Current Infectious Disease Reports

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The worldwide spread of chikungunya over the past two decades calls for greater knowledge and awareness of the virus, its route of transmission, methods of diagnosis, and the use of available treatment and prevention measures. RECENT FINDINGS: Chikungunya virus infection, an Aedes mosquito-borne febrile disease, has spread from Africa and Asia to Europe and the Americas and from the tropics and subtropics to temperate regions. International travel is a pivotal influence in the emergence of chikungunya as a global public health threat, as evidenced by a growing number of published reports on travel-related chikungunya infections...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s11908-022-00788-z.].

Purpose of Review: The COVID-19 pandemic has been responsible for more than 6.3 million deaths worldwide. During the pandemic, the indiscriminate use of antibiotics has increased, contributing to the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria. In this review, we aim to determine the spread and impact of antibiotic treatments in patients with COVID-19, focusing on underdeveloped and developing countries. Recent Findings: Meta-analysis revealed that bacterial co-infections and secondary infections are relatively rare in COVID-19 patients, corresponding to less than 20% of hospitalized patients...

Purpose of Review: Nosocomial extracardiac infections after cardiac surgery are a major public health issue affecting 3-8.2% of patients within 30-60 days following the intervention. Recent Findings: Here, we have considered the most important postoperative infective complications that, in order of frequency, are pneumonia, surgical site infection, urinary tract infection, and bloodstream infection. The overall picture that emerges shows that they cause a greater perioperative morbidity and mortality with a longer hospitalization time and excess costs...

Purpose of Review: Japanese encephalitis (JE), a clinical indication of JE virus-induced brain inflammation, is the most prevalent cause of viral encephalitis in the world. This review gives a comprehensive update on the epidemiology, clinical features, therapeutic trials and approaches for preventing the spread of JE. It also outlines the different JE vaccines used in various countries and recommendations for administration of JE vaccines. Recent Findings: According to the WHO, annual incidence of JE is estimated to be approximately 68,000 cases worldwide...

Purpose of Review: This review critically considers the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global travel and the practice of travel medicine, highlights key innovations that have facilitated the resumption of travel, and anticipates how travel medicine providers should prepare for the future of international travel. Recent Findings: Since asymptomatic transmission of the virus was first recognized in March 2020, extensive efforts have been made to characterize the pattern and dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 transmission aboard commercial aircraft, cruise ships, rail and bus transport, and in mass gatherings and quarantine facilities...

Purpose of Review: Advanced liver disease is a leading cause of non-AIDS-related morbidity and mortality in persons with HIV on antiretroviral therapy. As a result, persons with HIV are increasingly seeking liver transplantation. Recent Findings: With the availability of direct-acting antiviral hepatitis C therapies, there has been a shift in the indications for liver transplantation in persons with HIV, with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease now the leading indication over hepatitis C infection...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Easy-to-use, fast, and accurate virus detection method is essential for patient management and epidemic surveillance, especially during severe pandemics. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) on a microfluidic platform is suitable for detecting infectious viruses, regardless of the availability of medical resources. The purpose of this review is to introduce LAMP-based microfluidic devices for virus detection, including their detection principles, methods, and application...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: West Nile virus (WNV) is an arbovirus transmitted by mosquitos of the genus Culex . Manifestations of WNV infection range from asymptomatic to devastating neuroinvasive disease leading to flaccid paralysis and death. This review examines WNV epidemiology and ecology, with an emphasis on travel-associated infection. RECENT FINDINGS: WNV is widespread, including North America and Europe, where its range has expanded in the past decade. Rising temperatures in temperate regions are predicted to lead to an increased abundance of Culex mosquitoes and an increase in their ability to transmit WNV...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Advances in health care over time have led to an evolution in the epidemiology of invasive fungal infections. There is an increasing concern for antifungal resistance and emergence of less common fungal species for which optimal therapies are not well defined. The purpose of this review is to describe mechanisms of antifungal resistance and to evaluate the modern role of new and investigational antifungals. RECENT FINDINGS: Isavuconazole and ibrexafungerp represent the two newest antifungal agents...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Without effective antimicrobials, patients cannot undergo transplant surgery safely or sustain immunosuppressive therapy. This review examines the burden of antimicrobial resistance in solid organ transplant recipients and identifies opportunities for antimicrobial stewardship. RECENT FINDINGS: Antimicrobial resistance has been identified to be the leading cause of death globally. Multidrug-resistant pathogens are associated with significant morbidity and mortality in transplant recipients...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Due to the rapidly changing landscape of COVID-19, the purpose of this review is to provide a concise and updated summary of pediatric COVID-19 diagnosis and management. RECENT FINDINGS: The relative proportion of pediatric cases have significantly increased following the emergence of the Omicron variant (from < 2% in the early pandemic to 25% from 1/27 to 2/3/22). While children present with milder symptoms than adults, severe disease can still occur, particularly in children with comorbidities...

