Scientists are eyeing the invasive fungus warily. In other public health news: gonorrhea, autism, marijuana and DUIs, weight loss, contraception and more.
try as they might, the infection control specialists at Royal Brompton Hospital could not eradicate the invasive fungus that was attacking already gravely ill patients in the intensive care unit. … The lengths to which the Royal Brompton was forced to resort to rid the hospital of Candida auris — a member of a broader fungal family named Candida — raised red flags for the small community of scientists who study fungi that infect people. (Branswell, 7/31)
That particular sexually transmitted infection is the target of a new drug being developed by Entasis, an antibiotics-focused spin-off from pharma giant AstraZeneca. But they’re getting help: their nonprofit partner, the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership, will be funding the next round of trials and doing studies to ensure this drug keeps working for as long as possible. The partnership is GARDP’s first. (Sheridan, 7/31)
Many more boys are diagnosed with autism every year than girls. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the disorder is 4.5 times more common among boys than girls. Boys appear to be more vulnerable to the disorder, but there is some evidence that the gender gap may not be as wide as it appears. (Neighmond and Greenhalgh, 7/31)