Delthia Ricks
@dricks.bsky.social
📤 4556
📥 2086
📝 2804
Science writer, author, essayist & avid gardener.
pinned post!
The stark contrast between Rwanda’s handling of a deadly Marburg virus outbreak this year & the rest of the world’s chaotic response to
#Covid
provides textbook lessons in how to properly respond to a threat and how to make a threat worse
www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...
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The contrast between Rwanda’s handling of Marburg and the chaotic response to Covid-19 is stark
The country’s response prevented a crisis – and provided the world with a valuable blueprint for effective outbreak control
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/supporting-resilient-health-systems-abroad-protects-us-all/
about 1 year ago
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Delthia Ricks
AnniZLab: [🦠, 🧬 , ✨]
about 10 hours ago
Happy New Year, everyone! First paper to share in 2026: (finally) a mechanistic study of cancer microbiome! pks+ E. coli's colibactin binds AT-rich DNA in minor groove and induces cross-links in colorectal cancer cells
#microsky
#microbiomesky
🧪🦠
www-science-org.remotexs.ntu.edu.sg/doi/10.1126/...
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Precisely 👇
add a skeleton here at some point
about 10 hours ago
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Vaccines are helping older people more than doctors' might have previously guessed. For people, 65+ vaccination is now producing "off-target benefits," meaning the shots do good things beyond preventing infections. RSV vaccines, for example, which became available in 2023, decrease dementia risk👇
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Vaccines Are Helping Older People More Than We Knew
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/health/vaccines-dementia-heart-elderly.html?smid=bs-share
about 20 hours ago
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U.S. vaccination rates are plunging compared with rates before the pandemic. The Trump regime's strong anti-vax message is a powerful influence. Then scary result is that the nation’s shield against infectious disease is shrinking
wapo.st/4jrPZJk
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U.S. vaccination rates are plunging. Look up where your school stands.
Take a look to see what the kindergarten measles vaccination rates are in your area.
https://wapo.st/4jrPZJk
about 20 hours ago
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Delthia Ricks
Princess Vimentin PhD | Cancer Biologist
about 21 hours ago
A history of how the
#NIH
came to be. The purpose of the NIH is to support science innovation. Government support of science grows the economy, brings power and prosperity to the country. This was part of the budget increase after WWI. It became our backbone. 🧪
theconversation.com/how-the-nih-...
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How the NIH became the backbone of American medical research and a major driver of innovation and economic growth
The agency’s budget has grown steadily since the 1960s, fueling an industry that creates lifesaving medicines and attracts billions of dollars in investment.
https://theconversation.com/how-the-nih-became-the-backbone-of-american-medical-research-and-a-major-driver-of-innovation-and-economic-growth-257403?utm_content=buffer1539e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_campaign=buffer
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Current Research in Microbial Sciences
1 day ago
Vegetation composition shapes denitrifier community structure and enhances nitrogen removal in estuarine wetlands: Evidence from Reed-Willow Mix promoting nirK-dominated guilds
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#OpenAccess
#soil
#bacteria
#MicroSky
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Delthia Ricks
PLOS Biology
11 months ago
Gap junctions allow transfer of small molecules between cells.
@mirouse-lab.bsky.social
&co show that
#GapJunctions
allow the exchange of metabolites between germ cells & somatic cells to promote germline growth during
#Drosophila
#oogenesis
🧪
@plosbiology.org
plos.io/3CYrZwu
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Delthia Ricks
Dr Kim Shepherd
about 23 hours ago
I'd like to point out that publishing this photo is in breach of the Geneva Convention by Trump. Anyone counting?
add a skeleton here at some point
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Delthia Ricks
Analisa Swan (she/her)
about 22 hours ago
Let’s be clear! This is CONQUEST! Open ended running of Venezuela by USA, where we (USA) will be taking oil from Venezuela that ostensibly is to pay for the running of Venezuela &/or repay USA! This sets the precedent for illegal imperialistic military actions by Trump/GOP in Mexico, Greenland etc.!
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Gabe Schwartz
1 day ago
📣 Proud of our new paper revealing that 2 in 5 renters in cancer treatment can't pay their housing or utility bills, along with 1 in 9 homeowners. Cancer patients need housing supports and a healthcare system that doesn't impoverish families fighting life-threatening chronic illness.
#episky
🧪
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Delthia Ricks
lol!
