This Week in Infectious Disease: Tuberculosis Treatment Regimens and Antimicrobial Resistance Trends

Research this week highlighted developments in the management of pulmonary rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis. In The New England Journal of Medicine, a Phase 3 randomized controlled noninferiority trial in South Africa reported that a 6-month treatment regimen consisting of bedaquiline, linezolid, delamanid, and either levofloxacin or clofazimine was found to be noninferior to the standard 9-month care ^[1].

Elsewhere this week, researchers examined the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in specific clinical settings. A systematic review and meta-analysis published in BMC Infectious Diseases evaluated Klebsiella pneumoniae in healthcare settings in Burkina Faso; the analysis reported a 44% pooled prevalence of antibiotic resistance, with specific findings noting high rates of penicillin (85%) and third-generation cephalosporin (50%) resistance ^[3].

Regarding antiretroviral therapies, a meta-analysis in the European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology evaluated patients living with HIV-1. The authors reported that a combination of doravirine and islatravir showed a reduced risk of virological failure when compared to standard triple option therapy ^[4].

Other research focused on environmental and ecological factors influencing infection. A narrative review in Frontiers in Medicine discussed how dietary sugars serve as a primary driver of oral microbial metabolism and biofilm formation in dental caries ^[2].

Additionally, another review published in Frontiers in Medicine suggested that rising global temperatures—including a recent rate exceeding 0.35 °C per decade—are linked to expanded habitats and an increased frequency of vector-borne diseases ^[5].