Infectious Disease Puscast

On episode #88 of the Infectious Disease Puscast, Daniel and Sara review the infectious disease literature for the weeks of 8/19/25 – 8/27/25.

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• Viral
• Respiratory Syncytial Virus Immunization Coverage Among Infants Through Receipt of Nirsevimab Monoclonal Antibody or Maternal Vaccination (CDC: MMWR)
• Bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide versus ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor-based antiretroviral therapy in people with HIV and viral suppression on second-line therapy in Haiti: an open-label, randomised, non-inferiority trial (LANCET: HIV)
• Interferon-α Nasal Spray Prophylaxis Reduces COVID-19 in Cancer Patients: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial (CID)
• Bacterial
• Exposure to suppressive antibiotic therapy in women with recurrent urinary tract infections and severity of infections: a retrospective population-based cohort study (BMJ Open)
• Effectiveness and safety of antibiotics in kidney transplant recipients with asymptomatic bacteriuria: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (OFID)
• Epidemiological, temporal, and geographic trends of leptospirosis in the United States, 2014–2020 (PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases)
• Performance of Tongue Swabs for Tuberculosis Diagnosis in Hospitalized Children Under 5 Years of Age (OFID)
• Fungal
• The Last of US Season 2 (YouTube)
• Towards shorter therapy for candidaemia: defining uncomplicated candidaemia in adults (LANCET: Infectious Diseases)
• Parasitic
• Outcomes of Military Blood Donors at Joint Base San Antonio with Reactive Trypanosoma cruzi Antibody Screening (OFID)
• Cutaneous acanthamoebiasis: Two Cases Highlighting Diverse Histopathologic Findings (Journal of Cutaneous Pathology)
• Miscellaneous
• Linezolid-related Optic Nerve Disorders: Insight from a Pharmacovigilance Analysis of the U.S. FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (OFID)
• Extreme variability in linezolid concentrations in the ICU: A case for routine therapeutic drug monitoring (American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy)

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Information on this podcast should not be considered as medical advice.

On episode #87 of the Infectious Disease Puscast, Daniel and Sara review the infectious disease literature for the weeks of 7/31/25 – 8/18/25.

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• Viral
• Adjuvanted recombinant zoster vaccine is effective against herpes zoster ophthalmicus, and is associated with lower risk of acute myocardial infarction and stroke in adults aged ≥50 years (CID)
• Bacterial
• Dalbavancin for Treatment of Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia (JAMA)
• Propensity-Matched Comparison of Timely vs. Delayed Antibiotic Therapy in Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Pneumoni (OFID)
• The proportion of Treponema pallidum PCR-positive primary syphilis infections which are seronegative for syphilis (OFID)
• Cefixime versus benzathine penicillin G for the treatment of early syphilis (Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy)
• Dalbavancin for Treatment of Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia (JAMA)
• Fungal
• The Last of US Season 2 (YouTube)
• Parasitic
• Increasing Length of the Babesia Season in New England in the Climate Change Era (OFID)
• Ivermectin to Control Malaria (NEJM)
• Miscellaneous
• ACIP Recommendations Summary (CDC: Influenza)
• Relative effectiveness of high-dose versus standard-dose influenza vaccine against hospitalizations and mortality according to frailty score (JID)

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Information on this podcast should not be considered as medical advice.

On episode #86 of the Infectious Disease Puscast, Daniel reviews the infectious disease literature for the weeks of 7/22 – 8/1/25.