1 day ago
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Delthia Ricks
Israel is barring Médecins Sans Frontières—Doctors Without Borders—from operating in Gaza along w/ dozens of other humanitarian organizations. Israel's excuse for this level of cruelty? Israeli gov't officials say it's to prevent Hamas & other opposition groups from infiltrating aid organizations👇
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Israel Will Halt Doctors Without Borders Operations in Gaza
Dozens of humanitarian organizations are suspended from operating
https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/publichealth/119240
2 days ago
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Delthia Ricks
A rightwing cure-all: Doctors are concerned about an increasing use of ivermectin among certain people. The drug is a de-wormer for livestock but gained undue notoriety as a Covid treatment. In rightwing circles, its reputation is growing as a cure-all, even for cancer
www.npr.org/2025/12/30/n...
2 days ago
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lol!
1 day ago
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Delthia Ricks
Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
3 days ago
This really struck me too about this biography. Over and over in his career when people asked Crick what he did for a living he would respond: "I read and I think"
add a skeleton here at some point
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Delthia Ricks
Nature
2 days ago
After Bolsonaro came to power in 2019, more than 5,600 grants vanished under sweeping austerity measures that targeted research and higher education
go.nature.com/48ZV4DV
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Dear US researchers: break the outrage addiction. I survived the besieging of science. So can you.
As I watch US researchers respond to threats against science, I’m reminded of when scientists in Brazil navigated a similar storm.
https://go.nature.com/48ZV4DV
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Delthia Ricks
Current Research in Microbial Sciences
3 days ago
A longitudinal profiling of
#microbiome
of diabetic foot ulcers shows functional role of microbial communities in wound worsening and chronicity
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#OpenAccess
#diabetes
#microbiota
#MicroSky
#IDSky
#WoundHealing
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Delthia Ricks
Tara C. Smith
5 days ago
This is the second pediatric
#flu
death I've seen in 2 days. I'm so sorry for the pain their families must feel. Unclear if either was vaccinated but odds are they were not, as most such deaths are in unvaccinated children.
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‘He was loved by all’: 14-year-old dies after suffering complications from the flu
An Alabama community is mourning the loss of a teenager who died due to reported complications from the flu.
https://www.fox19.com/2025/12/30/he-was-loved-by-all-14-year-old-dies-after-suffering-complications-flu
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Delthia Ricks
Liz Szabo
2 days ago
Missed first vaccines make babies far more likely to miss measles shot, study finds
www.statnews.com/2026/01/02/m...
via
@statnews.com
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Missed first vaccines make babies far more likely to miss measles shot, study finds
Babies who don’t get their first round of vaccines on time at 2 months of age are much less likely to get vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella by age 2, a new study finds.
https://www.statnews.com/2026/01/02/measles-vaccination-delays-infants-linked-lower-mmr-uptake-overall/
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Delthia Ricks
Eric Topol
2 days ago
There's a lot packed into your ~3 billion lifetime heartbeats
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Delthia Ricks
2 days ago
🍃 🖥️ 🧪 Artificial Intelligence Detection of Deadly Cancers
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In China, A.I. Is Finding Deadly Tumors That Doctors Might Miss
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/02/world/asia/china-ai-cancer-pancreatic.html
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Delthia Ricks
ASPET Journals
2 days ago
Modern antidiabetic drugs do more than lower sugar, they protect the heart and vessels. This review explains how. #PharmRev 🧪
https://ow.ly/nZLt50XMvsO
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A rightwing cure-all: Doctors are concerned about an increasing use of ivermectin among certain people. The drug is a de-wormer for livestock but gained undue notoriety as a Covid treatment. In rightwing circles, its reputation is growing as a cure-all, even for cancer
www.npr.org/2025/12/30/n...
2 days ago
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Doctors have solved a mystery involving a man who became paralyzed after eating chicken nuggets. It can happen after eating any undercooked chicken. While rare, Guillain-Barré syndrome occurs. Campylobacter jejuni bacteria in poultry can trigger an immune response & the body damages its own nerves👇
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Paralyzed After Eating Chicken Nuggets: Medical Mystery Solved
A look at the danger of undercooked chicken
https://www.medpagetoday.com/popmedicine/popmedicine/119235
2 days ago
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Israel is barring Médecins Sans Frontières—Doctors Without Borders—from operating in Gaza along w/ dozens of other humanitarian organizations. Israel's excuse for this level of cruelty? Israeli gov't officials say it's to prevent Hamas & other opposition groups from infiltrating aid organizations👇
loading . . .
