Browse Infectious Disease Articles by Topic

OSHA, CMS Step Up Hospital Inspections

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a National Emphasis Program to ensure that employees in high-hazard industries, such as healthcare, are protected from contracting SARS-CoV-2.

Antibiotic-Resistant Bugs Do Not Sleep During the Pandemic

Outbreaks with antibiotic-resistant pathogens are occurring in hospital COVID-19 units, primarily caused by multidrug-resistant organisms that are hard to eradicate from the patient environment, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigator reports.

Landmark California Law Requires Stocks of PPE

On April 1, 2021, a new California law went into effect that requires hospitals to maintain a supply of personal protective equipment sufficient for 90 days of patient care.

Origin of SARS-CoV-2 Remains a Mystery, WHO Investigation Ruling Nothing Out

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic most likely arose from horseshoe bats in caves in South China, transferring into humans from an unknown intermediate animal source, according to a World Health Organization report that raised four distinct scenarios and rules out none of them.

Record Number of Reported STD Cases for Sixth Straight Year

U.S. cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis rose almost 30% between 2015 and 2019.

Dasiglucagon Injection (Zegalogue)

Dasiglucagon should be prescribed to treat severe hypoglycemia in pediatric and adult patients (≥ age 6 years).

Herpes Zoster Vaccine: Effective but Underused

The adjuvanted recombinant herpes zoster vaccine is highly effective in practice, but it is vastly underused.

Antibiotics: Less Is Better, Sometimes

In England, and likely in many other areas of the world, antibiotics are given for longer than necessary. Excessively long durations of antibiotic use do not help patients and risk leading to more resistant infections.

Is Empagliflozin Safe in Combination with a Neprilysin Inhibitor for Heart Failure?

A prespecified subgroup analysis of heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction who were on neprilysin inhibitors before empagliflozin was administered (vs. those not on neprilysin inhibitors) showed the reduction in mortality and hospital admissions for heart failure was not attenuated by concurrent neprilysin use.

Accounting for Patient Preference, Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Statin Therapy

Researchers weighed patient preferences and risks regarding statin therapy after reviewing 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk scores.