[Correspondence] Xpert Ultra's place in the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis
I read with interest the report1 by Nathan Bahr and colleagues describing the diagnostic accuracy of Xpert Ultra for tuberculous meningitis. Current WHO guidelines to use Xpert MTB/RIF as the initial investigation for tuberculous meningitis have been criticised because the sensitivity and negative predictive value are often too low to confidently rule out tuberculous meningitis.2 If the higher sensitivity of Xpert Ultra is confirmed, the test is likely to be useful as a rule-out test in a broader range of patients. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - February 22, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Tom Boyles Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Potential plague exportation from Madagascar via international air travel
About 400 cases of plague occur annually in Madagascar;1 however in 2017, there were substantially more cases and deaths reported.2 This increase poses a potential public health risk beyond Madagascar and to countries with major travel connections with the country. Indeed, one case of plague was thought to be exported to Seychelles but fortunately samples ultimately tested negative.3 In this Correspondence, we identify countries with the strongest links to Madagascar through international air travel, and discuss these countries' ability to cope with the possibility of imported plague. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - February 22, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Isaac I Bogoch, Timea Maxim, Hernan Acosta, Deepit Bhatia, Shirley Chen, Carmen Huber, Andrew Janes, Jean H E Yong, Andrea Thomas, Moritz U G Kraemer, Alexander Watts, Kamran Khan Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Beyond one virus: vaccination against hepatitis B after hepatitis C treatment
New treatments for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with direct-acting antivirals provide an extraordinary cure rate. A recent Article by Xavier Forns and colleagues1 shows an outstanding 99% sustained virological response among all viral genotypes. Because HCV infection is now a curable disease, attention should be focused towards HCV-related complications and indirect effects. Multiple studies in the past have shown that individuals infected with HCV mount a poor response to vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV). (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - February 22, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Jose D Debes, Dupinder Singh Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Corrections] Corrections
Faye O, Pratt CB, Faye M, et al. Genomic characterisation of human monkeypox virus in Nigeria. Lancet Infect Dis 2018; 18: 246 —In this Correspondence, GP should have been acknowledged as one of the joint senior authors alongside AAS and CI. This correction has been made to the online version as of Feb 21, 2018, and the printed letter is correct. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - February 22, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: Corrections Source Type: research
[Comment] Unavailability of old antibiotics threatens effective treatment for common bacterial infections
In addition to the insufficient pipeline of new antibiotics, the unsustainable production and supply of old antibiotics is becoming a serious global problem that limits the treatment options for common bacterial infections. Most infections are still caused by pathogens susceptible to generic antibiotics, which are often preferred to newer antibiotics because of lower risks for toxicity and resistance development.1 Although data for the manufacturing and distribution of antibiotics are not publicly available, reports on limited availability, shortages, and price increases of old antibiotics suggest that the current system i...
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - February 22, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Thomas T ängdén, Céline Pulcini, Helle Aagard, Manica Balasegaram, Gabriel Levy Hara, Dilip Nathwani, Mike Sharland, Ursula Theuretzbacher, Otto Cars Tags: Comment Source Type: research
[Editorial] A time for celebration
The Lancet Infectious Diseases reaches a milestone this month: our 200th issue. This happy event gives us an opportunity to reflect on the journey that the journal has had and look back at what has happened in the field of infectious diseases over the past 17 years. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - February 22, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: The Lancet Infectious Diseases Tags: Editorial Source Type: research
[Corrections] Corrections
Dorman SE, Schumacher SG, Alland D, et al. Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance: a prospective multicentre diagnostic accuracy study. Lancet Infect Dis 2018; 18: 76 –84. This Open Access Article is now under the CC BY 4.0 license. This correction has been made to the online version as of Feb 21, 2018. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - February 21, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: Corrections Source Type: research
[Articles] Colistin alone versus colistin plus meropenem for treatment of severe infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria: an open-label, randomised controlled trial
Combination therapy was not superior to monotherapy. The addition of meropenem to colistin did not improve clinical failure in severe A baumannii infections. The trial was unpowered to specifically address other bacteria. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - February 15, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Mical Paul, George L Daikos, Emanuele Durante-Mangoni, Dafna Yahav, Yehuda Carmeli, Yael Dishon Benattar, Anna Skiada, Roberto Andini, Noa Eliakim-Raz, Amir Nutman, Oren Zusman, Anastasia Antoniadou, Pia Clara Pafundi, Amos Adler, Yaakov Dickstein, Ioanni Tags: Articles Source Type: research
[Comment] Evidence to improve the treatment of infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria
WHO recognises carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Entero-bacteriaceae as pathogens of crucial importance for the development of novel antibiotics.1 These bacteria manifest resistance to our most trusted therapeutics and, as a result of their increasing prevalence and transmissibility, are becoming an overwhelming health-care burden.2 Over the past decade, polymyxins (an old class of cationic antimicrobial peptide antibiotics) became the drugs of last resort to treat carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - February 15, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Federico Perez, Robert A Bonomo Tags: Comment Source Type: research
[Articles] Early safety and efficacy of the combination of bedaquiline and delamanid for the treatment of patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis in Armenia, India, and South Africa: a retrospective cohort study
Use of the bedaquiline and delamanid combination appears to reveal no additive or synergistic QTcF-prolonging effects. Access to bedaquiline and delamanid in combination should be expanded for people with few treatment options while awaiting the results of formal clinical trials. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - February 13, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Gabriella Ferlazzo, Erika Mohr, Chinmay Laxmeshwar, Catherine Hewison, Jennifer Hughes, Sylvie Jonckheere, Naira Khachatryan, Virginia De Avezedo, Lusine Egazaryan, Amir Shroufi, Stobdan Kalon, Helen Cox, Jennifer Furin, Petros Isaakidis Tags: Articles Source Type: research
[Articles] Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study
Countries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - February 13, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: GlobalSurg Collaborative Tags: Articles Source Type: research
[Comment] Combining bedaquiline and delamanid to treat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis
Clinicians recognise how difficult it is to manage multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis: the treatment is lengthy, expensive, and most patients have severe adverse events.1 –4 (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - February 13, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Marina Tadolini, Simon Tiberi, Giovanni Battista Migliori Tags: Comment Source Type: research
[Comment] Surgical site infection —the next frontier in global surgery
In this issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases, the GlobalSurg Collaborative1 report the incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) from an international, multicentre, prospective cohort of consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergent gastrointestinal resection during the first 6 months of 2016. To document SSI in 343 centres across 66 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America is an impressive undertaking that substantially adds to our understanding of the global problem of post-operative infections and their associated morbidity and mortality. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - February 13, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Robert G Sawyer, Heather L Evans Tags: Comment Source Type: research
[Media Watch] An anthropological view on the emerging threat of Zika virus
Since 2015, there has been a flood of both scientific and lay papers on Zika virus and the harm it might inflict on unborn children of infected mothers in the form of microcephaly and other severe brain defects. What we hear less about are the lives and experiences of the people at the centre of the epidemic that hit Brazil in September, 2015: a wave that started with mere rumours of babies born with small heads in the country's northeast region that rapidly snowballed into the formal declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by WHO in February, 2016. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - February 9, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Lav ínia Schüler-Faccini Tags: Media Watch Source Type: research
[Newsdesk] MSF challenges pneumococcal vaccine patent in India
Pfizer and GSK dominate pneumococcal vaccine manufacturing, but an impending court case in India could pave the way for others, which MSF hopes will drive down costs. Ann Danaiya Usher reports. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - February 7, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Ann Danaiya Usher Tags: Newsdesk Source Type: research
