Another Case of Shorter Is Better?
The optimal duration of antibiotic therapy for Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteremia remains a topic of debate in clinical practice. The mortality rate of bacteremia associated with a pneumococcal infection ranges from 6% to 20%.1 Balancing effective treatment with the need to minimize antibiotic exposure is critical, as prolonged courses can contribute to increased risk of Clostridioides […]
COVID-19 Infection Does Not Impact Symptom Severity or Disability Trajectory in Multiple Sclerosis
This article was originally published on our sister site, NeurologyLive. Using a controlled interrupted time series (ITS), a quasiexperimental study design, researchers found that COVID-19 infection was not associated with immediate changes in symptom severity or disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), nor did it change the trajectories of these outcomes over a median […]
Treatment With Ziresovir in Infants
The fall and winter months signal an increase in viral infections circulating among children and families, including influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Although RSV is a public health concern for individuals of all ages, infants and toddlers, especially those born prematurely or with compromised immune systems, and older individuals have particular vulnerability to […]
Top 5 Infectious Disease News Stories Week of January 4-10
Entering Peak Norovirus Season as Cases Rise Across the US Norovirus cases have risen sharply across the US, with more than 22% of tests returning positive as of late December 2024, a significant increase from the previous year. The CDC reported 495 outbreaks during the 2024–2025 season, up from 363 in the same period in […]
Arcturus Launches H5N1 Vaccine Trial as Cases Rise in US
Human cases in the US. Image credits: CDC Arcturus Therapeutics has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of ARCT-2304, also known as LUNAR-H5N1, a self-amplifying mRNA (sa-mRNA) vaccine designed to prevent pandemic influenza caused by the H5N1 virus. The trial, which began in December 2024 with the first participant, is being conducted across multiple US […]
Monoclonal Antibody Demonstrates Activity Against Dominant COVID-19 Variant
Invivyd’s Chief Scientific Officer Robert Allen, PhDImage credit: Invivyd Waltham, Mass.-based biopharmaceutical company, Inviyd, announced today that new data showed continued neutralizing activity of pemivibart (Pemgarda) and pipeline candidate VYD2311 against the dominant COVID-19 variant, XEC. The company said it has demonstrated positive pemivibart neutralization activity against over 75% of currently circulating US variants, and all […]
Fighting C difficile Before It Starts: Lopoxy Therapeutics Approach
LPOXY Therapeutics, Inc has acquired assets from Xeno Biosciences Inc. to advance its therapy SIDIPREV for preventing Clostridioides difficile (C difficile) infections in hospitalized patients. The acquisition includes regulatory filings, FDA correspondence, CMC data, intellectual property, and data from Phase I and Ib clinical trials showing the safety of the active pharmaceutical ingredient. This deal […]
I’m Sorry, but It’s Time We Talk About Politics
Image credit: Markus Spiske, Pexels It’s trite to say elections have consequences, but those consequences rarely have substantial effects on infectious disease (ID) practice. However, 2025 may bring significant change, with apparent intent to disrupt key components of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—components critical to disease surveillance, drug development, research, and […]
The Latest Myth That Won’t Disappear
It has been nearly 5 years since COVID- 19 first emerged. Although we have witnessed a deluge of erroneous claims about the virus, the vaccines, and the treatments, not all have stuck around. Psychology experts have identified certain cognitive factors that make some misinformation and disinformation “sticky”—in other words, persistent and pervasive. Misinformation is particularly […]
Herpes Virus Contribution to Alzheimer’s
Or Shemesh, PhD Image credits: LinkedIn Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has traditionally been diagnosed based on the presence of β-amyloid plaques and hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) in the brain. Recent research suggests that infections, particularly herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), may play a role in AD development. A new study led by Or Shemesh, PhD, assistant professor […]
