Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

11 INFECTION CONTROL Tuberculosis cases rise for first time in years: WHO By Mackenzie Bean T uberculosis infections, including those that are drug- resistant, increased globally in 2021 for the first time in years, according to an Oct. 27 report from the World Health Organization. The WHO reported an estimated 10.6 million tuberculosis cases in 2021, marking a 4.5 percent increase from the year prior. About 1.6 million people died, the organization said. The prevalence of drug-resistant infections also increased by 3 percent in 2021, with 450,000 new cases of rifampicin- resistant tuberculosis reported. "This is the first time in many years an increase has been reported in the number of people falling ill with TB and drug-resistant TB," WHO said, noting that COVID-19 and other factors have disrupted global efforts to diagnose and treat the illness. n COVID-19 disrupts gut bacteria, increasing risk of infections By Mariah Taylor R esearchers at NYU Langone Health in New York City found COVID-19 alone, and not the initial use of antibiotics, damages the gut microbiome. The report, published Nov. 1 in Nature Communications, followed 96 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in 2020 in New York City and New Haven, Conn. Researchers found most patients had low gut microbiome diversity with a full quarter dominated by a single type of bacteria. In 20 percent of patients, antibiotic-resistant bacteria were found migrating into the bloodstream, making the patients more susceptible to secondary infection. "Our findings suggest that coronavirus infection directly interferes with the healthy balance of microbes in the gut, further endangering patients in the process," study co- senior author Ken Cadwell, PhD, said. "Now that we have uncovered the source of this bacterial imbalance, physicians can better identify those patients with coronavirus who are most at risk of a secondary bloodstream infection." n WHO identifies 19 fungal 'priority pathogens' By Nika Schoonover F or the first time, the World Health Organization released a list of fungal "priority pathogens" that have emerged as significant public health threats. ese fungi have been identified because of their "ability to cause severe invasive infections and their growing resistance to antifungal drugs." ough the impact of fungal diseases has been scarce, the issue has become more prominent as a result of invasive fungal infections being found in COVID-19 patients. According to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, WHO officials also say emerging evidence suggests climate change and increased global travel have increased the effects of fungal diseases. e population most at risk from these infections, including cancer patients and organ transplant recipients, is growing. e WHO is worried experts will be unable to detect and respond to the growing problem because of the lack of resources devoted to fungal infections. "We want this report to catalyze research and development on new antifungals and new diagnostics on fungal disease," Haileyesus Getahun, MD, PhD, director of AMR Global Coordination at the WHO, said in a press briefing. He added that the list will help direct research efforts and public and private investment toward these 19 pathogens. e list is divided into three categories: critical, high and medium priority. For each category, antifungal resistance was the most important criteria, followed by annual incidence, morbidity and mortality. e WHO also highlights that resistant fungal pathogens have partly emerged as a global public health threat because of the use of antifungals in agriculture. e use of antifungals has created increases in antifungal-resistant infections. Hatim Sati, PhD, technical officer with the WHO's AMR Division, said COVID-19 taught them that you should do something early on to inform the public health response. "We don't need to wait until things are catastrophic to act," he said. n

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