Adel Mahmoud, MD, PhD, FIDSA, a pioneer in the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases around the world, died on June 11 at the age of 76. He was one of the most prominent and widely respected voices in global health. Dr. Mahmoud was the 1984 recipient of IDSA’s Oswald Avery Award.

In its June 15 report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC) announced that it may recommend a one-time 10 percent increase in Medicare payments for physicians who rely on ambulatory evaluation and management (E/M) CPT® codes to help rebalance the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.

In a 2017 article in JID, authors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and elsewhere demonstrated how integrating laboratory, phylogenetic, and epidemiologic data could provide a detailed reconstruction of the 2014-2016 HIV outbreak in Indiana.

IDWeek 2018 will be launched by the Opening Plenary, “Reaching for the Stars, Improving Science on Earth: Microbiome Research in Space” featuring NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins, PhD, the first person to sequence DNA in space.

IDSA and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) held the 7th Annual IDSA/NIAID ID Research Careers Meeting in Bethesda, Md. this month with 31 medical students, 19 residents, and 57 ID fellows in attendance.

His Health is a free, accredited and self-paced online learning platform administered by the Center for Engaging Black Men Who Have Sex with Men Across the Care Continuum (CEBACC) at the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD).

The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society has released a new edition of The Vaccine Handbook App.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) introduced the Securing Experts to Control, Understand and Respond to Emergencies (SECURE) Act, H.R. 5998, on June 5. 

Congress is due to reauthorize the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) by Sept. 30. IDSA has been urging Congress since the start of the year to include in the bill robust funding levels for public health emergency preparedness efforts, a new incentive for antibiotic research and development, and loan repayment for ID physicians who serve in CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS).

The House of Representatives passed two bills on June 12 that IDSA and HIVMA advocated strongly for to address the infectious diseases impacts of the opioid epidemic--the Eliminating Opioid-Related Infectious Diseases Act of 2018 and the Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Act of 2018.

On June 4, fifteen HIVMA members met with 49 congressional offices in the Senate and House of Representatives, discussing with key staff and committees the need to increase federal funding for HIV programs in FY 2019 and urging Congress to pass opioid response bills related to addressing its infectious diseases consequences.

IDSA Research Committee members met with 34 congressional offices in early June to advocate for IDSA policy priorities

In the latest OFID podcast, Raphael Landovitz, MD and Paul Sax, MD, FIDSA, OFID Editor in Chief, pick their favorite expired anti-infective brand names in a fun, draft-style faceoff.