Top Infectious Disease News Stories Week of October 25-October 31

A Mild Avian Influenza Season Ahead?

Richard Webby, PhD, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds and Department of Host-Microbe Interactions, Division of Virology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is predicting a milder H5N1 (avian) influenza season.

No Negative Impact for Individuals Taking Lenacapavir and Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy

At IDWeek, Gilead reported new data from its phase 3 PURPOSE 2 study, which showed that concomitant use of lenacapavir (Yextugo) with gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) did not have any impact on either their efficacy or have any clinically significant drug–drug Interactions through 26 weeks.¹ Jill Blumenthal, MD, MAS, offers some insights on the results from a subset of Gilead’s phase 3 PURPOSE 2 study.

25-Year US Analysis Links Most Fatal C difficile Cases to White Patients, Women, and Urban Care Settings

A 25-year national analysis presented at IDWeek 2025 found that deaths associated with Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in the United States were disproportionately concentrated among White patients, women, and people living in large metropolitan areas, and that most of these deaths occurred in healthcare settings. Muhammad Sohaib Asghar, MBBS, MD, discusses why CDI deaths are concentrated in White patients and inpatient/long-term care settings, why mortality peaked in 2006–2015, and how stewardship and recurrence prevention are driving the recent decline.

Qpex Biopharma’s New President Wants More Push-Pull Incentives, Opportunities for Young US Scientists

Qpex Biopharma, a Shionogi Group company, recently announced that Gareth Morgan, MS, MBA, has been appointed president. Morgan succeeds Michael Dudley, PharmD, who has retired and stepped down from his role as president and CEO. Dudley will continue to serve as a strategic adviser. Morgan was most recently senior vice president and global head of portfolio management and antimicrobial resistance policy at Shionogi.¹ In his new position, Gareth Morgan, MS, MBA, provides insights on antibiotic development strategies he would like to see during his tenure.

Phage and Antibiotic Combination Therapy for Biofilm-Associated Bacterial Infections

Biofilm-associated bacterial infections create a host of clinical management difficulties, including high resistance to antibiotics, difficulty in diagnosing, and evasion of the immune system. One area of study that seems to be gaining traction in this area is to consider combination therapy using traditional antibiotics and phage mixtures (more than 1 phage) to treat them. Ashlan Kunz Coyne, PharmD, MPH, discusses the potential of combining antibiotics with phage mixture therapy in treating these types of infections.