTI), the SCOUT trial found. Stopping antibiotics when symptoms improved after an initial 5-day course yielded a 4.1% rate of persistent symptomatic UTI by follow-up at day 11-14 compared with 0.6% when kids had the full 10-day course, Nader Shaikh, MD, MPH, of […]
Screen All Adults for Hepatitis B, CDC Says
All adults should be tested for a hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection at least once in their lifetime, and a wider range should get periodic retesting, according to new CDC recommendations. The report recommended moving from a risk-based approach to a universal approach in order to increase awareness of infection and reduce chronic disease and […]
Early LRTIs Tied to Risk of Premature Adult Death From Respiratory Diseases
A lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in early childhood nearly doubles the risk of premature death from respiratory diseases in adulthood, according to a prospective cohort study that spanned eight decades. The study of over 3,500 individuals born in the U.K. found that participants diagnosed with an LRTI by age 2 years were 93% more […]
Large U.S. Study Finds No Link Between COVID Vaccine and Shingles
No association was detected between COVID-19 vaccination and herpes zoster infection in a database study involving more than 2 million individuals in the U.S. Using a self-controlled risk interval (SCRI) analysis, the risk of herpes zoster in the month after receiving a dose of COVID-19 vaccine was no different when compared with a control period […]