Top Infectious Disease News Stories Week of November 22 - November 28

Patient With Novel Strain of Avian Influenza Dies

A Grays Harbor County, WA resident who was undergoing treatment for H5N5 (avian influenza) died on November 21, the Washington State Department of Health reported. Interestingly, testing at the University of Washington Medicine Clinical Virology Lab identified the virus as H5N5, making this the first recorded infection with this variant in a person globally. The result was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).¹

DoxyPEP Use Linked to Increased High-Level Tetracycline Resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae

A substudy of the ANRS 174 DOXYVAC randomized trial found that men who have sex with men (MSM) using doxycycline postexposure prophylaxis (DoxyPEP) had significantly higher rates of high-level tetracycline-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae compared with MSM who did not use PEP, raising new concerns about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) associated with this prevention strategy. The analysis also identified a greater frequency of isolates with decreased cefixime susceptibility among DoxyPEP users, although all isolates remained fully susceptible to ceftriaxone and cefixime.¹

Cefiderocol Shows Activity Against Difficult-to-Treat Pathogens

At this year’s IDWeek, Shionogi presented data around the SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program, which examined the company’s antibiotic, cefiderocol, and in vitro activity against more than 60,000 high-priority Gram-negative clinical isolates collected in the US and Europe. Christine Slover, PharmD, executive medical director, Anti-Infectives, Shionogi, discussed findings from Sentry and beyond the program.

WHO Reports Declines in TB Incidence and Drug-Resistant TB

Although progress toward the WHO End TB strategy fell short of established targets and the contributions by international donors were less than committed, the WHO 2025 Global Tuberculosis Report, released in November, related that incident rates of TB and treatment resistant TB have declined since 2015.^1-2

Ethiopia Investigates Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak

On November 12, health authorities in Ethiopia are intensifying investigations and emergency response efforts following the detection of eight suspected cases of viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) in the South Ethiopia Region. As laboratory testing continues at the Ethiopia Public Health Institute, national officials have requested international support to accelerate containment and protect communities.¹ According to the World Health Organization (WHO) as of November 20, 33 laboratory tests had been conducted, of which 6 confirmed cases of Marburg Virus Disease (MVD), including 3 deaths. The remaining 3 cases are currently being treated. In addition to the lab-confirmed cases, a further 3 epidemiologically linked cases could not be tested; all three are deceased and recorded as probable cases. A total of 206 contacts have been identified, and contacts are under active follow-up. The number of contacts will continue to change as the response evolves. The source of the infection has not yet been identified. This marks the first confirmed outbreak of MVD in Ethiopia.²