Purpose of Review: The goal of this article is to highlight how and why urinalyses and urine cultures are misused, review quality improvement interventions to optimize urine culture utilization, and highlight how to implement successful, sustainable interventions to improve urine culture practices in the acute care setting. Recent Findings: Quality improvement initiatives aimed at reducing inappropriate treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria often focus on optimizing urine test utilization (i...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Provide an updated review of the clinical management and diagnosis of Kawasaki disease with inclusion of potential diagnostic difficulties with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. RECENT FINDINGS: Adjunctive corticosteroid therapy has been shown to reduce the rate of coronary artery dilation in children at high risk for IVIG resistance in multiple Japanese clinical studies (most notably RAISE study group)...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Rapidly evolving treatment paradigms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) introduce challenges for clinicians to keep up with the pace of published literature and to critically appraise the voluminous data produced. This review summarizes the clinical evidence from key studies examining the place of therapy of recommended drugs and management strategies for COVID-19. RECENT FINDINGS: The global magnitude and duration of the pandemic have resulted in a flurry of interventional treatment trials evaluating both novel and repurposed drugs targeting various aspects of the viral life cycle...

Purpose of Review: Armed conflicts occur globally, with some regions experiencing heightened instability for many years. A better understanding of the infectious disease impact on children in armed conflict will allow aid organizations to anticipate and mitigate the most serious problems. Recent Findings: Armed conflicts are estimated to have caused approximately 30 million civilian deaths during the past 27 years, with two-thirds occurring in women and children...

Purpose of Review: Antimicrobial stewardship within acute care is common and has been expanding to outpatient areas. Some inpatient antimicrobial stewardship tactics apply to outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) and complex outpatient antimicrobial therapy (COpAT) management, but differences do exist. Recent Findings: OPAT/COpAT is a growing area of practice and research with its own unique considerations for antimicrobial stewardship. Potential ideas for antimicrobial stewardship in the OPAT/COpAT setting include redesigning the regimen to COpAT instead of OPAT, ensuring the use of the shortest effective duration of antimicrobial therapy; using antimicrobials dosed less frequently, such as long-acting glycopeptides; optimizing antimicrobial susceptibility testing reporting for common OPAT/COpAT drugs; and establishing routine laboratory and safety monitoring...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: While reducing unnecessary days present of central venous catheters (CVCs) is part of central line associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) best practices, there is limited information regarding compliance with this recommendation as well as addressing barriers to compliance. RECENT FINDINGS: Significant work has been directed towards daily audits of necessity and improving communication between members of the medical team. Other critical interventions include utilization of the electronic health record (EHR), leadership support of CLABSI reduction goals, and avoiding CVC placement over more appropriate vascular access...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Sepsis is a leading cause of death worldwide. Groundbreaking international collaborative efforts have culminated in the widely accepted surviving sepsis guidelines, with iterative improvements in management strategies and definitions providing important advances in care for patients. Key to the diagnosis of sepsis is identification of infection, and whilst the diagnostic criteria for sepsis is now clear, the diagnosis of infection remains a challenge and there is often discordance between clinician assessments for infection...

Purpose of Review: The purpose of this study is to review racial and ethnic inequities in the incidence and prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in the USA, identify gaps in the literature, and recommend future directions to mitigate these inequities. Recent Findings: While some existing literature has identified the presence of racial/ethnic inequities in HAI incidence and outcomes, few studies to date have evaluated whether HAI prevention efforts have mitigated these inequities...