Drug residues in urban streams pose drug resistance risk. Pharmaceuticals in urban water bodies are causing microbes in the water to develop drug resistance, according to a study in Ecosphere. The drugs are carried into streams by sewage. Four streams in Baltimore, US, were evaluated for the presence of painkillers, stimulants, antihistamines, and antibiotics. Researchers found that urban streams contained more pharmaceutical contaminants than did suburban streams, with greater numbers of drugs and higher concentrations. [Ecosphere]

High antibiotic use linked to confusion in patients. A study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society links patient confusion with antibiotic treatment, especially for urinary tract infections (UTIs). Australian researchers who reviewed 450 cases in five nursing homes in Queensland found that one in five residents had received antibiotics within the past 30 days. Forty percent of the treatments were due to UTIs. New or worsening confusion was one of the strongest factors associated with antibiotic treatment for a suspected UTI. [Journal of the American Geriatrics Society]

Re-engineering an older antibiotic shows promise. An old drug, vancomycin, has been “rejuvenated” as a new antibiotic that could destroy some severe superbugs, according to a study in Nature Communications. Vancomycin is widely used to treat severe bacterial infections, but bacteria have increasingly evidenced drug resistance. The researchers modified vancomycin’s membrane-binding properties to selectively target bacteria instead of human cells, creating a series of supercharged vancomycin derivatives called vancapticins. These have the potential to treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE). The researchers say the technique could revitalize other antibiotics. [Nature Communications]

MCR-4 gene detected in humans. For the first time in humans, Italian scientists have detected the colistin-resistance gene MCR-4 in two isolates of Salmonella, according to Eurosurveillance. The genes confer resistance to colistin, a last-resort antibiotic used to treat multidrug-resistant infections. [Eurosurveillance]

New treatment for MERS-CoV in the pipeline. A novel treatment for the respiratory illness, MERS-CoV, has been successful in phase-1 clinical trials, according to The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The new treatment, which uses cattle antibodies to treat the virus in humans, has been shown to be safe and well-tolerated. Overall mortality for MERS is thirty-five percent. [The Lancet Infectious Diseases]

Evidence of Ebola exposure seen outside outbreak zones. About eleven percent of people in a population sample in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were found have antibodies to the Ebola virus, according to a study in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. The study provides evidence of the prevalence of Ebola in areas not currently experiencing an Ebola outbreak. [The Journal of Infectious Diseases]

More clues confirm severity of 1918 pandemic flu virus. Experiments on ferrets have found that the 1918 H1N1 pandemic flu was the most severe of all known flu pandemics. The pandemic caused millions of deaths worldwide. The Journal of Infectious Diseases reported the study, whose aim was to better understand the pathogenicity of the 1918 H1N1 flu. Apart from viral pneumonia and secondary bacterial infections, the flu also caused encephalitis lethargica and central nervous system complications. [The Journal of Infectious Diseases]

Rotavirus vaccine reduces seizures in children. Findings in The Journal of Infectious Diseases reveal a decrease in seizures in children 12–17 months of age and 18–23 months of age following the introduction of rotavirus vaccine in the US in 2006. Children in their second year carry a high disease burden from the acute gastroenteritis. [The Journal of Infectious Diseases]

World remains unprepared for flu pandemics. An op-ed in The New York Times asserts that, despite many medical advances, the world remains unprepared for pandemics such as influenza. Authors Michael T. Osterholm of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, and Mark Olshaker, a writer and documentary filmmaker, say that the four-fold increase in the global population since 1918, combined with crowding and ease of travel, increase the likelihood that a pandemic will spread quickly. The need of the hour is a vaccine that attacks all strains of influenza A, but investment in developing a universal vaccine is low. [The New York Times]

More avian flu outbreaks in the Middle East. Iraq and Afghanistan are the latest countries to report outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5 avian flu, even as Saudi Arabia continues to battle the rapidly spreading H5N8 strain. Meanwhile, Germany has reported its first H5N6 detection, Bangladesh has reported another outbreak of H5N1, and South Africa has isolated H5N8 in a wild bird. [CIDRAP]

Pharma feels “burned” by emergency pleas for new vaccines. Vaccine manufacturers are concerned about their ability to invest in developing vaccines for public health emergencies. Although they have responded to crises like those caused by SARS, the H1N1 flu pandemic, West Nile and Zika, pharmaceutical giants including Sanofi and Merck say they may be unable to afford more such costly disruptions. [Stat news]

 

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