[Newsdesk] Price hikes could affect treatment for NTDs in the USA
The re-emergence of neglected tropical diseases in the USA, combined with huge hikes in drug prices, is causing health-care costs to soar. Roxanne Nelson reports. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - January 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Roxanne Nelson Tags: Newsdesk Source Type: research
[Newsdesk] Ban on gain-of-function studies ends
The US moratorium on gain-of-function experiments has been rescinded, but scientists are split over the benefits —and risks—of such studies. Talha Burki reports. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - January 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Talha Burki Tags: Newsdesk Source Type: research
[Newsdesk] WHO's who in tuberculosis
The appointment of WHO's new director of the Global Tuberculosis Programme has generated controversy among activists and raised questions about transparency. Sophie Cousins reports. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - January 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Sophie Cousins Tags: Newsdesk Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Incidence of active tuberculosis in rural China – Authors' reply
We are pleased to read the comments by Tetsuya Tanimoto and colleagues, suggesting the use of a broader range of cutoff values for QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) with individualised assessment to test latent tuberculosis infection for preventive treatment, instead of the one-size-fit-all value of 0 ·35 IU/mL. Tanimoto and colleagues report that a range of 0·10–0·35 IU/mL is used in Japan to determine patient treatment based on individual risk. They emphasised the use of such a range in the context of our findings, therefore implying use of a more lenient cutoff to maximise sensitivity for elderly patients who might...
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - January 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Lei Gao, Xiangwei Li, Haoran Zhang, Henan Xin, Qi Jin Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Incidence of active tuberculosis in rural China
Lei Gao and colleagues1 report that high-risk populations in communities in rural China should be targeted for latent infection screening and treatment with an interferon- γ releasing assay through use of QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) instead of a tuberculin skin test. In their population-based cohort study,1 the values of QFT results were dichotomised into QFT-positive or QFT-negative as recommended by the manufacturer through use of a traditionally used cutoff value of 0·35 IU/mL or higher for QFT-positive. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - January 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Tetsuya Tanimoto, Na Wang, Kana Yamamoto, Tomohiro Morita, Genming Zhao Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Isolation of viable Zika virus from spermatozoa
In their study, Guillaume Joguet and colleagues1 isolated viable Zika virus from the spermatozoa of a Zika virus-infected individual. This is an important finding. The presence of viable Zika virus in seminal plasma alone might be insufficient for infection of the ovum, zygote, or morula. The plasma membrane of an ovum is surrounded by a dense protective layer of glycoproteins called the zona pellucida. Whether Zika virus can bind to the zona pellucida and then infect the ovum, zygote, or morula is still unknown. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - January 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Alex P Salam, Peter Horby Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Expansion of the WHO public health approach to HIV
I support the conclusions of the Review, by Nathan Ford and colleagues, that the public health approach to delivery of antiretroviral treatment (ART) has contributed to the expansion of treatment and that the approach still remains as relevant as ever. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - January 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Yibeltal Assefa Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Re-emergence of Aedes aegypti in Egypt
Egypt is currently experiencing an outbreak of dengue in Red Sea Governorate.1 The mosquito species Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti was identified as the vector in all dengue outbreaks occurring before 1940 and as a nuisance in Alexandria and Cairo, but a substantial decrease in its population was observed with the use of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), triggering its disappearance from Egypt.2 After a report of two travellers diagnosed with dengue in Italy upon returning from southern Egypt in 2011, two studies3,4 reviewed the re-emergence of A aegypti, but did not provide substancial evidence of its occurrence in Egypt....