Israel Will Halt Doctors Without Borders Operations in Gaza
Dozens of humanitarian organizations are suspended from operating
https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/publichealth/119240
2 days ago
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Delthia Ricks
Linda McKibben MD MPH DrPH (@familymam.medsky.social)
3 days ago
Bravo, exFDA Commissioners, for standing up for vaccine regulations and scientific policies. If only we had competent and ethical leadership of DHHS and FDA.
@robcaliff.bsky.social
@oagmaryland.bsky.social
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
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A Threat to Evidence-Based Vaccine Policy and Public Health Security at the FDA | NEJM
Twelve former commissioners of the FDA express concern that the agency’s recent moves will undermine a regulatory model designed to ensure vaccine safety, effectiveness, and availability.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2517497?query=TOC
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Delthia Ricks
Happy 2026 Everyone!
3 days ago
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Delthia Ricks
David Ojcius
4 days ago
Bacterial tubular networks channel carbohydrates in insect
#endosymbiosis
. Bacterial endosymbionts form carbohydrate‑rich tubular networks that boost nutrient exchange with insect hosts, revealing a convergent strategy for nutrient uptake.
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
#symbiosis
#MicroSky
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Delthia Ricks
Current Research in Microbial Sciences
3 days ago
A look into the
#virosphere
of clouds: A world yet to be explored
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#OpenAccess
#virology
#environment
#MicroSky
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Delthia Ricks
Current Research in Microbial Sciences
3 days ago
Butyrolactol A enhances caspofungin efficacy via flippase inhibition in drug-resistant fungi
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#mycology
#Candida
#Cryptococcus
#MicroSky
#MedSky
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Delthia Ricks
C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News)
3 days ago
Certain air cleaners may remove some VOCs but create others Devices that oxidize VOCs could be contributing by-products such as formaldehyde
cen.acs.org/environment/...
#chemsky
🧪
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Certain air cleaners may remove some VOCs but create others
Devices that oxidize VOCs could be contributing by-products such as formaldehyde
https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/air-purifiers-make-VOCs-formaldehyde-febreze/103/web/2025/12?sc=251231_sc_eng_bs_cen
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Happy 2026 Everyone!
3 days ago
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Delthia Ricks
Molly Jong-Fast
3 days ago
Ughhh
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Delthia Ricks
Nature Metabolism
4 days ago
#Throwback 🧪 REVIEW | Feeding gut microbes to nourish the brain: unravelling the diet–microbiota–gut–brain axis @elizschneider.bsky.social,
@jfcryan.bsky.social
#Throwback
et al
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Feeding gut microbes to nourish the brain: unravelling the diet–microbiota–gut–brain axis - Nature Metabolism
This Review provides an overview of the interplay between host diet and the gut microbiota, and how this affects brain function.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s42255-024-01108-6?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=bluesky&utm_campaign=natmetab
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Delthia Ricks
Gregg Gonsalves
5 days ago
I wrote this last winter. I so wish I was wrong about where all this would lead. So much suffering, so much sickness and death because of this man.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/o...
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Opinion | When ‘Just Asking Questions’ About Science Turns Into 300,000 Dead
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/opinion/kennedys-views-on-science-are-too-dangerous-for-us-to-accept.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AlA.j5cW.zVAnT7XLfOEL&smid=nytcore-ios-share
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Delthia Ricks
Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
4 days ago
Planning on seeing in 2026 in with Champagne? Here's the science behind the celebratory bubbles!
www.compoundchem.com/2014/12/30/c...
#ChemSky
🧪
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Delthia Ricks
New measles cases in South Carolina put the US on the verge of losing its measles elimination status. The state reported 20 more cases in the last 4 days. If the virus spreads for 3 more weeks, the highly contagious respiratory infection will no longer be considered eliminated in the US👇
loading . . .
New measles cases in South Carolina put U.S. on the verge of losing elimination status
The state reported 20 more measles cases in the last four days. If the disease spreads for three more weeks, it may no longer be considered eradicated in the U.S.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/measles-south-carolina-us-elimination-status-rcna251515?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
5 days ago
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Delthia Ricks
This week the US reported 38 new measles cases, bringing the total for this year to 2024 cases as tallied by the Yale School of Public Health. An interactive map in this link shows state-by-state measles activity👉
www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdi...
loading . . .
Here's Where Measles Case Counts Are Highest
Map highlights total U.S. cases in 2025 and past-week increases
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/publichealth/119081
5 days ago
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Delthia Ricks
When it comes to infectious diseases, 2026 may look more like 1926 if current trends continue: The US has seen nearly 28,000 whooping cough cases in 2025, the 2nd year cases exceeded 25k. The contagious bacterial infection is a deadly threat to infants, older people & anyone w/ weakened immunity👇
loading . . .
