September 13, 2014
A roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.
CDDEP Director Ramanan Laxminarayan spoke at this week’s TEDMED conference, discussing an unusual approach to conserving antibiotics. His presentation is available here. To learn more about TEDMED and the speakers from the conference, visit the TEDMED website. [TEDMED]
A paper published this week in Science stresses the need for antibiotic resistance efforts to balance the dual approaches of conservation and innovation. The article, written by CDDEP Director Ramanan Laxminarayan, states that antibiotic effectiveness is itself a natural resource, and assesses the costs and benefits of these approaches. [Science]
Hundreds of children in the US have been affected by a severe respiratory illness, suspected to be caused by Enterovirus 68. Health officials say that this summer’s cases have been unusually widespread and severe. [The Washington Post]
The Gates Foundation has pledged $50m to strengthen Ebola response in West Africa, adding to aid that now totals over $300m from the US, UK, and European Union. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) stated that the international response to the outbreak so far has been “lethally inadequate”. [BBC Health]
Rates of healthcare-associated infections have declined significantly among children being treated in US hospitals, according to a study published this week in Pediatrics. [The Atlantic]
Cases of mosquito-borne illnesses are on the rise in both the US and Japan. A dengue fever outbreak affected more than 70 people in downtown Tokyo and reported cases of chikungunya in the southeastern US have now reached over 750 for this year. [The New York Times]
Following a three-year application process, the FDA has approved a new diet drug, Contrave, that is a combination of previously approved antidepressant and alcohol addiction medications. The pill is the third obesity medication to be approved in the last decade. [Al Jazeera America]
Long-term survival rates for South African HIV patients are now comparable to rates for those in North America and Europe, according to a new mortality study. [PLOS Medicine]
The largest independent study done to date on hydraulic fracturing and human health has found that people living near fracking wells report higher incidences of health problems. [The Washington Post]
A new software program has identified over 3,000 molecules collected from human microbial DNA that could be developed into antibiotics. [The New York Times]
The DEA announced this week that consumers will soon have more options for disposing of prescription drugs, including returning unused prescriptions to their pharmacies or by mail. [NPR]
The Atlas of Human Infectious Diseases launched a website this week that features updated open access maps and factsheets from the 2012 version of the Atlas, with data on more than 120 diseases. [The Atlas of Human Infectious Diseases]
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