Medical News Bulletin Edition 13

For the first time ever, a human has caught a fungal infection from a plant.

You shall find out more about this news later on. Medical news bulletin is the number one source for you to catch up on the latest developments in the medical world and make more informed decisions going forward in your career. 

Welcome to the 13th edition of the Medical News Bulletin, where you will discover the most unusual and interesting medical news that made the headlines recently. 

In this edition, we will discover a cancer drug that was flagged by the authorities for being contaminated with life-threatening bacteria, a plant fungus that infected a human and what researchers are warning us about the new COVID strain.  

Let’s begin! 

Cancer Drug Contaminated with Life-Threatening Bacteria.

Health authorities in Lebanon and Yemen have red-flagged a cancer drug called methotrexate. The drug in question is manufactured by Celon Labs in Hyderabad and has been found to be contaminated with the life-threatening bacteria pseudomonas. 

The WHO issued an alert for Celon Labs’ methotrexate and said that patients who receive methotrexate treatment are likely to have weakened immune systems and will be more vulnerable to infections. 

Health authorities in Yemen and Lebanon had run tests on the drug to check for contamination after they found that it had an adverse effect on children. 

Celon Laboratories is a speciality generics firm focusing on oncology and critical care.  

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Indian Man Infected with Fungal Disease from Plant Sets World Record.

An Indian man has become the first person in the world to catch a fungal infection from a plant. This man is a 61-year-old plant mycologist researching decayed material and fungi from Kolkata. 

According to studies, there are millions of fungi in the environment, out of which only a few hundred are able to cross the species barrier to infect humans and animals. In this particular case, Chondrostereum purpureum is the fungal plant pathogen that affected the Kolkata mycologist. It is a type of fungi that mostly affects the rose family and causes silver leaf disease in plants. 

According to the reports, the man consulted a doctor after he developed symptoms like a hoarse voice, cough, fatigue and difficulty swallowing for three months. The man had a paratracheal abscess, and the fungal infection was revealed after the pus samples were tested. 

The mycologist has recovered after receiving two antifungal medications for two months.  

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Experts warn new Omicron strain may be immune-evasive.

XBB.1.16, the new COVID variant, might be more immune-evasive, according to experts. It has developed the ability to resist vaccines or escape the host's immune system response, such as antibodies or T-cells. 

The new version of the variant, designated as XBB.1.16.1, is being called “the new child of XBB.1.16” by Indian and international genome sequencing experts. The new variant has an extra T547I mutation over the parent strain. 

If the virus becomes immune-evasive, it can lead to reinfections of reduced efficiency of the vaccines or any other therapies that target the mutated virus. 

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Don't forget, you can catch up on our previous editions of medical news bulletins too! So, let's dive in and see what the latest developments are in the world of medicine.

Also read: Medical News Bulletin Edition 11

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