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Two groups of investigators today fleshed out fuller clinical understanding of North American patients recently infected with H5N1 avian influenza, one of them describing a Canadian teen who had a severe infection and the other reviewing illness features of 46 US patients, most of whom had mild infections following exposure to sick dairy cows or poultry. (Schnirring, 12/31)

An observational study of community-dwelling older adults in Canada found that longer antibiotic courses were not associated with a greater risk of harm than shorter courses, researchers reported today in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (Dall, 12/30)

The estimated effectiveness of at least one dose of the influenza vaccine against emergency department (ED) visits or hospitalization was over 50% across disease severity levels among nearly 16,000 US children during five respiratory illness seasons, finds a study published late last week in JAMA Network Open. (Van Beusekom, 12/30)

A systematic review and meta-analysis of data from 28 countries shows rising Helicobacter pylori antibiotic resistance in children, an international team of researchers reported last week in BMC Medicine. (Dall, 12/30)