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• Viral
• Long-term clinical sequelae among Sudan ebolavirus disease survivors 2 years post-infection (BMC Medicine)
• Bacterial
• War on AMR: High MDR carriage rates among war-injured Ukrainian refugees (CMI: Clinical Microbiology and Infection)
• Oral washes and tongue swabs for Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra-based tuberculosis diagnosis in people with and without the ability to make sputum (CID)
• Fungal
• The Last of US Season 2 (YouTube)
• Progression from Candida auris Colonization Screening to Clinical Case Status, United States, 2016–2023 (CDC: Emerging Infectious Diseases)
• Regional Emergence of Candida auris in Chicago and Lessons Learned From Intensive Follow-up at 1 Ventilator-Capable Skilled Nursing Facility (CID)
• Infection Control Guidance: Candida auris (CDC: Candida auris)
• Twice Weekly Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim for Pneumocystis jiroveci Pneumonia Prophylaxis in Lung Transplant Recipients(Transplant Infectious Disease)
• Parasitic
• Toxoplasma gondii infection of neurons alters the production and content of extracellular vesicles directing astrocyte phenotype and contributing to the loss of GLT-1 in the infected brain (PLoS Pathogens)
• Baylisascariasis (Raccoon Roundworm Infection) in Two Unrelated Children (CDC: MMWR)
• Miscellaneous
• A Review of Alpha Gal Syndrome for the Infectious Diseases Practitioner (OFID)

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Information on this podcast should not be considered as medical advice.

On episode #85 of the Infectious Disease Puscast, Daniel and Sara review the infectious disease literature for the weeks of 7/3 – 7/21/25.

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• Viral
• Elimination of HIV Reservoirs Harboring Intact Proviruses (JID) Bacterial
• Expansion of tetM-Carrying Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the United States, 2018–2024 (NEJM)
• Study hints doxyPEP use coincides with rise in tetracycline-resistant gonorrhea in US (CIDRAP)
• Potential Impact of Doxycycline Post-Exposure Prophylaxis on Tetracycline Resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Colonization With Tetracycline-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Group A Streptococcus (CID)
• Methenamine hippurate asprophylaxis for recurrent urinary tract infections in older women – a triple-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase IV trial (ImpresU). (CMI: Clinical Microbiology and Infection)
• Diagnosis and Management ofCommunity-acquired Pneumonia(American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine)
• Complicated Urinary Tract Infections (cUTI): Clinical Guidelines for Treatment and Management (IDSA)
• The impact of an intervention to increase follow-up blood cultures for patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteriuria (Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology) Fungal
• The Last of US Season 2 (YouTube)
• Candida auris Containment Responses in Health Care Facilities that Provide Hemodialysis Services (CDC: MMWR)
• Candidozyma auris: an emerging threat (Reflections on Infectious Prevention and Control)
• Effects of postoperative antifungal therapy on the recurrence of Aspergillus infection after pulmonary aspergilloma resection (BMC Infectious Diseases)
• Triazole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus in the Netherlands between 1994 and 2022: a genomic and phenotypic study (LANCET: Microbe)
• Large language models and their performance for the diagnosis of histoplasmosis (PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases) Parasitic
• Field evidence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection, diverse host use and invasion of human dwellings by the Chagas disease vector in Florida, USA (PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases)

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Information on this podcast should not be considered as medical advice.

On episode #84 of the Infectious Disease Puscast, Daniel and Sara review the infectious disease literature for the weeks of 6/17 – 7/2/25.

