Top 5 Infectious Disease News Stories Week of May 3 to May 10
Study Highlights Airborne Transmission of H5N1 in Ferrets, Raising Pandemic Concerns A study of the H5N1 virus isolated from a Michigan dairy worker showed it can transmit through airborne particles in ferrets and cause moderate illness, raising concerns about its potential to spread among mammals. The worker’s infection is part of a larger multistate outbreak […]
Hepatitis D Patients Maintain Undetectable Virus Nearly 2 Years After Bulevirtide Therapy
In a late-breaking oral presentation at EASL, 36% (23 out of 64) of adults living with chronic hepatitis delta virus (HDV) who were treated with the first-in-class entry inhibitor bulevirtide, at either a 2 mg or 10 mg dose, maintained virologic suppression for nearly 2 years after treatment, following undetectable HDV RNA when they finished […]
Gilead’s Bulevirtide Demonstrates Long-Term Sustained Virologic Response For Hepatitis D
At the ongoing European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Congress 2025, Gilead announced findings on its hepatitis D (HDV) therapy, bulevirtide. Specifically, the therapy was studied as a standalone treatment and in combination with pegylated interferon alpha (PegIFN). In patients with compensated chronic hepatitis D (CHD), achieving undetectable HDV RNA with “target […]
Lyme Prevention and Next-Gen Diagnostics
Multiplex protein microarray Image credits: Jason Barker, ND As tick season takes hold across the country, healthcare professionals are emphasizing prevention and early detection of tick-borne illnesses, particularly Lyme disease. In recognition of Lyme Disease Awareness Month, Vibrant Wellness clinical lab educator Jason Barker, ND, shared practical prevention strategies and diagnostic updates in a recent […]
US Businesses Are Here to Help the Trump Administration Keep its Pledge to End HIV
Stephen MasseyImage credit: Meteorite In 2019, President Donald J. Trump set a historic goal: end the HIV epidemic in the United States by 2030. It was a bold vision that rallied unprecedented support across sectors, including from leaders in the business community who’ve stepped up to help achieve that goal. Over the past several years, […]
RSV Prophylaxis: Palivizumab, Nirsevimab, and More
RSV prophylaxis: Palivizumab, nirsevimab, and more | Image Credit: © John Doe – © John Doe – stock.adobe.com. This post was originally published on our sister site, ContemporaryPediatrics, as a part of their May 2025 journal. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) illness is an extremely common cause of hospitalization in children in the United States and […]
Hepatitis A Outbreak Declared in Los Angeles County
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has declared a community-wide hepatitis A outbreak following a sharp rise in cases and increased virus levels detected in wastewater. Since 2024, 165 cases have been confirmed, three times the total reported in 2023. Most of the 29 cases identified in 2025 have occurred in individuals without […]
HCV Therapy Demonstrates 98% Sustained Virologic Response at 12 Weeks Post-Treatment
At the ongoing European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Congress 2025, Atea Pharmaceuticals announced the full results from its phase 2 clinical trial, which showed a 98% sustained virologic response rate at 12 weeks post-treatment (SVR12) in 210 of 215 participants with the regimen in the “Per-Protocol Treatment-Adherent Population,” using an 8-week […]
Over 1 Million Drug-Resistant Infections Went Untreated Across LMICs
Jennifer Elizabeth Cohn, MD, MPH Image credits: UPenn A new modeling study has found that only 6.9% of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative (CRGN) bacterial infections received appropriate treatment in 2019 across eight low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The analysis, led by Anant Mishra and colleagues, estimates that while approximately 1.5 million CRGN infections occurred in Bangladesh, Brazil, […]
Has Measles Become a Binary Choice Between Trying to Treat the Disease Vs Prevention?
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr is reported to have asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop new guidance for treating measles with therapies and vitamins. Paul Offit, MD, the director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s […]
