HIV and ID Observations

April 21st, 2023

A Change-of-Season ID/HIV Link-o-Rama

The warm weather takes its sweet time to arrive here in Boston, teasing us with an occasional comfortable day, but reverting frequently to chilly temperatures and high winds until mid-to-late May at the earliest. The afternoon sunlight might say, “Spring is here!”, but the nightly temps in the upper 30s/low 40s definitely say otherwise. Brrr. Anyway, […]

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September 8th, 2022

A Back To Work ID Link-o-Rama

A few nuggets are rattling around in the inbox post Labor Day, including this extraordinary photo of our family dogs Zelda, Zoe, and Louie, posing for their latest album cover. Woof! Besides, I haven’t done one of these Link-o-Ramas since January 11, 2021! That was either 20 months ago or 20 years, hard to keep track of […]

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January 11th, 2021

After Ivermectin Controversy, A COVID-19-Free ID Link-o-Rama

Wow, quite the week for this country of ours. We’re all deeply saddened by the events, very hopeful that the transition in leadership will be peaceful. And also an eventful week for this little blog. When I wrote “Enter ivermectin — and let the controversy begin,” little did I know. Amazingly, this is already the second-most widely […]

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February 17th, 2020

Short-Course Treatment of Latent TB, Combination Therapy for Staph Bacteremia, Adult Vaccine Guidelines, Novel Antifungals, and Others — A Non-COVID-19 ID Link-o-Rama

There’s so much out there right now on COVID-19 (the disease) and SARS-CoV-2 (the virus) that the other ID news gets crowded out. Which means it’s time for non-COVID-19 ID/HIV Link-o-Rama! I haven’t done one of these in a while, so there’s plenty of material in the vaults yearning to be free. The CDC now recommends short-course, […]

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September 2nd, 2019

New Antibiotics for CRE, Draft Lyme Guidelines, Cost of Measles Outbreaks, and More — a Labor Day ID Link-o-Rama

Labor Day! Could summer really be over? Nah, we still have a few weeks — and as I’ve noted several times, this time of year (September-October) gives us far and away Boston’s best weather season. On with the links. Data from electronic medical records can accurately identify the best candidates for PrEP. The challenge in primary care is […]

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March 24th, 2019

Tetanus Case, No More MAC Prophylaxis, Playing in Dirt, and Low-Level Viremia — A National Puppy Day ID Link-O-Rama

In honor of spring (March 20), and the very important National Puppy Day (March 23), here are a bunch of ID and HIV-related recent items for consideration, contemplation, and perusal: A life-threatening case of tetanus in an unvaccinated boy highlights the personal and financial cost of the anti-vaccine movement. How deeply embedded are these false beliefs? The […]

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January 6th, 2019

Rabies After Trip to India, Aortic Dissections with Quinolones, a Vaccine for Candida, Koala Bites, and More: A Welcome-to-2019 ID Link-o-Rama

As 2018 tips over into 2019, here are a bunch of ID- and HIV-related studies that, for one reason or another, haven’t made their way to this site yet — but still yearn for your attention: Cases of infective endocarditis have increased since release of the 2007 dental prophylaxis guidelines. Recall that those guidelines only recommended prophylaxis […]

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February 12th, 2018

Shingles Vaccine Video, New Name for C. diff, Flu B Rising, and More — A Pre-Valentine’s Day ID Link-o-Rama

With Valentine’s Day and early spring training baseball both on the horizon this week, it’s obviously time for an extra special ID Link-o-Rama. On to the links, with a bonus non-ID section and a highly recommended video at the end: The ACIP issued its official recommendations for herpes zoster (shingles) immunization. Preferred: the new recombinant zoster vaccine, […]

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September 4th, 2017

Meropenem-Vaborbactam, Zika Cases Decline, Gas Station Nachos, and More — An End-of-Summer ID Link-o-Rama

There’s so much interesting ID material out there. The only solution — an ID Link-o-Rama, especially curated for the long Labor Day weekend. (Actually, not really, but that sounded good.) Off we go! Even if it doesn’t provide 100% protection, the flu vaccine may reduce the severity of influenza. Good to have this paper handy as clinics start to […]

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May 7th, 2017

CRISPR and HIV “Cure,” Zinc for Colds, New AIDSInfo Site, CROI Dates, Vanco Pricing, and More: I Can’t Believe It’s May ID Link-o-Rama

A few Infectious Diseases/HIV items to consider as we wait (and keep waiting!) for the warm weather to arrive in chilly, and often wet, New England: CRISPR-Cas9 excises latent HIV from the cells of humanized mice. With the usual caveat about not overreacting (like this) to an animal model, this CRISPR strategy seems like a more viable HIV cure intervention than other […]

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