A systematic review by South African experts yesterday of 10 studies estimates the prevalence of colonization with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase–producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) at 17% in pregnant or postpartum African women, higher than women in middle- to high-income settings.
The results represent a risk for colonization of neonates with ESBL-E.
Dutch investigators have identified the colistin resistance gene MCR-1 in nearly 25% of samples of Dutch retail chicken meat, according to a new study in Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control.
For the study, the investigators bought 214 chicken meat samples from four supermarket chains throughout the Netherlands in 2015. They collected 53 or 54 samples from each chain.
A review of 10 linked studies yesterday in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene indicates that introduction of rapid diagnostic tests for malaria in Africa and Afghanistan curbed use of anti-malaria drugs but was also linked to increased antibiotic prescribing.
The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N8 has struck again in South Africa and Italy, while H5N1 has surfaced in China's Inner Mongolia province, according to reports from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and press services.
A case series of 112 babies born to Brazilian mothers who had confirmed Zika infections found that 21.4% had eye abnormalities with the potential to impair sight, with the condition sometimes seen on its own without microcephaly or other central nervous system (CNS) problems. Researchers from Brazil reported in JAMA Pediatrics today.
Cholera outbreaks in countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean region have reached a critical point, and the WHO and its partners are scaling up efforts to reduce the risk of spread to unaffected areas and neighboring countries, the agency said in a statement today.
In its latest weekly influenza report, Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP) today confirmed 29 new H7N9 avian flu cases in mainland China, the most since late February. There have now been 616 cases of H7N9 reported in China since October of last year, in what is the country's fifth wave of the disease, the CHP said.
New study estimates about 2,100 travelers return with the disease each year and almost 1,500 need hospitalization.
Meta-analysis shows a 21% higher antibiotic prescribing rate in patients who tested negative for malaria.
Two studies suggest DSM265 is a medium-potency, slowly eliminated, well-tolerated antimalarial.