What is already known about this topic? Most Neisseria meningitidis isolates in the United States have been susceptible to antibiotics recommended for treatment and prophylaxis. What is added by this report? During 2019–2020, 11 meningococcal isolates from U.S. patients had isolates containing a blaROB-1 β-lactamase gene associated with penicillin resistance and mutations associated with ciprofloxacin… Continue reading Detection of Ciprofloxacin resistant beta lactamase producing Neisseria meningitidis
Category: Infectivology
Association of Azithromycin Use With Cardiovascular Mortality
Azithromycin is one of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics in the US. It has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular death in some observational studies.. ..The study included 7 824 681 antibiotic exposures, including 1 736 976 azithromycin exposures (22.2%) and 6 087 705 amoxicillin exposures (77.8%), among 2 929 008 unique individuals (mean [SD] age, 50.7 [12.3] years; 1 810 127 [61.8%]… Continue reading Association of Azithromycin Use With Cardiovascular Mortality
Prevalence of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread rapidly throughout the world since the first cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were observed in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. It has been suspected that infected persons who remain asymptomatic play a significant role in the ongoing pandemic, but their relative number and effect have… Continue reading Prevalence of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Identifying airborne transmission as the dominant route for the spread of #COVID-19
Various mitigation measures have been implemented to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including widely adopted social distancing and mandated face covering. However, assessing the effectiveness of those intervention practices hinges on the understanding of virus transmission, which remains uncertain. Here we show that airborne transmission is highly virulent and represents the dominant route… Continue reading Identifying airborne transmission as the dominant route for the spread of #COVID-19
Influence of perceived threat of Covid-19 and HEXACO personality traits on toilet paper stockpiling
Following the fast spread of Covid-19 across Europe and North America in March 2020, many people started stockpiling commodities like toilet paper. Despite the high relevance for public authorities to adequately address stockpiling behavior, empirical studies on the psychological underpinnings of toilet paper stockpiling are still scarce. In this study, we investigated the relation between… Continue reading Influence of perceived threat of Covid-19 and HEXACO personality traits on toilet paper stockpiling
ACE2 Expression is Increased in the Lungs of Patients with Comorbidities Associated with Severe COVID-19
Patients who died from COVID-19 often had comorbidities, such as hypertension, diabetes, and chronic obstructive lung disease. Although angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is crucial for SARS-CoV2 to bind and enter host cells, no study has systematically assessed the ACE2 expression in the lungs of patients with these diseases. Here, we analyzed over 700 lung transcriptome… Continue reading ACE2 Expression is Increased in the Lungs of Patients with Comorbidities Associated with Severe COVID-19
SARS-CoV2 vaccines: Slow is fast
..The need to develop a vaccine is urgent, but most estimates conclude that even if trials are successful, an effective vaccine will not be widely available for 12 to 18 months. Much of the required time is related to the pace of proper clinical trials. Studies are usually first needed in experimental animals. However, non-human… Continue reading SARS-CoV2 vaccines: Slow is fast
Presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections and Transmission in a Skilled Nursing Facility
coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can spread rapidly within skilled nursing facilities. After identification of a case of Covid-19 in a skilled nursing facility, we assessed transmission and evaluated the adequacy of symptom-based screening to identify infections in residents.. ..Twenty-three days after the first positive test result in a resident at this skilled nursing facility, 57… Continue reading Presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections and Transmission in a Skilled Nursing Facility
Association of Stay-at-Home Orders With COVID-19 Hospitalizations in 4 States
In analyses of the effectiveness of response measures to the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), most studies have used the number of confirmed cases or deaths. However, case count is a conservative estimate of the actual number of infected individuals in the absence of community-wide serologic testing. Death count is a lagging metric and… Continue reading Association of Stay-at-Home Orders With COVID-19 Hospitalizations in 4 States