Respiratory Illness News and Research

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Government provides new guidance for living with COVID

People at risk of serious illness from COVID-19, and eligible for treatments, will continue to get free tests to use if they develop symptoms, along with NHS and adult social care staff and those in other high-risk settings, Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid announced today (Tuesday 29 March).

29 Mar 2022

Characteristics of super-spreaders of novel coronaviruses

Researchers conducted a systematic review to evaluate the characteristics of super-spreaders of three novel coronaviruses that caused SARS, MERS, and COVID-19.

18 Mar 2022

Impact of COVID-19 measures on the future transmission of respiratory syncytial virus

A new study discussed the impact of COVID-19 measures on the future transmission of the respiratory syncytial virus in South Africa.

17 Mar 2022

Croup: A previously unrecognized complication of COVID-19 in young children

The omicron surge has led to a previously unrecognized complication of COVID-19 in young children: croup. In the first peer-reviewed report to date, physicians at Boston Children's Hospital describe 75 children who came to the hospital's emergency department (ED) with croup and COVID-19 from March 1, 2020 through January 15, 2022.

15 Mar 2022

Mild SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to tissue damage and shrinkage in brain areas related to smell

Researchers from the University of Oxford have used data from UK Biobank participants to look at changes to the brain on average 4.5 months after mild SARS-CoV-2 infection.

11 Mar 2022

Association of benzodiazepines with SARS-CoV-2 positivity and clinical outcomes in three patient groups

A new study has evaluated the association of BZD use with the clinical outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 positive patients.

10 Mar 2022

Virginia Tech-led researchers to investigate the transmission of flu in child care settings

In January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidance for reducing SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) transmission in schools and day care settings.

6 Mar 2022

Pathogens in pneumonia-associated respiratory samples from Wuhan prior to SARS-CoV-2 emergence

An interesting paper in PLoS Pathogens describes the broad situation with respect to respiratory pathogens that cause acute respiratory infection (ARI) and pneumonia in the city.

21 Feb 2022

Association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and several key respiratory and non-respiratory complications

Researchers assessed the intensity of association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and risks of various respiratory and non-respiratory complications.

9 Feb 2022

Evaluating the response of lung cancer patients to COVID-19 mRNA vaccination

Researchers examine the efficacy of mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in NSCLC patients.

6 Jan 2022

Loss of smell is the best predictor of COVID-19

A large international team of researchers has conducted a crowdsourced cross-sectional study, in which they have investigated the reliability of the olfactory loss (or loss of smell, or anosmia) as a predictor of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19).

30 Dec 2021

Study suggests 2/3 of Dutch children < 12 years have been infected with SARS-CoV-2

Researchers conduct intensive and longitudinal monitoring of households with children of different ages for the presence of SARS-CoV-2.

19 Dec 2021

Impact of COVID-19 on children with complex underlying medical conditions

A new study concludes that children with medical complexities experienced adverse health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

8 Dec 2021

Severe COVID-19 may result in premature aging in recovered patients

As COVID-19 has been found to cause frontal cortex impairment similar to aging, the scientists in a recent study attempted to investigate if severe COVID-19 resulted in aging-related molecular signatures in the brain. The findings from this study are published as a preprint on the medRxiv* server.

28 Nov 2021

Relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions led to the reemergence of seasonal respiratory viruses in Houston

A Houston Methodist study showed a rapid return of seasonal respiratory viruses after COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed in Texas, demonstrating the effectiveness of masking, distancing and other precautionary measures at stopping the spread of many respiratory illnesses, not just COVID-19.

24 Nov 2021

Preexisting rhinovirus infection and IFN induction in epithelium of asthma patients decreases SARS-CoV-2 infection

In a recent study, researchers explored the effects of RV, HDM, and SARS-CoV-2 on differentiated primary human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) in vitro and in experimental in vivo RV infection in healthy subjects and asthmatic patients.

22 Nov 2021

New genetic epidemiology tool provides detailed information about viruses, coinfections

With mask wearing and social distancing on the decline and the cold and flu season upon us, researchers have developed a viral panel that enables the simultaneous testing for SARS-CoV-2 along with numerous common respiratory viruses, that tells us whether other viruses also are at play in patients hard hit by COVID.

1 Nov 2021

Surveillance, prevention of COVID-19 and seasonal influenza in Europe

In the northern hemisphere, annual seasonal influenza activity usually causes a high burden of disease during the winter months.

18 Oct 2021

New risk measure can better predict pandemic spread than other models

COVID-19 is not the flu. The disease caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus is more transmissible, and deadlier, than most influenza epidemics we've encountered in our lifetimes, and scientists and physicians are still learning new things about the disease and its long-term effects.

15 Oct 2021

COVID-19 linked to newborn complications

A recent study discusses whether pregnant women with the COVID-19 are at a higher risk for poor outcomes for themselves and their babies.

13 Oct 2021