IDSA’s Journal of Infectious Diseases has launched a monthly roundup of JID papers with direct relevance to clinicians. Read on to learn more about advances in treating Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infections, the effectiveness of high-dose influenza vaccination and other research ready to inform clinical practice. (Titles and summaries are adapted from the January 2026 issue of JID.)
Companion editorial: Virulent Bacteriophages for Controlling Shiga Toxin–Producing Escherichia coli (STEC) Without Inducing Toxin Production
Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infections cause serious, life-threatening consequences, especially in children, that can be enhanced by antibiotic therapy. This study provides evidence that treatment of STEC infections with virulent, lytic bacteriophages may yield a new therapeutic to safely mitigate STEC O157:H7 infections.
High dose (vs. standard dose) influenza vaccination reduced first and recurrent hospitalizations for pneumonia or influenza irrespective of frailty scores in this post-hoc analysis of a randomized feasibility trial (2021-2022 influenza season) in 12,477 older adults aged 65-79 years. High-dose influenza vaccination reduced all-cause mortality in individuals with low frailty scores. Collectively, high-dose influenza vaccination may be preferred for older individuals.
In the largest C. difficile infection genomic dataset to date, ~65% of recurrent CDI is associated with the same relapsing C. difficile strain, including ~50% of patients with recurrent CID beyond the eight-week limit of the current case definition for recurrent CDI. In sequential C. difficile strain analyses, gain or loss of putative mobile genetic elements occurs in ~46% of genome pairs. This study confirms that the majority of recurrent CDI infections are due to relapse of the initial, sometimes evolving C. difficile strain or, in some, reinfection with a new C. difficile strain.