February 27, 2015
A roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.
A new report details the economic costs of restricting antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) from the livestock sector. Co-authored by CDDEP Director Ramanan Laxminarayan, the paper is one in a series of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Food, Agriculture and Fisheries reports and examines the potential costs of a ban on AGPs to global producers and consumers. Laxminarayan also co-authored a paper published this week in Vaccine, which assesses immunization coverage in India with a small area estimation approach. [OECD, Vaccine]
Resistance the film is now available online. The documentary, which features CDDEP Director Laxminarayan, keenly explores the problem of antibiotic resistance with film footage, stories of patients with resistant infections and interviews with experts and researchers. Wired’s Maryn McKenna interviewed the filmmaker, Michael Graziano, on the origins and topic of the movie, and a review in Slate said of the film, “In fact, after watching Resistance, you won’t even think of asking your doctor for antibiotics unless you’re really sick—which is exactly how they’re meant to be used.” A trailer is available to view online, and the film can be purchased from its website, on iTunes or on Amazon. [Uji Films, Wired, Slate]
Nearly half a million Americans become infected with Clostridium difficile each year—and 29,000 die from issues related to the infection, according to a new study from the CDC published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Using data from 2011, the report found nearly half a million C. difficile infections occur in the US annually, around two thirds of which are transmitted in healthcare settings. A recent study in Infection and Immunity described for the first time the complex dynamics of C. diff infection and colonization in the intestinal tract. [New England Journal of Medicine, Infection and Immunity]
A German infant has died of measles, in a Berlin outbreak that has had more than 500 cases. According to officials, the outbreak is the worst in decades in the country, where vaccines are not compulsory but recommended for all infants. Seven European countries had a combined 22,149 cases of the disease last year, a total that prompted the WHO’s European director that she was “taken aback” by the disease’s resurgence, and urged all countries in the region to close immunization gaps. [BBC]
PLOS Currents Outbreaks debuted a collection of articles on vaccine hesitancy this week. The collection aims to address varied perspectives on vaccine coverage and confidence worldwide and includes research articles, commentaries and an editorial on the subject. One of the studies introduced a Global Vaccine Confidence Index, which used data from parent interviews in six countries to examine reasons for not vaccinating. The researchers then categorized the reasons into three groups: hesitation for confidence, for convenience or for complacency. Confidence was the primary driver in every country. [PLOS Currents Outbreaks]
The FDA has approved a new antibacterial to treat drug-resistant infections. The drug, Avycaz, is a combination of two therapies and can be used as a standalone to treat resistant urinary tract infections or alongside another antibiotic, metronidazole, to treat complicated intra-abdominal infections. It was developed by Actavis in partnership with AstraZeneca and will be available in the second quarter of 2015. [The Guardian]
Air pollution in India is cutting short the lives of hundreds of millions of people. A from researchers at Yale, Harvard and the University of Chicago found that over half of the population of India—660 million people—lives in areas with pollution that exceeds air quality standards in the country. They estimate that changing policies and reducing pollution to adhere to the standards would increase life expectancy by an average of 3.2 years per person affected, for a total of 2.1 billion life years.
The antibiotic pipeline is broken—and a $2 billion prize to develop a new class of antibiotics will help fix it. So argues an op-ed from physician Ezekiel Emanuel in The New York Times this week that examines the problem of and varied solutions to antibiotic resistance, focusing on the lack of economic incentives for new drug development. A $2 billion prize, Emanuel states, would provide a promising enough return for drug companies and would be highly efficient for the government, as no cost would be incurred for research unless a drug is produced. He also notes that $2 billion is a small price to pay in comparison to the $20 billion annual cost of antibiotic resistance on the US healthcare system. [The New York Times]
Antibiotics given to patients within one hour of an open leg fracture can dramatically reduce infection rates. Research published in the Journal of Orthopedic Trauma demonstrated that risk of infection increased nearly fourfold when patients with a type III tibial fracture received antibiotics after the first 66 minutes following the break. [Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma]
After over 1000 confirmed cases and 376 deaths, the World Health Organization is calling for action on MERS. MERS, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, is caused by a coronavirus and spreads between people in close proximity with each other. Saudi Arabia has seen 50 cases this month, and an increasing number tied to health care facilities. The WHO emphasized the need for careful infection prevention control measures in hospitals and health care settings to restrict movement of the virus. [BBC]
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Image of Clostridium diffile courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
