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July 15–August 12, 2019 8 Working Nurse l WorkingNurse.com ON THE QUICK Nursing & Healthcare News Medicine vs. Mosquitoes New tools to detect Zika and prevent dengue disease D o you have patients from areas where mosquito- borne illnesses are endemic? If so, you should know about some important developments in the detection and prevention of Zika virus and dengue. Dengue Vaccine for Kids Only The FDA recently approved a vaccine for dengue, a viral infection spread primarily by mosquitoes that affects an esti- mated 390 million people a year worldwide. However, there are some important provisos you should know. Dengue is an unusual disease. The virus has four distinct serotypes; first-time infection with any one of these four is rarely severe and usually leaves you immune to that particular serotype. However, if you're subsequently infected with one of the other three serotypes, you're at risk of a much more severe dengue infection, which can be lethal. Back in 2015, Sanofi Pasteur introduced a vaccine, Dengvaxia, specifically designed to prevent severe dengue. Administered to patients who've been previously infected with dengue (usually confirmed by antibody tests), the FDA says the three-injection series is about 76 percent effective in preventing subsequent infections. Although the European Union has approved Dengvaxia for both pediatric and adult patients, the FDA approval covers only kids 9–16, and only in areas where dengue is endemic, which currently means Puerto Rico and some other U.S. ter- ritories. The vaccine is NOT for patients who have not been previously infected with dengue. ZIKA Virus Although there've been no reported cases of local transmis- sion within the U.S. recently, Zika virus (ZIKV) remains a con- cern because infection in pregnant patients has been linked to microcephaly and other poor outcomes. ZIKV infection is also linked to a serious neurological disease, Guillain-Barré syndrome. In May, the FDA approved the first ZIKV diagnostic test to be commercially available in the U.S. Marketed by InBios International, the test detects Zika virus antibodies in a patient's blood. At present, the test is approved only for patients who may be infected with Zika virus, not for screening blood donors. WN For direct links to the websites cited, find these articles at WorkingNurse.com Fighting Pediatric Hepatitis C Drug approval extended to children 12–18 T here's a new treatment option for pediatric patients with hepatitis C: The FDA has approved the antiviral drug Mavyret (glecaprevir-pibrentasvir) for children as young as 12. Liver Killer Hepatitis C is a transmissible, blood-borne viral liver infection that can lead to pro- gressive chronic liver disease or liver can- cer. Although most often spread by shar- ing needles, the hepatitis C virus (HCV) can also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy. The CDC esti- mates that there may be as many as 46,000 HCV-infected children in the United States. Back in August 2017, the FDA approved a promising new antiviral med- ication for treating HCV: tablets of gle- caprevir and pibrentasvir, marketed by AbbVie Inc. under the trade name Mavyret. Clinical trials suggest that a full course of Mavyret can completely cure all genotypes of HCV in patients with no or mild cirrhosis. Although the 2017 approval included only adult patients, the FDA has now extended that approval to include children 12 years or older weighing at least 99 pounds. Not for Everyone As with many medications, Mavyret has some contraindications, in particular for those who also have (or have had) hepatitis B. You can learn more about glecaprevir- pibrentasvir in the treatments section of the Hepatitis C Online webpage main- tained by the University of Washington at www.hepatitisc.uw.edu. WN N O T E W O R T H Y U P D A T E S F R O M T H E F D A