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• Viral
• Clinical Outcomes and Perspectives of People With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Twelve Months After Initiation of Long-acting Cabotegravir and Rilpivirine in an Observational Real-world US Study (BEYOND)(CID)
• Healthcare Provider Knowledge of West Nile Virus Diagnostic Testing—United States, 2022 (OFID)
• Bacterial
• Risk and Distribution of Metastatic Infections by Primary Infection Focus in Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia (OFID)
• Clinical management of Clostridioides difficile infection with faecal microbiota transplantation (eClinicalMedicine)
• Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Clostridioides difficile Infection in Adults (IDSA)
• Clinician Management Preferences for Clostridioides difficile Infection in Adults (OFID)
• Donor-Derived Tuberculosis In Three Solid Organ Transplant Recipients From The Same Donor (OFID)
• Septic Arthritis and Osteomyelitis in Finger Caused by Mycoplasma phocimorsus from Brown Bear, Alaska, USA (CDC: Emerging Infectious Diseases)
• Foodborne Botulism Outbreak After Consumption of Home-Canned Cactus (Nopales) (CDC: MMWR)
• One-Stage Revision Total Hip Arthroplasty for Polymicrobial Periprosthetic Joint Infection Leads to High Reinfection Rates (Journal of Arthroplasty)
• 4,000-year-old Mycobacterium lepromatosis genomes from Chile reveal long establishment of Hansen's disease in the Americas (Nature Ecology & Evolution)
• Fungal
• The Last of US Season 2 (YouTube)
• Outcome Predictors of Candida Prosthetic Joint Infection (OFID)
• Parasitic
• Miscellaneous
• Ten Practical Tips for a Successful Presentation at ID clinical case conference (OFID)
• Evaluating the impact of two decades of USAID interventions and projecting the effects of defunding on mortality up to 2030 (LANCET)
• Comparison of Periodic In-Person ID Care to Daily Tele-ID Care at a Community Hospital (OFID)

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Information on this podcast should not be considered as medical advice.

On episode #83 of the Infectious Disease Puscast, Daniel and Sara review the infectious disease literature for the weeks of 6/5 – 6/18/25.

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• Viral
• Premature Demise of the Milwaukee Protocol (CID)
• West Nile Virus and Other Nationally Notifiable Arboviral Diseases — United States, 2023 (CDC: MMWR)
• Investigation of associations between the neonatal gut microbiota and severe viral lower respiratory tract infections in the first 2 years of life (LANCET: Microbe)
• Right blend of gut microbiota could avert hospitalization forviral respiratory infection in babies (CIDRAP)
• Clinical management and infection prevention and control for mpox: living guideline, May 2025 (World Health Organization)
• Bacterial
• Corynebacterium diphtheriaeOutbreak in Migrant Populations in Europe (NEJM)
• Weekly Oral Cycling Antibiotic Treatment: A New Antibioprophylaxis Regimen for Recurrent UTIs (CID)
• Fungal
• The Last of US Season 2 (YouTube)
• Estimated Burden of Coccidioidomycosis (JAMA)
• Antifungal therapy in Candida infective endocarditis: a comparison of echinocandins and other treatment regimens in a nation-wide cohort study (CID)
• Parasitic Does schistosome infection affect behavior through the gut-brain axis? (PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases)

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Information on this podcast should not be considered as medical advice.

On episode #82 of the Infectious Disease Puscast, Daniel and Sara review the infectious disease literature for the weeks of 5/22 – 6/4/25.

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• Viral
• Estimated Current and Future Congenital Rubella Syndrome Incidence with and Without Rubella Vaccine Introduction — 19 Countries, 2019–2055 (CDC: MMWR)
• HIV-Superinfection in Kidney Transplant Recipients with HIV who Received Organs from Donors with HIV (JID)
• Respiratory syncytial virus: an under-recognized healthcare-associated infection (Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology)
• Bacterial
• Francisella tularensis Subspecies holarctica in Stranded Beluga Whales, Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA (CDC: Emerging Infectious Diseases)
• Long-term effects of azithromycin mass administration to reduce childhood mortality on Streptococcus pneumoniae antimicrobial resistance (LANCET: Infectious Diseases)
• Reducing inappropriate antibiotic use in febrile neutropenia in hematology patients through the implementation of an antibiotic de-escalation protocol (Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology)
• Optimizing cefazolin dosing for central nervous system infections: insights from population pharmacokinetics and Monte Carlo simulations (Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy)
• Fungal
• The Last of US Season 2 (YouTube)
• Histoplasma antigenuria prevalence in patients with advanced HIV disease in Côted'Ivoire (CID)
• Interferon-γ therapy in patients with refractory disseminated coccidioidomycosis(CID)
• Practical Guidance for Clinical Microbiology Laboratories: Antibody and antigen detection methods for dimorphic fungal infections (Clinical Microbiology Reviews)
• Parasitic
• Notes from the Field: Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis Associated with Nasal Irrigation Using Water from a Recreational Vehicle — Texas, 2024 (CDC: MMWR)
• Further Evidence for Plausible Transmission of Fishborne Trematodiases in the United States: Game Fish Carry Human-Infectious Trematodes and Are Eaten Raw (JID)
• Miscellaneous
• A pilot study of coughing into the shirt to disrupt respiratory pathogen transmission (International Journal Of Emergency Medicine)
• Applying new compound to bed nets targets malaria parasites, not mosquitoes (CIDRAP)

