• A flu outbreak at Joint Base San Antonio Lackland Air Force Base has risen to 275 confirmed cases, up from 222 earlier in the week. Four people have been hospitalized in the outbreak, and the death of an Air Force recruit on June 16 remains under investigation. The outbreak is occurring just two months after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth scrapped the military’s flu vaccine mandate. Only 40% of new trainees at the base had received a flu shot when the outbreak began. ABC News reports that the Army, Navy, and Air Force have all been granted exceptions to the new policy and are once again requiring flu shots for basic trainees.
• A multistate Listeria outbreak tied to soft cheese has grown by three cases and now stands at 12 cases in four states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported yesterday. Of the 12 case-patients, 10 have been hospitalized, and one has died. The CDC has traced the outbreak to requeson, or soft ricotta-style cheese produced by Clover Hill Dairy of Maryland. The company recalled all of its soft cheeses on June 18. The CDC says the true number of sick people in the outbreak is likely much higher.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) is inviting students and young professionals aged 18 to 35 to develop brief videos highlighting the importance of influenza and/or COVID-19 prevention and control. The group is seeking original and innovative videos that encourage communities to protect themselves from flu and COVID-19, highlight vulnerable groups that need protection, and address misinformation and myths. Submissions for the competition will be accepted from August 3 to September 13, with the winner announced in October. 

The Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) said yesterday that an international clinical trial investigating treatment options for newborns with sepsis has expanded to India.

Led by GARDP and its partners, the NeoSep1 trial aims to enroll 3,000 newborns in Asia and Africa by the end of 2028 to identify safe and effective antibiotic treatment regimens that can reduce deaths from neonatal sepsis caused by drug-resistant bacteria. In addition to India, newborns have also been enrolled in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. Hospitals in Vietnam, Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Uganda are slated to join the study.

An estimated 3 million newborns each year develop sepsis, which occurs when an infection triggers an overwhelming inflammatory reaction that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. More than 90% of neonatal sepsis deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). 

Recommended antibiotics ‘failing against resistant infections’

Rising rates of antibiotic resistance in LMICs have made the problem worse by reducing the effectiveness of recommended antibiotic regimens. Studies have found extremely high resistance to the combination of ampicillin and gentamicin, which is currently recommended by the World Health Organization for empiric treatment of neonatal sepsis.

Sally Ellis, who leads GARDP’s Children’s Antibiotics Programme, said the trial is about “giving neonatologists new tools, and giving babies with sepsis a fighting chance at life.”

“Today, we stand at a tipping point,” Ellis said in a press release. “The antibiotics for newborns that we have relied on for decades are failing against resistant infections, in many hospital settings.” 

The trial will evaluate and rank multiple antibiotic regimens for newborns with sepsis, which will help clinicians choose effective treatments and inform updates to international and national treatment guidelines.