Top 5 Infectious Disease News Stories Week of September 6-13

Social Determinants, Health Literacy Factor in Noncommunicable Diseases, Subsequent Infections

At ASM Microbe, Jacinda C. Abdul-Mutakabbir, PharmD, MPH (University of California San Diego), reported that social determinants of health such as poverty, underinsurance, and transportation barriers, together with limited health literacy, reduce engagement with care, delay diagnosis, and contribute to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and subsequent infection risk, including health care associated infections. Citing her recent publication in Infectious Diseases and Therapy, she described a syndemic relationship between NCDs and multidrug-resistant infections observed in low- and middle-income countries and in parts of the United States. She called for prevention to receive equal priority with treatment and outcomes and highlighted a persistent gap in translation to practice. She recommended linking bench findings with clinical outcomes and patient sociodemographic data, for example mapping isolates and biologic mechanisms to therapeutic response, comorbidities, and population characteristics, to guide prevention and clinical management.

US Measles Update: Lowest Weekly Increase Since January

As of September 9, 2025, the CDC reports 1,454 confirmed U.S. measles cases across 42 jurisdictions, including 37 outbreaks, with approximately three new cases in the most recent week, the lowest weekly increase since early January; 86% of cases are outbreak associated and totals remain preliminary. Among all cases, 1,433 occurred in U.S. residents and 21 in international visitors; hospitalizations were reported in 12% (180 of 1,454) with three deaths. Most patients were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status (92%); by age, 28% were younger than 5 years (404 cases), 38% were 5 to 19 years (554 cases), and 34% were 20 years and older (489 cases), with hospitalization proportions of 21%, 7%, and 11% respectively. Ongoing immunity gaps persist as kindergarten MMR coverage declined to 92.7% in 2023 to 2024 from 95.2% in 2019 to 2020, leaving an estimated 280,000 kindergartners at risk and sustaining vulnerability in underimmunized pockets; clinicians should maintain vigilance, prioritize catch-up vaccination, verify immunity before international travel, and consider measles in febrile rash illness among unvaccinated individuals, travelers, and close contacts.

Persistent SARS-CoV-2 Infection Lasting Over 750 Days Documented in Person With HIV

At The Lancet Microbe, investigators reported one of the longest documented persistent SARS-CoV-2 infections, exceeding 750 days, in a person with advanced HIV-1 who was not receiving antiretroviral therapy; across eight specimens collected March 2021 to July 2022 from an infection presumed to begin in May 2020, sequences formed a monophyletic B.1 cluster with 68 consensus and 67 subconsensus single nucleotide variants and an intrahost evolutionary rate of 6.74 × 10^−4 substitutions per site per year, similar to community rates. Ten nonsynonymous spike mutations mapped to positions later defining the Omicron lineage, nine detected before November 2021, yet there was no evidence of onward transmission. Coauthor William P. Hanage, PhD, noted that although most persistent infections do not yield highly transmissible variants, they provide opportunities for viral adaptation and warrant surveillance and treatment, underscoring the importance of timely antivirals and HIV care in immunocompromised patients.

Implementation Science Builds Partnerships to Create Better Access to Healthcare

At the University of North Carolina Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, Michael Herce, MD, MPH, MSCR, described implementation science as the study of how to integrate evidence-based practices into routine care to improve quality and effectiveness, with a focus on underserved and historically marginalized populations in settings such as Malawi, Zambia, and North Carolina. He emphasized humility and partnership-building with local communities and organizations to align interventions with lived experience and local health systems. Key barriers include limited political will and fragmented care systems that separate clinical teams from community partners. Herce highlighted COVID-19 as an example of successful collaboration in which academic and community stakeholders set shared goals, exchanged reliable information, and jointly troubleshot barriers to expand access and impact.

Technology Demonstrates Ability to Transform Influenza Vaccines Into Universal Formulations

Corner Therapeutics reported preclinical data showing that its lipid based “hyperactivator” adjuvant platform, which engages dendritic cells and stimulates NLRP3, enhanced cross strain antibody responses and durable T cell memory in mice and nonhuman primates, converting the licensed seasonal influenza vaccine Afluria into a universal like formulation in animal models while outperforming aluminum hydroxide adjuvant. The company states that the approach did not kill dendritic cells, maintained favorable safety margins in animals, and may extend to oncology immunotherapies that depend on robust T cell activity. Human data are not yet available and the firm aims to begin clinical trials by 2027.