Zika Virus Epidemic Declared “Global Health Emergency”, E. Coli Outbreaks at Chipotle End, and More

“Persisters”—members of bacterial populations that do not ingest the antibiotics around them—may have met their match in a new technology, writes CDDEP Senior Research Analyst Molly Miller-Petrie in a post on the CDDEP blog. Miller-Petrie describes research done by MIT professor James Collins that examines adding metabolites to aminoglycoside antibiotics, which in preliminary studies showed a significantly reduced bacterial load on E. coli-infected catheters. [CDDEP]

The World Health Organization has declared the Zika virus epidemic a public health emergency. Hundreds of thousands of cases are suspected in countries across Central and South America and the Caribbean. The virus has been linked to microcephaly, a serious birth defect, in Brazil, though the country may have fewer microcephaly cases than originally reported: 1,113 of the 4,783 cases reported since October were re-evaluated, and 709 of the infants did not meet the criteria for microcephaly, while 404 were confirmed. The virus is primarily spread through mosquito bites, though U.S. news organizations reported the first sexually transmitted Zika case in the United States this week. In Brazil, the virus was found in urine and saliva samples and a blood transfusion-associated case was documented. The CDC has issued Zika travel notices for pregnant women to 29 countries and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. Pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and NewLink have both announced new efforts to create a Zika vaccine, though no vaccine could be developed in time for use during the current epidemic. [New York Times, Reuters, CDC, CIDRAP]

The MCR-1 gene, which confers bacterial resistance to the antibiotic colistin, has been documented in two new reports in China and one in Canada. Correspondence published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases announced that of 17 colistin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae samples tested from a hospital in Suzhou, China, four isolates—two E. coli and two Klebsiella pneumoniae—contained the MCR-1 gene. The two Klebsiella strains were also resistant to nearly every other drug they tested, and carried the NDM-5 gene, a relative of the NDM-1 resistance gene identified in New Delhi in 2008. A second study from China found that E. coli in retail meat carrying the MCR-1 gene was also resistant to nearly every other antibiotic, and carried the NDM-9 and FosA3 resistance genes. In Canada, researchers in British Columbia confirmed the MCR-1 gene in a patient who had returned from China. Health officials stated that the patient, who represented the second MCR-1 identification in Canada, was successfully treated in a Canadian hospital. [CIDRAP, Lancet Infectious Diseases, Lancet Infectious Diseases]

The  outbreaks of E. coli at Chipotle restaurants across the country appear to be over, according to the CDC. Two strains of E. coli sickened more than 60 people in14 states beginning in October 2015. The final case was reported December 1. The restaurant chain has announced tightened food safety standards after reported outbreaks of norovirus, Salmonella and E. coli in the past six months. Chipotle’s stock price, which had fallen 30 percent since the end of October, rose 4 percent Monday after CDC’s announcement. [NPR, Reuters]

U.K.-based NGO Oxfam estimates that $1.9 billion out of $5.8 billion promised to fight Ebola has not been delivered to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Oxfam urged both donors and the governments of the three countries hardest hit by the outbreak to provide information on aid received and how the funds have been allocated. [AllAfrica, Oxfam]

A bacterium found in some men’s beards may have antimicrobial properties. University College London microbiologist Adam Roberts’ yearlong program, “Swab and Send,” encourages people to send in swab samples from a variety of bodily locations, which he tests for antimicrobial properties. After a viral story about fecal bacteria in men’s beards spread around the internet last year, the BBC asked Roberts to test samples from 20 beards. No fecal bacteria were found, but 25 percent of the beard isolates were antibacterial. Roberts’ lab intends to conduct further testing on the isolates. [Washington Post]

The California mandatory vaccinations law may already be saving lives, writes the Los Angeles Times editorial board. The 2015 law, SB 277, mandates that any child entering kindergarten in California must receive scheduled vaccines, beginning this coming July 1. Many parents, it appears, have already acted: the percentage of fully vaccinated kindergarteners increased to 92.9 percent for the 2015-2016 school year, up from 90.4 percent the previous year. Writes the Times, “It took guts for legislators to pass this law in the face of vitriolic attacks by anti-vaccination forces. But as the numbers already show, it was worth it.” [The Los Angeles Times]

Hometown fans of Super Bowl contenders have increased flu mortality rates. Research published in the American Journal of Health Economics examined mortality data from 1976 to 2009 and found that in Super Bowl-contending areas, flu deaths were 18 percent higher than in other regions or in years the area wasn’t in the Super Bowl. They surmise that fans go to Super Bowl parties even with flu symptoms, and transmit the virus. The Super Bowl takes place near the height of flu season in the United States. [American Journal of Health Economics, The New York Times]

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