Enhancing the Methods of a Rapid Virus Testing Study

To the Editor We read with great interest the study conducted by Schober et al, in which the objective was to assess whether rapid respiratory virus testing in emergency department patients suspected of having acute respiratory infections correlates with reduced antibiotic administration, fewer ancillary tests, shorter emergency department duration, and lower rates of emergency department revisits and hospital admissions, alongside an increase in influenza antiviral therapy. I would like to start by commending the author for adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) reporting guideline and registering the protocol in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO), which established a strong foundation for this systematic review. However, when analyzing the research methods, I identified several areas that could further strengthen the study.

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Settembre 2024

Increased Dengue Virus Infection Risk in the US, CDC Cautions

Dengue virus infections have surged worldwide this year, including in Puerto Rico, which declared a public health emergency in March. Amid rising cases in the US—nearly 2400 as of the second week of July—the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a statement cautioning clinicians, public health officials, and the public about an increased risk of contracting the illness.

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Agosto 2024

Does Infectious Bird Flu Virus Persist After Pasteurization?

In June, the US Food and Drug Administration tested 297 retail dairy samples and found none contained the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus, also known as bird flu. But a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that small amounts of the infectious virus still remained in some samples of raw milk that were heated at 72 °C (about 162 °F) for 15 seconds, which is a common way to pasteurize milk in the US.

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Agosto 2024