BOCA RATON, Fla. – The FDA has approved the first treatment for a viral skin infection that affects as many as six million Americans, mostly children.
Dermatologist Dr. Jeffrey Fromowitz said the new topical medication for the condition called Molluscum Contagiosum can be used to treat adults and pediatric patients as young as two years.
“They basically present as almost a fluid filled sack on a red base. So it looks like a tiny water blister, they tend to cluster in small groups and when scratched they leak a little bit of a fluid and when it gets on other areas of the skin that’s how they spread. So it’s spread by contact, we can even auto-inoculate, meaning spread it on ourselves,” he said.
Fromowitz said the topical medication, which replaces more painful removal methods, is applied by a healthcare provider to affected areas every three weeks as needed.
STUDY UNDERWAY INTO UNIVERSAL FLU VACCINE
The National Institutes of Health has begun a clinical trial into a universal flu vaccine.
The phase one trial will evaluate the investigational vaccine for safety and its ability to elicit an immune response.
Ideally, the universal vaccine could be given less frequently than every year and protect against multiple strains of the flu.
INFANT RSV VACCINE COMING SOON
Newborn babies could soon have protection against RSV.
A CDC advisory committee voted to recommend Pfizer’s Abrysvo vaccine.
The shot is designed to induce RSV antibodies in pregnant women who will then pass those on to their unborn babies.
It’s recommended for mothers who are late in their third trimester.
The vaccine, which is expected to become widely available in the coming weeks, will give newborns protection for six months.