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Before It Got Going

Genomic testing uncovered a possible outbreak in a Queensland hospital before it started, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Sequencing-based testing uncovered a number of infants in the neonatal unit who harbored ceftriaxone-resistant Klebsiella, though they did not appear sick. As they report in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital's Patrick Harris and his colleagues set out to trace the source of the infection. Environmental samples they collected implicated multiple detergent dispensing bottles that were used to clean the babies' feeding bottles.

"They were cleaning the milk bottle teats in the sinks, and they were getting contaminated there, so the items looked clean, but they were actually being contaminated with bacteria," Harris tells the Herald. "And then as soon as they got rid of the detergent and cleaned up the sinks, the outbreak stopped."

The Scan

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Topical Compound to Block EGFR Inhibitors May Ease Skin Toxicities, Study Finds

A topical treatment described in Science Translational Medicine may limit skin toxicities seen with EGFR inhibitor therapy.

Dozen Genetic Loci Linked to Preeclampsia Risk in New GWAS

An analysis of genome-wide association study data in JAMA Cardiology finds genetic loci linked to preeclampsia that have ties to blood pressure.

Cancer Survival Linked to Mutational Burden in Pan-Cancer Analysis

A pan-cancer paper appearing in JCO Precision Oncology suggests tumor mutation patterns provide clues for predicting cancer survival that are independent of other prognostic factors.