The field of sleep medicine has been an avid adopter of telehealth, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of this study was to assess patients' experiences receiving sleep care by telehealth.
 
  From June 2019 to May 2020, the authors recruited a sample of patients for semi-structured interviews, including patients who had one of three types of telehealth encounters in sleep medicine in-clinic video, home-based video, and telephone. Two analysts coded transcripts using content analysis and identified themes that cut across patients and categories.
 
  The authors conducted interviews with 35 patients and identified five themes. 1) Improved access to care Patients appreciated telehealth as providing access to sleep care in a timely and convenient manner. 2) Security and Privacy Patients described how home-based telehealth afforded them greater feelings of safety and security due to avoidance of anxiety provoking triggers (e.g. crowds). Patients also noted a potential loss of privacy with telehealth. 3) Personalization of care Patients described experiences with telehealth care that either improved or hindered their ability to communicate their needs. 4) Patient Empowerment Patients described how telehealth empowered them to manage their sleep disorders. 5) Unmet Needs Patients recognized specific areas where telehealth did not meet their needs, including the need for tangible services (e.g. mask fitting).
 
  Patients expressed both positive and negative experiences, highlighting areas where telehealth can be further adapted. As telehealth in sleep medicine continues to evolve, the authors encourage providers to consider these aspects of the patient experience.
 Patients expressed both positive and negative experiences, highlighting areas where telehealth can be further adapted. As telehealth in sleep medicine continues to evolve, the authors encourage providers to consider these aspects of the patient experience.We analyzed feasibility of pooling saliva samples for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 testing and found that sensitivity decreased according to pool size 5 samples/pool, 7.4% reduction; 10 samples/pool, 11.1%; and 20 samples/pool, 14.8%. When virus prevalence is >2.6%, pools of 5 require fewer tests; when less then 0.6%, pools of 20 support screening strategies.The main etiologic agent of tuberculosis (TB) in livestock is Mycobacterium bovis; human TB cases caused by M. bovis are rare. Analysis of a TB outbreak caused by polyresistant M. bovis involving a human and sympatric sheep in Spain suggests local circulation of drug-resistant M. bovis strains among livestock.We review the interaction between coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and coccidioidomycosis, a respiratory infection caused by inhalation of Coccidioides fungal spores in dust. We examine risk for co-infection among construction and agricultural workers, incarcerated persons, Black and Latino populations, and persons living in high dust areas. We further identify common risk factors for co-infection, including older age, diabetes, immunosuppression, racial or ethnic minority status, and smoking. Because these diseases cause similar symptoms, the COVID-19 pandemic might exacerbate delays in coccidioidomycosis diagnosis, potentially interfering with prompt administration of antifungal therapies. Finally, we examine the clinical implications of co-infection, including severe COVID-19 and reactivation of latent coccidioidomycosis. Physicians should consider coccidioidomycosis as a possible diagnosis when treating patients with respiratory symptoms. Preventive measures such as wearing face masks might mitigate exposure to dust and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, thereby protecting against both infections.We report new cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in patients from Kinkantu, Ngäbe-Bugle indigenous comarca, Panama. We isolated Rickettsia rickettsii in cell culture after intraperitoneal inoculation of guinea pigs with tissues from a deceased patient. Our results indicate that Rocky Mountain spotted fever is emerging in this region.Tularemia is a zoonotic disease caused by the gram-negative coccobacillus Francisella tularensis, a Biosafety Level 3 pathogen and potential agent of bioterrorism. We describe 2 cases of perigenital ulcer disease caused by Francisella tularensis subspecies holarctica in Manitoba, Canada. These cases caused inadvertent exposure among laboratory personnel.Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome was diagnosed in a febrile woman in Japan after a tick bite. However, Rickettsia japonica DNA was retrospectively detected in the eschar specimen, suggesting co-infection from the bite. Establishment of the severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus infection might have overpowered the R. japonica infection.Candida auris is an emerging multidrug-resistant yeast. We describe an ongoing C. auris outbreak that began in October 2019 in Los Angeles, California, USA. We used genomic analysis to determine that isolates from 5 of 6 patients belonged to clade III; 4 isolates were closely related.Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 can persist on surfaces, suggesting possible surface-mediated transmission of this pathogen. We found that fomites might be a substantial source of transmission risk, particularly in schools and child daycares. Combining surface cleaning and decontamination with mask wearing can help mitigate this risk.Since 2016, OXA-244-producing Escherichia coli has been increasingly isolated in France.  https://www.selleckchem.com/ALK.html  We sequenced 97 OXA-244-producing E. coli isolates and found a wide diversity of sequence types and a high prevalence of sequence type 38. Long-read sequencing demonstrated the chromosomal location of blaOXA-244 inside the entire or truncated Tn51098.Ebola virus RNA can reside for months or years in semen of survivors of Ebola virus disease and is probably associated with increased risk for cryptic sexual transmission of the virus. A modified protocol resulted in increased detection of Ebola virus RNA in semen and improved disease surveillance.We report a norovirus GIV outbreak in the United States, 15 years after the last reported outbreak. During May 2016 in Wisconsin, 53 persons, including 4 food handlers, reported being ill. The outbreak was linked to individually prepared fruit consumed as a fruit salad. The virus was phylogenetically classified as a novel GIV genotype.