Flesh-eating Parasite Now Endemic to Parts of US, CDC Says
Leishmania mexicana, a flesh-eating bacterium that also causes fever, weight loss, and an enlarged spleen and liver is now endemic to Southern parts of the U.S., according to CDC experts. Until recent years, the parasite was only endemic in places like Mexico, Central America and South America, but with rising global temperatures, the parasites can thrive in Texas and other states along the southern U.S. border. Full Access: Becker Hospital
First Pill for Dengue Shows Promise in Human Challenge Trial
A pill for dengue fever developed by Johnson & Johnson appeared to protect against a form of the virus in a handful of patients in a small human challenge trial in the United States. In the trial done with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 10 volunteers were given a high dose of the J&J pill five days before being injected with a type of dengue. They continued to take the pill for 21 days afterwards. Full Access: Reuters
Nasal Suctioning Therapy Among Infants with Bronchiolitis Discharged Home from the Emergency Department: A Randomized Clinical Trial
In this randomized clinical trial of 367 infants, minimal bulb suctioning resulted in significantly higher additional resource use compared with enhanced battery-operated suctioning at 72 hours. Compared with minimal suctioning, enhanced suctioning after ED discharge with bronchiolitis did not alter the disease course as there were no group differences in revisits or feeding and sleeping adequacy. Full Access: JAMA
Guidance Issued on Outpatient Testing for Fungal Infections in CAP
Testing for coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, and blastomycosis is suggested in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) with continuing symptoms who have lived in or visited areas where these infections are known to be endemic, according to guidance from CDC researchers and others. To help outpatient clinicians decide when and how to test, experts reviewed the available evidence and developed a diagnostic algorithm for each infection. Full Access: ACP