Healthcare & Laboratory News

Infectious Disease Advisor (3/31, McSwiggin) reports a study suggests that “patients with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) may be at increased risk for severe outcomes when infected with COVID-19, highlighting the need to prioritize infection prevention and vaccination efforts in this population.” Researchers found that “patients in the PWS group were hospitalized longer than those in the non-PWS group (median, 6 vs 5 days) and exhibited higher rates of ventilator use (18.6% vs 11.8%) and obesity (47.5% vs 28.4%).” Additionally, they noted “in-hospital mortality was less common among patients with vs without PWS (8.5% vs 12.8%), but the median age at death was lower for those with PWS (30 vs 72 years). Patients in the PWS group also had higher total hospital charges (median, $64,804 vs $47,846).” Results from the study were published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A.

Reuters (3/31, Godoy) reports the Federal Trade Commission has expressed concern “about the potential sale or transfer of Americans’ personal information by 23andMe ancestry testing company which recently filed for bankruptcy.” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a letter to the US trustee “that any purchaser of 23andMe assets should agree to be bound by the company’s existing privacy policy.” Officials including California Attorney General Rob Bonta “had questioned what would happen to the genetic data collected by 23andMe” since filing for bankruptcy protection on March 23 “amid weak demand for its ancestry testing kits. It has said the bankruptcy process will not affect how it stores, manages or protects customer data.”

HCPlive (3/31, Smith) reports, “Psoriasis is potentially associated with metabolic disorders, new findings suggest, and resistin may provide a biomarker for disease severity.” Researchers “noted that an increase in markers can suggest inflammatory processes among patients that point to the risk of conditions accompanying psoriatic disease.” The study found “that children with psoriasis were shown to have higher serum levels of resistin, homocysteine, leptin, and pentraxin 3.” They concluded that in the “study, the levels of the analyzed biomarkers in” patients with psoriasis “were not related to body weight, which implies that psoriasis without accompanying obesity may be an independent risk factor for systemic inflammation.” However, they said, “resistin, in particular, appeared to be a potential marker of psoriasis severity, which could be used for monitoring disease progression. However, this relationship requires further investigation.” The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine.

Infectious Disease Advisor (3/31) reports a study found that “a focused effort to ensure equitable and timely access to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines is needed to increase uptake among infants and high-risk pediatric patients in the United States.” Researchers “evaluated RSV immunization coverage among pregnant individuals and infants” and determined the highest maternal RSVpreF vaccine uptake “was observed among patients who identified as non-Hispanic other Asian or Pacific Islander (25.5%), those aged 30 to 44 years (58.8%), and those with private insurance at the time of delivery (21.1%).” In regard to infant immunization coverage, “those born to parents who identified as non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native and those with Medicare or BadgerCare insurance at the time of delivery showed the highest vaccine uptake (20.3% and 19.5%, respectively).” Results from the study were published in Vaccine.

Healio (3/28, Feller) reported a study found that “ensitrelvir reduced transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by 67% when given to uninfected household contacts of a person with COVID-19 within 3 days of that person developing symptoms.” The FDA “granted ensitrelvir fast-track designation as a COVID-19 therapeutic in 2023 and an additional fast-track designation earlier this year for use as post-exposure prophylaxis.” Researchers concluded, “The ensitrelvir post-exposure prophylactic reductions in COVID-19 events within households suggest a potential for protection in other settings where there is virus transmission, such as outbreaks in acute- or long-term care facilities.” The study was presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.

The AP (3/28, Shastri) reported that at least five states “have active measles outbreaks as of Friday, and Texas’ is the largest with 400 cases.” Already, the US has “more measles cases this year than in all of 2024, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said. Other states with outbreaks – defined as three or more cases – include New Mexico, Kansas, Ohio and Oklahoma.” The new outbreaks “confirm health experts’ fears that the virus will take hold in other U.S. communities with low vaccination rates and that the spread could stretch on for a year.” The World Health Organization also “said...cases in Mexico are linked to the Texas outbreak.” Reuters (3/28, Roy, Sunny, Singh, Steenhuysen, Beasley) reported that experts have “warned that declining U.S. vaccination rates can make the population vulnerable to highly contagious measles.” The disease, “which can be especially serious in young children, was considered eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. But vaccination rates have since fallen, and just 80% of those in the Texas county where the outbreak began were inoculated against measles, well below the 95% needed for so-called herd immunity.” Overall, ABC News (3/29, Kekatos, Benadjaoud, Salzman) reported the CDC “has so far confirmed 483 measles cases this year in at least 19 states: Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Washington. This is likely an undercount due to delays in states reporting cases to the federal health agency.”

Healio (3/28, Liptak) reported the FDA granted “Visby Medical authorization to market their at-home, over-the-counter diagnostic test that detects chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis.” The FDA stated in a release that “the Women’s Sexual Health Test (Visby Medical) is intended for women regardless of symptom status and delivers results in approximately 30 minutes using a vaginal swab.” The announcement “follows the authorization of the first at-home syphilis test last year.”

Rare Disease Advisor (3/28, Jacobs) reported a study found that among patients with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), “low concentrations of anti-C5aR antibodies, but not anti-C3aR antibodies, are reflective of disease activity and relapse. This, in turn, suggests that C5aR is an immune checkpoint that is regulated by endogenous anti-C5aR antibodies in patients with AAV.” Researchers concluded, “Further studies are needed to determine the role of endogenous antibodies on the C5a/C5aR-axis and complement activation in EGPA.” The study was published in RMD Open.

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MedPage Today (3/27, Fiore) reports CDC researchers said during a clinician-focused call on Thursday that murine typhus, “a flea-borne disease that was once largely eradicated” in the US, “may be making a resurgence.” Experts warned that “cases are on the rise in two states that actively monitor the disease – Texas and California – and the illness may be going undiagnosed.”