Respiratory Illness News and Research

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FDA authorizes marketing of first SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test using De Novo premarket review pathway

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted marketing authorization of the BioFire Respiratory Panel 2.1 (RP2.1), a diagnostic test for the simultaneous qualitative detection and identification of multiple respiratory viral and bacterial nucleic acids in nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) obtained from individuals suspected of COVID-19 and other respiratory tract infections.

17 Mar 2021

Newly-discovered bat coronavirus 94.5% identical to SARS-CoV-2

Researchers in China and Australia have reported the discovery of novel bat coronaviruses that further reveal the diversity and complex evolutionary history of these viruses.

10 Mar 2021

Scientists study seven human coronavirus envelope proteins using topology prediction and molecular modeling

A new study by researchers at the University of the Western Cape aimed to determine why some coronaviruses are more virulent than others. The team speculates that the increased flexibility of the PDZ-binding motif (PBM) of SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS22 CoV-2 to be more flexible than the PBM of hCoVs 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1.

9 Mar 2021

Study finds reduction in pediatric emergency visits, hospitalizations during the pandemic

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, children's hospitals across the United States have seen signification reductions in the number of children being treated for common pediatric illnesses like asthma and pneumonia, according to a new multicenter study led by Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

9 Mar 2021

Novel host-viral-microbiome interactions during COVID-19 may determine outcome

A new preprint on the medRxiv* server discusses how the underlying disease mechanisms are regulated such that the local or mucosal immune response is distinct from the systemic response.

4 Mar 2021

How SARS-CoV-2 proteins affect vascular functionality

The study, published on the pre-print server medRxiv, can pinpoint and isolate how each of the SARS-CoV-2 proteins independently affects the endothelial response and directly gauge endothelial functionality.

3 Mar 2021

Study: Stay-at-home ordinance had positive effects on health and well-being of residents

A study by physiology researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso found that El Paso's stay-at-home ordinance due to the COVID-19 pandemic had positive effects on the health and well-being of the region's residents.

26 Feb 2021

Anti-phospholipid antibodies in severely ill patients not distinctive to COVID-19, says study

A new study by researchers at the University of Toronto and the University of Calgary in Canada indicates that the presence of these antibodies correlates with more severe COVID-19 symptoms and signs.

25 Feb 2021

USDA, FDA highlight no credible evidence of COVID-19 transmission through food or food packaging

After more than a year since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was declared a global health emergency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continue to underscore that there is no credible evidence of food or food packaging associated with or as a likely source of viral transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus causing COVID-19.

18 Feb 2021

Stability and pathogenicity of MERS coronavirus varies across different viral strains

An international team of researchers has conducted a study suggesting that individual variation across different strains of betacoronaviruses can alter their stability and pathogenicity profiles.

16 Feb 2021

What are the changes in the physical phenotype of blood cells in COVID-19?

While primarily a respiratory illness, there are distinctive alterations in the type and number of blood cells in COVID-19. A new study by a team of researchers in Germany describes the nature of these changes.

16 Feb 2021

How SARS-CoV-2 enters the central nervous system

The central nervous system (CNS) is highly protected in the human body. Yet, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) invades the CNS, causing profound clinical complications. How is the CNS involved in a respiratory virus infection?

15 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 was in NYC a good month before it was first identified, say researchers

Researchers at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York have provided evidence suggesting that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – was infecting people in New York City (NYC) at least one month before the first case was officially documented in the city.

14 Feb 2021

Study offers new protocols for high-quality SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequencing

Researchers at the Southern Illinois University, U.S.A. have presented a comprehensive and well-validated set of working protocols for sequencing high-quality SARS-CoV-2 genomes in high throughput from patient samples.

12 Feb 2021

Lessons learnt from the annual influenza season

Australian researchers have come up with two key recommendations from studies of the annual influenza season - one highlighting the benefits of antivirals in reducing repeat hospitalisation, and the other to watch for underlying cardiovascular disease.

12 Feb 2021

History of vaccines offers guidance on COVID-19 prevention in pregnant women

Pregnant women, who are at increased risk of preterm birth or pregnancy loss if they develop a severe case of COVID-19, need the best possible guidance on whether they should receive a COVID-19 vaccine, according to an article by two UT Southwestern obstetricians published today in JAMA.

8 Feb 2021

Natural reinfection with respiratory syncytial virus varies based on antibody response

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine found that while most individuals responded to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) natural reinfection with a typical sustained antibody response associated with protection, a few individuals surprisingly responded atypically, not being able to sustain the antibody response, which declined to levels that made the individuals susceptible to RSV reinfection.

5 Feb 2021

Vitamin D supplementation found to reduce COVID-19-related mortality, says study

Researchers have shown that prescribing vitamin D supplementation to COVID-19 patients seems to decrease the mortality rate, the severity of the disease, and serum levels of inflammatory markers.

6 Jan 2021

Glycyrrhizin in licorice root neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 in vitro by inhibiting the main protease Mpro

In a recent bioRxiv* preprint paper, researchers from Germany analyzed aqueous licorice root extract for its neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. They identified glycyrrhizin, the primary active ingredient in the root, and revealed the underlying mechanism of viral neutralization.

5 Jan 2021

One-third of COVID-19 survivors manifest neurological problems

In a longitudinal study recently published on the preprint server medRxiv*, Andrea Pilotto et al. find that one-third of COVID-19 infection survivors have long-term neurological manifestations after hospitalization.