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - January 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Shaimaa Abozeid, Adel K Elsayed, Francis Schaffner, Abdallah M Samy Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Campylobacter jejuni vertebral osteomyelitis or tuberculosis: persisting diagnostic ambiguity – Authors' reply
We appreciate Nidhi Tejan and colleagues' insightful comments about our Clinical Picture.1 Clinical and radiographic differentiation between tuberculous spondylodiscitis and pyogenic spondylodiscitis is often quite difficult. However, some differential MRI findings in favour of tuberculous spondylodiscitis have been suggested such as involvement of more than two vertebral bodies, thoracic spine involvement, severe vertebral destruction, mild disc destruction, a thin and smooth abscess wall, and subligamentous spread to three or more vertebral levels. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - January 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Ivan Puljiz, Antea Topic Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Campylobacter jejuni vertebral osteomyelitis or tuberculosis: persisting diagnostic ambiguity
This report described a patient with chronic pain in his lower back who presented in the emergency department with fever and diarrhoea. C jejuni was isolated from blood and stool cultures. MRI of the lumbosacral spine revealed vertebral osteomyelitis with an epidural abscess and diffuse enhancement of the paravertebral soft tissue. The patient was diagnosed with C jejuni vertebral osteomyelitis and given ciprofloxacin for 6 weeks. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - January 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Nidhi Tejan, Ravi Uniyal, Vimal Kumar Paliwal, Hardeep Singh Malhotra, Ravindra Kumar Garg Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Reassessment of a meta-analysis of procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy for lower respiratory tract infections – Authors' reply
We agree with Neil Gaskill that based on our analysis, the largest effects of procalcitonin protocols on antibiotic consumption were found in patients in primary care and the emergency department, with reductions in antibiotic use of around 65% and 35%, respectively.1 However, the effects of procalcitonin-guided antibiotic treatment on mortality were most pronounced in critically-ill patients at highest risk for fatal outcome. We did not find evidence for interaction by setting or respiratory infection, suggesting that procalcitonin-guided care has similar effects among the subgroups. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - January 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Philipp Schuetz, Yannick Wirz, Beat Mueller Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Reassessment of a meta-analysis of procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy for lower respiratory tract infections
In their meta-analysis, Phillip Schuetz and colleagues1 found a clinically significant, 30-day mortality benefit of procalcitonin-directed treatment in patients with acute respiratory infections across all treatment settings. The meta-analysis was valid and reproducible, with nearly identical control and treatment groups and attention to allocation concealment, and masked outcome assessment of the source randomised controlled trials. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - January 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Neil Gaskill Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Reassessment of a meta-analysis of procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy for lower respiratory tract infections
We have concerns about the assertion of Philipp Schuetz and colleagues1 that treatment of lower respiratory tract infections with procalcitonin-guided antibiotics reduces mortality. We pose three issues, formed on the basis of further research of the data online.2 (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - January 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Aarati Keshary, Robert G Badgett Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Comment] A roadmap for zoonotic tuberculosis: a One Health approach to ending tuberculosis
1 ·8 million people die annually of tuberculosis, making it the leading cause of death worldwide due to an infectious disease. Most cases of tuberculosis in human beings are caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Zoonotic tuberculosis is a neglected form of the disease predominantly caused by a closel y related species, Mycobacterium bovis, which belongs to the M tuberculosis complex. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - January 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Anna S Dean, Simona Forcella, Francisco Olea-Popelka, Ahmed El Idrissi, Philippe Glaziou, Amina Benyahia, Elizabeth Mumford, Elisabeth Erlacher-Vindel, Glen Gifford, Juan Lubroth, Mario Raviglione, Paula Fujiwara Tags: Comment Source Type: research
[Comment] Are leprosy case numbers reliable?
The most recent WHO leprosy statistics1 show that new cases increased worldwide from 210 758 in 2015, to 214 783 in 2016, representing an increase of 4025 (2%) cases. Multidrug treatment was initiated in the mid-1980s, and by 2001, effective global leprosy elimination campaigns sponsored by WHO had reduced the prevalence from around 5·3 million cases in 1985, to 597 035 (89% reduction).2 This decrease seems like a tremendous success, but the reduction in prevalence needs some historical context. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - January 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Claudio Guedes Salgado, Josaf á Gonçalves Barreto, Moisés Batista da Silva, Isabela Maria Bernardes Goulart, Jaison Antônio Barreto, Nesio Fernandes de Medeiros Junior, José Augusto Nery, Marco Andrey Cipriani Frade, John Stewart Spencer Tags: Comment Source Type: research