The US has seen nearly 28,000 whooping cough cases this year. Here’s what you need to know | CNN
For the second year in a row, the US has surpassed 25,000 whooping cough cases — another sign of the risks of falling vaccination levels.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/30/health/pertussis-vaccine-symptoms-whooping-cough
5 days ago
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Delthia Ricks
Nearly 3000 pounds of raw ground beef were recalled in 6 states over E. coli concerns; the beef in question was processed by Mountain West Food Group 👇
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Nearly 3,000 Pounds of Ground Beef Have Been Recalled Across 6 States Due to Potential E. Coli Contamination
Idaho-based meat distributor Mountain West Food Group, LLC, is recalling about 2,855 pounds of raw ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O26.
https://people.com/nearly-3000-pounds-of-ground-beef-recalled-across-6-states-due-to-e-coli-contamination-11876884
5 days ago
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Delthia Ricks
Dirty water: Think twice before accepting a glass of water on an airplane: water quality varies significantly by airline and some flights may have potentially unhealthy water on board, according to a new report👇
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2026 Center for Food as Medicine & Longevity Airline Water Study
A 2026 Airline Water Study released today by the Center for Food as Medicine and Longevity reveals that the quality of drinking water varies significantly by airline, and many airlines…
https://foodmedcenter.org/2026-center-for-food-as-medicine-longevity-airline-water-study/
5 days ago
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Delthia Ricks
So sad ...
add a skeleton here at some point
5 days ago
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New measles cases in South Carolina put the US on the verge of losing its measles elimination status. The state reported 20 more cases in the last 4 days. If the virus spreads for 3 more weeks, the highly contagious respiratory infection will no longer be considered eliminated in the US👇
loading . . .
New measles cases in South Carolina put U.S. on the verge of losing elimination status
The state reported 20 more measles cases in the last four days. If the disease spreads for three more weeks, it may no longer be considered eradicated in the U.S.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/measles-south-carolina-us-elimination-status-rcna251515?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
5 days ago
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So sad ...
add a skeleton here at some point
5 days ago
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When it comes to infectious diseases, 2026 may look more like 1926 if current trends continue: The US has seen nearly 28,000 whooping cough cases in 2025, the 2nd year cases exceeded 25k. The contagious bacterial infection is a deadly threat to infants, older people & anyone w/ weakened immunity👇
loading . . .
The US has seen nearly 28,000 whooping cough cases this year. Here’s what you need to know | CNN
For the second year in a row, the US has surpassed 25,000 whooping cough cases — another sign of the risks of falling vaccination levels.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/30/health/pertussis-vaccine-symptoms-whooping-cough
5 days ago
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Nearly 3000 pounds of raw ground beef were recalled in 6 states over E. coli concerns; the beef in question was processed by Mountain West Food Group 👇
loading . . .
Nearly 3,000 Pounds of Ground Beef Have Been Recalled Across 6 States Due to Potential E. Coli Contamination
Idaho-based meat distributor Mountain West Food Group, LLC, is recalling about 2,855 pounds of raw ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O26.
https://people.com/nearly-3000-pounds-of-ground-beef-recalled-across-6-states-due-to-e-coli-contamination-11876884
5 days ago
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Dirty water: Think twice before accepting a glass of water on an airplane: water quality varies significantly by airline and some flights may have potentially unhealthy water on board, according to a new report👇
loading . . .
2026 Center for Food as Medicine & Longevity Airline Water Study
A 2026 Airline Water Study released today by the Center for Food as Medicine and Longevity reveals that the quality of drinking water varies significantly by airline, and many airlines…
https://foodmedcenter.org/2026-center-for-food-as-medicine-longevity-airline-water-study/
5 days ago
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This week the US reported 38 new measles cases, bringing the total for this year to 2024 cases as tallied by the Yale School of Public Health. An interactive map in this link shows state-by-state measles activity👉
www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdi...
loading . . .
Here's Where Measles Case Counts Are Highest
Map highlights total U.S. cases in 2025 and past-week increases
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/publichealth/119081
5 days ago
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Delthia Ricks
Interesting👇
add a skeleton here at some point
5 days ago
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Delthia Ricks
CIDRAP
6 days ago
Study finds wide variation in resistance patterns for travelers’ diarrhea A study of the four leading bacterial causes of travelers' diarrhea found high nonsusceptibility to fluoroquinolones and macrolides, particularly in parts of Asia.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/a...
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