What's New and Hot in Infectious Disease

In his presentation on the latest news in infectious disease, Ted Rosen, MD, professor and vice-chair department of Dermatology, Baylor College of Medicine, Dallas, Texas, noted the disturbing trend of rising sexually transmitted disease (STD). In 2018, according to the CDC, 115,062 people in the United States had syphilis and 583,405 had contracted gonorrhea. In 2021, those numbers increased to 171,074 and 696,764, respectively.

Rosen next discussed HIV: 1 in 120 US adults got this disease between 2017-2019. For the treatment of HIV, Rosen pointed to a clinical trial of 3 mRNA vaccines, launched earlier this year. The phase 1 study is among the first to examine mRNA technology for HIV.

There has also been headway in the treatment of scabies. Last year, spinosad, a drug that had been previously use for the treatment of head lice, was approved by the FDA for topical treatment of scabies.

Monkeypox, which has been much in the news as of late, was first noted in 1958 in macaque monkeys. The first human case was discovered in Zaire in 1970, and this year, became a worldwide epidemic. For now, tecovirimat, which can be used as a pill or injection, is now being used against monkeypox.

With all these progressive treatments for current infectious diseases, however, there is still much to watch out for when it comes to emerging viral infections, shared Rosen, such as:
--Seoul virus (carrier, pet rats, now in 11 US states)
--Bunyavirus (carrier, Asian long-horned tick, in many US states)
--Lloviu virus (carrier, bats, currently in Hungary and Spain)
--Parechovirus (carrier, humans, nationwide in young children)
--Heartland virus (carrier, Lone Star tick, in Central United States to Georgia).

While these viruses and others continue to be watched by scientists, physicians and government organizations, Rosen finished his presentation with one last word of advice: when treating ticks, a 30-second massage of the tick with undiluted liquid dish soap is effective.

Reference

Rosen T. What’s new and hot in infectious disease? 2022 Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference. October 21, 2022. Las Vegas, Nevada.