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Information on this podcast should not be considered as medical advice.

On episode #81 of the Infectious Disease Puscast, Daniel reviews the infectious disease literature for the weeks of 5/8/25 – 5/21/25.

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• Viral
• Tecovirimat for Clade I MPXV Infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo (NEJM)
• Remdesivir associated with reduced mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients (BMC Infectious Diseases)
• Real-world evidence shows remdesivir tied to less death in hospitalized COVID patients (CIDRAP)
• Impact of most promising Ebola therapies on survival (Virology Journal)
• Bacterial
• Comparative effectiveness of azithromycin versus doxycycline in hospitalized patients with community acquired pneumonia treated with beta-lactams (CID)
• Diet and Risk for Incident Diverticulitis in Women (Annals of Internal Medicine)
• The Dynamics of QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube Conversion and Reversion in a Cohort of South African Adolescents(American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine)
• BCG Revaccination for the Prevention of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection(NEJM)
• The Impact of Diet on Clostridioides difficile Infection (JID)
• Cefazolin versus Antistaphylococcal Penicillins for the Treatment of Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcusaureus Bacteremia (CMI: Clinical Microbiology and Infection)
• Fungal
• The Last of US Season 2 (YouTube)
• Candida auris is emerging as a prevalent urinary pathogen (PLoS Pathgoens
• A symbiotic filamentous gut fungus ameliorates MASH via a secondary metabolite–CerS6–ceramide axis (Science)
• Outcome predictors of Candida prosthetic joint infections (OFID)
• Cave-Associated Histoplasmosis Outbreak Among Travelers Returning from Costa Rica — Georgia, Texas, and Washington, December 2024–January 2025 (CDC: MMWR)
• Parasitic
• COPEG 25th Anniversary (US Embassy in Panama)
• USDA suspends southern border livestock imports over New World screwworm threat(CIDRAP)
• Moxidectin combination therapies for lymphatic filariasis (LANCET: Infectious Diseases

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Information on this podcast should not be considered as medical advice.

On episode #80 of the Infectious Disease Puscast, Daniel and Sara review the infectious disease literature for the weeks of 4/24/25 – 5/7/25.

