Study Shows HPV Vaccine Effective, But Less So Against Some Strains
A study shows while the Gardasil vaccine is effective against some strains of human papillomavirus, reducing infections, it was not so effective against some high-risk strains not in the vaccine. Separately, a study in health workers showed covid antibodies were found in breastmilk after vaccination.
CIDRAP:
HPV Vaccine Tied To Lower Rates Of Vaccine Virus Strains But Not Others
A study in JAMA Network Open yesterday showed lower rates of vaccine strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in vaccinated girls and young women in New York City but higher rates of some high-risk non-vaccine strains. The large cohort study followed girls ages 13 to 21 who received the quadrivalent (four-strain) Gardasil vaccine over a 12-year period, from 2007 to 2019. A total of 1,453 participants were included, with a mean age of 18.2 years, and roughly half (694 participants) were vaccinated prior to their first sexual intercourse. (8/24)
In covid research news —
CIDRAP:
Post-Vaccination SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies Found In Breast Milk
After COVID-19 vaccination, 21 lactating healthcare workers showed significant increases in SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in their breast milk, according to a study published in Breastfeeding Medicine late last week. The researchers recruited from the University of Florida health system from December 2020 to March 2021 and sampled blood and breast milk pre-vaccination, 16 to 30 days after the first dose, and 7 to 10 days after the second dose. All healthcare workers received either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine. (8/24)
CIDRAP:
Study: Patients, Not Staff, Source Of Most Hospital COVID Spread
Most hospital patients diagnosed as having COVID-19 contracted the virus from other patients rather than healthcare workers (HCWs), with 21% of patients causing 80% of cases, finds a UK study today in eLife. A team led by researchers at the University of Cambridge analyzed data from five wards at the university's Addenbrooke's Hospital during a COVID-19 outbreak among patients and HCWs from March to June 2020. The team applied a new network reconstruction algorithm to infer patterns of virus spread among patients and HCWs. (Van Beusekom, 8/24)
In other research news —
Reuters:
High Blood Pressure Driven By Obesity, Poverty - WHO Study
Nearly 1.3 billion people globally suffer from hypertension, a silent killer often driven by obesity that increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. Hypertension can be easily diagnosed by monitoring blood pressure, and treated with low-cost drugs, but half of affected people are unaware of their condition which is left untreated, the WHO and Imperial College London said in a joint study published in The Lancet. (Nebehay, 8/25)
Modern Healthcare:
Predictive Sepsis Models Need More Research
Hospitals spend a lot of money on algorithms to predict and prevent sepsis cases and save lives. But these tools are largely unproven. The predictive models exist largely in a gray market. Without approval or clinical evidence requirements from a regulatory body like the Food and Drug Administration, healthcare executives must rely on data from mostly a market of private vendors. (Gillespie, 8/24)
In news about food and digestive health matters —
CIDRAP:
Global Group Urges Limits On Antimicrobials In Food Production
Warning of the potentially devastating impact on human and animal health and food systems, world leaders today called for an urgent reduction in the use of antimicrobials in food production. In a statement, the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) called on all countries to stop using, for growth promotion in food-producing animals, antimicrobials that are critically important in human medicine. The statement also urged limiting the amount of antimicrobials that are used to prevent infections in animals and plants, eliminating or reducing over-the-counter sales of veterinary antibiotics, and improving infection prevention and control in agriculture and aquaculture. (Dall, 8/24)
KHN:
Microbiome Startups Promise To Improve Your Gut Health, But Is The Science Solid?
After Russell Jordan sent a stool sample through the mail to the microbiome company Viome, his idea of what he should eat shifted. The gym owner in Sacramento, California, had always consumed large quantities of leafy greens. But the results from the test — which sequenced and analyzed the microbes in a pea-sized stool sample — recommended he steer clear of spinach, kale and broccoli. “Things I’ve been eating for the better part of 30 years,” said Jordan, 31. “And it worked.” Soon, his mild indigestion subsided. He recommended the product to his girlfriend. (Norman, 8/25)
