Infectious Disease Alert – November 1, 2020

November 1, 2020

• Ethical Issues Affecting COVID-19 Vaccination

  The world waits eagerly for a COVID-19 vaccine. But the supply of vaccine is unlikely to initially meet the demand. Ethical issues are important as individuals and groups are prioritized for early vaccination.

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• First There Was MIS-C, Now There Is MIS-A

  Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults (MIS-A), similar to multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), is described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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• Corticosteroid Bursts and Subsequent Sepsis

  Short-term (< 14 days) administration of oral corticosteroids is associated with an increased risk of adverse events, including an approximately two-fold risk of sepsis.

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• Chronic Low-Dose Corticosteroids and Infection Risk

  The prolonged use of low-dose oral corticosteroids (including < 5 mg prednisone equivalent doses) in rheumatoid arthritis patients is associated with an increased risk of infection.

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• Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Plasma Associated with ICU Admission and Mortality

  A prospective cohort study found that SARS-CoV-2 plasma RNA was detected more often, and the levels were higher, in patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit and/or who died.

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• Gut Microbiome in Patients at Risk for Parkinson’s Disease

  Certain risk factors and prodromal markers of Parkinson’s disease (PD), such as constipation and rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, are associated with specific bacterial compositions of the gut. However, the value of gut microbiome data to predict the risk of PD development needs further investigation.

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• Infectious Disease Alert Updates

  Sex in the Time of COVID-19; Serum SARS-CoV-2 and Disease Severity; Natural History of Untreated Tuberculosis

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