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• Viral
• Incidence and Timing of Epstein–Barr Virus Whole Blood DNAemia in Epstein–Barr Virus-Mismatched Adult and Pediatric Solid Organ Transplant Recipients (Transplant Infectious Disease)
• Infant Respiratory Syncytial Virus Immunization Coverage in the Vaccine Safety Datalink: 2023–2024 (American Academy of Pediatrics)
• Impact of Nirsevimab on RSV and Non-RSV Severe Respiratory Infections in Hospitalized Infants (Influenza and other respiratory viruses)
• Hospital admissions of respiratory infections in infants plungewith nirsevimab RSV antibody (CIDRAP)
• Time to antiviral treatment in mild–moderate COVID-19 in the emergency department (Internal and Emergency Medicine)
• Delays in COVID antiviral receipt raised risk of poor outcomes after ED visits by 18%, data suggest (CIDRAP)
• Antiretroviral Postexposure Prophylaxis After Sexual, Injection Drug Use, or Other Nonoccupational Exposure to HIV (MMWR)
• Bacterial
• Validation and clinical implementation of cerebrospinal fluid C-reactive protein for the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis (LANCET: Regional Health)
• Bridging to transplant: TDM-Guided Outpatient Dalbavancin Therapy in Chronic Granulomatous Disease with deep-seeded Inoperable Abscesses over 11 Months (OFID)
• Nitrites for Urinary Tract Infection—Time to Say Goodbye? (JAMA: Internal Medicine)
• Fungal
• The Last of US Season 2 (YouTube)
• High Mortality and Associated Risk Factors in Kidney Transplant Recipients with Cryptococcosis – A Nationwide Cohort Study Over a Decade Using USRDS Data (OFID)
• Use of Dog Serologic Data for Improved Understanding of Coccidioidomycosis (JID)
• Parasitic
• Performance of a novel P. falciparum rapid diagnostic test in areas of widespread hrp2/3 gene deletion (CID)
• Prevalence of Anopheles stephensi in the Horn of Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis (BMC Infectious Diseases)
• Raising awareness of Demodex mites: a neglected cause of skin disease (Infection)
• Miscellaneous
• Scientific Integrity Under Threat: The Role of the IDSA, PIDS, and SHEA Journals in an Evolving Political Landscape (CID)
• Reasoning on Rounds Volume 2: a Framework for Teaching Management Reasoning in the Inpatient Setting (Journal of General Internal Medicine)
• Billing for and documentation of provider-to-provider interprofessional consults in infectious diseases (Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society)

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Information on this podcast should not be considered as medical advice.

On episode #79 of the Infectious Disease Puscast, Daniel and Sara review the infectious disease literature for the weeks of 4/10/25 – 4/23/25.

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• Viral
• An ancient Epstein-Barr virus genome recovered from a museum penis gourd from Papua (JID)
• Patterns of Decline in Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Neutralizing Antibodies and Protection Levels Through 10 Years After a Second and Third Dose of MMR Vaccine (OFID)
• Tecovirimat for Clade I MPXV Infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo(NEJM)
• Bacterial
• Rapid tuberculosis diagnosis from respiratory or blood samples by a low cost, portable lab-in-tube assay(Science Translational Medicine)
• New handheld device can diagnose TB without a lab in under an hour, its developers say(CIDRAP)
• Maternal mastitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome risk from breastfeeding children with scarlet fever (LANCET: Infectious Diseases)
• Risk Factors for Mortality Among Older Adults with Hospital-Acquired Bloodstream Infections in the Intensive Care Unit(Infectious Diseases and Therapy)
• Bacteremia in Pediatric Solid Organ Transplant Recipients within 1 Year of Transplant(Transplant Infectious Disease)
• Oral gepotidacin for the treatment of uncomplicated urogenital gonorrhoea (EAGLE-1) (LANCET)
• Consequences of Climate Change on the Emergence of Pathogenic, Environmentally Acquired Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (OFID)
• Addition of Macrolide Antibiotics for Hospital Treatment of Community-Acquired Pneumonia (JID)
• Point-of-Care Testingby Multiplex-PCR in Different Compartments in Suspected Lower Respiratory Tract Infection After Lung Transplantation(Transplant Infectious Disease)
• Fungal
• The Last of US Season 2 (YouTube)
• Pathway-instructed therapeutic selection of ruxolitinib reduces neuroinflammation in fungal postinfectious inflammatory syndrome (Science Advances)
• Use of Dog Serologic Data for Improved Understanding of Coccidioidomycosis (JID)
• Parasitic
• Uganda launches largest malaria vaccine introduction to date(WHO: Uganda)
• Long-term follow-up of individuals with Chagas disease treated with posaconazole and benznidazole in a non-endemic region(CMI: Clinical Microbiology and Infection)
• Miscellaneous
• Monoclonal Antibodies From Children With Acute Kawasaki Disease Identify a Common Antigenic Target in Fatal Cases Over 5 Decades (Laboratory Investigation)
• Screwworm Cochliomyia hominivorax (Facebook)

Music is by Ronald Jenkees

Information on this podcast should not be considered as medical advice.