Weekly Digest: Ciprofloxacin-resistant Shigella in the U.S., successful Ebola vaccine trial

“The problem of resistance is not just ours; regional cooperation will be critical.”  CDDEP interviewed Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership (GARP)-Uganda Principal Investigator David Mutekanga this week for a new post on the CDDEP blog. Mutekanga, who is also the Executive Secretary of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences (UNAS), spoke about UNAS’s work with GARP-Uganda and highlighted the necessity of working on combating resistance throughout the East Africa region. [CDDEP]

A drug-resistant strain of the highly infectious foodborne pathogen Shigella has been transmitted to the U.S. The CDC announced that at least 243 Americans have gotten sick with the bacteria, which is resistant to first-line antibiotic ciprofloxacin. The initial strain likely came from travelers bringing it into the country, but has since been transmitted within the U.S. [CDC, NPR]

An experimental Ebola vaccine study resulted in 100 percent patient immune response and minimal side effects. The study was carried out on 56 healthy adults in three countries, and results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Officials in Sierra Leone discovered hundreds of new cases of Ebola last week after the government initiated a countrywide lockdown to warn citizens of the dangers of unsafe burial and uncover undiagnosed cases. On Monday, Guinea closed its border with Sierra Leone in an effort to curb transmission of the virus. [The New England Journal of Medicine, Reuters, The New York Times]

Merck and AstraZeneca may be laying off dozens of researchers looking to find the next class of antibiotics. AstraZeneca announced the closure of its Infection iMed unit in Waltham, MA, and Merck eliminated 120 infectious diseases positions after acquiring antibiotic maker Cubist Pharmaceuticals. Both companies have reaffirmed their commitment to antibiotic development, and have stated that the layoffs are more akin to reshuffling than diminished priorities. [The Boston Globe]

U.S. states are becoming more open to needle exchanges as HIV and Hepatitis C rates rise. The governor of Kentucky signed a bill into law this week that included new needle exchange programs as part a strategy for fighting the spread infectious diseases tied to Kentucky’s rising heroin and painkiller abuse Last week, Indiana Governor Mike Pence allowed for needle exchanges in one county that has now experienced the state’s worst HIV outbreak. [The Wall Street Journal]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has plans to collect more data on livestock antibiotic use from American farms. The Department hopes that adding questions about antibiotics to its annual livestock survey will help get a more complete picture of antibiotic use on farms to strategize methods for curbing antibiotic resistance. The announcement came a week after the White House announced its National Action Plan on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and two weeks after CDDEP’s global analysis of livestock antibiotic use was published in PNAS. [Reuters, The White House, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]

India is likely adding new AIDS and TB drugs to their list of price-capped essential medicines. The list of price-capped drug therapies exists to make medicines for a variety of diseases affordable, especially those with expensive treatments. India has 2.2 million tuberculosis patients and 2.1 million AIDS patients for whom the change may make a difference in treatment options. The revised list, the newest version since 2011, is set to be announced in the next six months. [Reuters]

Genes that confer antibiotic resistance can spread easily within a family of bacteria, according to a study from researchers at Washington University in St. Louis. The researchers studied two genes from Enterobacteriaceae that are resistant to the carbapenem class of antibiotics—one gene more common in the U.S. and one found exclusively in South Asia. They found a striking degree of similarity between the two, implying that bacteria in the same family found in different regions can easily transfer resistance-causing genes, and more easily spread antibiotic resistance. [Emerging Infectious Diseases]

Minnesota and South Dakota turkey farms experienced outbreaks of H5N2 avian influenza this week. The outbreaks were Minnesota’s fourth this year and South Dakota’s first, and such outbreaks can seriously affect poultry farms: when one is found, all turkeys in the flocks are culled and do not enter the food system. H5N2 was also reported in Taiwan this week, and Burkina Faso has uncovered cases of H5N1 influenza, which can be transmitted to humans. [CIDRAP]

A medieval potion for treating eye infections may be effective at killing MRSA. Researchers at the University of Nottingham used an old English manuscript to prepare the 1,000-year-old onion- and garlic-based remedy and were shocked to find that it killed up to 90% of MRSA bacteria. It wasn’t the only unique source for killing pathogens in the news this week: another group of scientists found that date syrup, a food item commonly eaten in the Middle East, showed antibacterial activity against a variety of disease-causing bacteria.  [BBC, ScienceDaily]