News Scan for Nov 12, 2018

News brief

Survey shows vast majority of Americans are concerned about resistance

A new public opinion survey shows that more than 8 in 10 Americans are concerned about the health threat posed by antibiotic resistance, and majorities across the political spectrum think the federal government should do more to address the issue.

In the survey of 1,004 US adults, commissioned by Research!America in collaboration with the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), 65% of respondents said antibiotic resistance is a public health problem and 81% said they're concerned that resistance will make infections more difficult or impossible to treat. Seventy-six percent of respondents—81% of Democrats, 76% of Republicans, and 70% of Independents—said the federal government should increase funding for research and public health initiatives, while 74% agreed that the government should provide incentives to encourage increased private sector investment in antibiotic development.

"Americans understand that antibiotic-resistant 'superbugs' are a public health threat, and they support putting the public and private sector research continuum to work to address this intensifying health threat," Mary Woolley, Research!America president and CEO, said in a press release.

The survey also revealed, however, that Americans may need more education on appropriate antibiotic use. While 91% of respondents said healthcare providers should only prescribe antibiotics when they're needed, more than a third (37%) said antibiotics are effective for treating viral infections, and 29% said they would be dissatisfied if their child did not receive an antibiotic for a viral infection. Only 57% were aware that even a single course of unnecessary antibiotics can contribute to antibiotic resistance.
Nov 12 Research!America press release

New Saudi MERS case reported in Qassim region

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health (MOH) reported a new MERS case for epidemiologic week 45 yesterday.

The patient is a 39-year-old man from the Qassim region. He is hospitalized for his MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) infection. He's listed as a secondary household contact of a previously reported case, and had no contact with camels.

This is the second MERS case reported in the Qassim region in epidemiologic week 45, and it lifts the global number of MERS-CoV infections reported since 2012 to 2,265, at least 803 of them fatal.

In other news, the World Health Organization (WHO) published details on eight MERS cases reported in Saudi Arabia in October, including one death. One of the cases was a household contact of a case reported in September.

The WHO said the age group 50 to 59 still appears to be at the highest risk for MERS. The case-fatality rate for the virus stands at 38.7%.
Nov 11 MOH report
Nov 11 WHO situation report

New Jersey officials record 3 more adenovirus cases in pediatric facilities

Health officials in New Jersey updated case counts on two separate adenovirus outbreaks in pediatric facilities in the state, noting two more cases of the type 7 virus at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, and one more type 3 case at the Voorhees Pediatric Facility.

Type 3 adenoviruses tend to cause milder illnesses than type 7 viruses. There have now been 8 type 3 adenoviruses cases recorded at the Voorhees facility since Oct 20. The Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation outbreak total now stands at 34 cases, including 10 deaths.

Typically, adenoviruses cause cold-like symptoms and sometimes sore throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, diarrhea, and pink eye. According to the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDH), people with weakened immune systems or existing respiratory or cardiac disease are more likely than others to get very sick from an adenovirus infection.

The two outbreaks appear to be unrelated, officials say.
Nov 12 NJDH update

Flu Scan for Nov 12, 2018

News brief

Flu vaccine offers slightly less protection to high-risk patients, study says

A new study in Vaccine led by a group from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates a multi-season flu vaccine effectiveness (VE) of 41% among patients with high-risk medical conditions, compared with 48% for those without.

The study compared flu VE rates among more than 25,000 patients at outpatient facilities in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington state, and Wisconsin across four recent flu seasons (December of 2012 through April of 2016). High-risk status was noted by diagnosis with one or more diseases, including asthma, diabetes, liver diseases, and immunosuppressive diseases.

Overall, 6,032 (62%) of 9,643 patients with high-risk conditions had received current season influenza vaccination, versus 6,224 (40%) of 15,726 patients without high-risk conditions.

Among patients with high-risk conditions, VE against any influenza was 41% (95% confidence interval [CI], 35% to 47%) for all ages, 51% (95% CI, 39%-61%) for children, and 38% (95% CI, 30%-45%) for adults. Among patients without high-risk conditions, VEs were 48% (95% CI, 43%-52%) for all ages and 52% (95% CI, 44%-58%) and 44% (95% CI, 38%-50%), respectively, for children and adults.

"While VE against any influenza was statistically lower among patients with high risk conditions (41%) compared to those without high-risk conditions (48%), this analysis did not suggest large deficits in vaccine-induced protection among people with high-risk conditions," the authors concluded.

"In addition, the differences in age strata were not significantly different by high-risk status, suggesting that protection among patients with high-risk conditions was not substantially lower than that observed among patients without high-risk conditions."
Nov 9 Vaccine study

Low-path H5N2 avian flu found on 4 more Minnesota turkey farms

Increased surveillance in the wake of two low-pathogenic H5N2 avian flu outbreaks at commercial turkey farms in Minnesota has led to the detection of the virus at four more farms in the two affected counties, according to a Nov 8 notification from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

The first outbreak was reported in late October and was the result of stepped-up surveillance for avian flu viruses following devastating outbreaks in 2015 involving a highly pathogenic H5N2 virus, mainly in Minnesota and other Midwestern states.

Of the four new low-pathogenic H5N2 detections, three are in Stearns County in central Minnesota and the other involves a similar facility in neighboring Kandiyohi County. The viruses were detected between Oct 23 and Nov 1. Among the four locations, the farms house 178,000 birds and will be depopulated through controlled marketing. Other response steps include controlling the movement of birds, quarantine, and disinfection of the affected farms.

Partial genetic sequencing suggests that the new detections are related to the virus at the first farm affected this year. Full sequencing of the virus from the first farm show that all gene segments are consistent with a North American wild bird low-pathogenic H5N2 lineage.
Nov 8 OIE report on low path H5N2 in Minnesota