Pandemic News and Research

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A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. During a pandemic, transmission can be anticipated in the workplace, not only from patient to workers in health care settings, but also among co-workers in general work settings. A pandemic would cause high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. Everyday life would be disrupted because so many people in so many places become seriously ill at the same time. Impacts could range from school and business closings to the interruption of basic services such as public transportation and food delivery.

Ohio’s Amish suffered a lot from Covid, but vaccines are still a hard sell

The Amish communities of northeastern Ohio engage in textbook communal living. Families eat, work and go to church together, and through the pandemic, mask-wearing and physical distancing have been spotty. That has meant that these communities bore a high rate of infection and death.

28 Apr 2021

Eosinophils modify the respiratory barrier during influenza A infection, shows study

For the first time in published literature, Le Bonheur Children's Hospital and University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) researchers showed that a variety of white blood cells known as eosinophils modify the respiratory barrier during influenza A (IAV) infection, according to a recent paper in the journal Cells.

28 Apr 2021

Novel platform has potential to detect many disease-related biomarkers in just one test

Most conventional molecular diagnostics usually detect only a single disease-related biomarker. Great examples are the PCR tests currently used to diagnose COVID-19 by detecting a specific sequence from SARS-CoV-2.

28 Apr 2021

Municipalities with low socioeconomic status in Greater Santiago have higher COVID-19 mortality

People up to age 40 living in economically depressed municipalities in the Greater Santiago, Chile, metropolitan area were three times more likely to die as a result of the infection than their counterparts in wealthier areas, researchers report in the journal Science.

28 Apr 2021

Why do we lose our sense smell/taste with COVID?

The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) enzyme attached to the membranes of cells is the entry point for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). They are abundantly found all over the body and most prominently in the lungs and nose.

28 Apr 2021

ASPS survey reveals COVID-19's impact and patient demand for plastic surgery

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) - the world's largest plastic surgery organization, representing nearly 8,000 members - today released the 2020 results of the organization's annual procedure survey coupled with national consumer research reflecting trends during the COVID-19 era to help predict what 2021 will bring.

28 Apr 2021

Neonates exposed to SARS-CoV-2 can sustain adverse health outcomes

The incidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission from mothers to newborns appears low and may be linked to biological as well as social factors. However, studies focusing on the factors associated with neonatal viral testing outcomes.

27 Apr 2021

Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) vaccine successfully curbs COVID-19 in Israel

Researchers in Israel have shown that three national programs established by the Israeli government have successfully reduced cases of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and death caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

27 Apr 2021

Researchers design "nanotraps" to capture and destroy SARS-CoV-2 viruses

Researchers at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago have designed a completely novel potential treatment for COVID-19: nanoparticles that capture SARS-CoV-2 viruses within the body and then use the body's own immune system to destroy it.

27 Apr 2021

ANTICOV clinical trial to test new treatment for people with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in Africa

The ANTICOV clinical trial, conducted in 13 African countries, has started the recruitment of participants to test a new drug combination, nitazoxanide + ciclesonide, to treat people with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 before their cases become severe.

27 Apr 2021

CU Cancer Center researchers receive PRCRP grant to investigate metastasis

Two members of the University of Colorado Cancer Center have received prestigious Idea Awards from the U.S. Department of Defense's Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program.

27 Apr 2021

SARS-CoV-2 clade linked to disease severity in the early phase of the pandemic

A new study in the journal JAMA Network reports on the disease severity associated with some clades of the virus, from an analysis of genomes from specimens isolated in the initial phase of the pandemic.

27 Apr 2021

Israel study suggests elementary school reopenings are low-risk for COVID-19 transmission

Ever since COVID-19 first emerged with devastating ferocity, the emphasis has been on interrupting its spread until effective, safe and targeted antivirals and vaccines become available. The chief focus has been on non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), including school closures, social distancing and shelter in place orders.

27 Apr 2021

Some heart medications may facilitate SARS-CoV-2 infection through increasing ACE2 receptor levels

An interesting poster, just presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 2021, reports an association between the use of certain heart medications and the risk of COVID-19.

27 Apr 2021

What is the role of nanotechnology in the current COVID-19 outbreak?

The nanotechnology-based medicine platforms against COVID-19 bears hope for relief from the pandemic to save lives and mitigate the infection as part of a broader global public health agenda.

27 Apr 2021

Nucleocapsid-based vaccines may prevent SARS-CoV-2 dissemination to distal organs

A team of scientists recently investigated and compared the efficacy of spike-based and nucleocapsid-based COVID-19 vaccines in mice infected with SARS-CoV-2. Their findings reveal that nucleocapsid-based vaccines are effective in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection in distal organs, such as the brain.

27 Apr 2021

Big investors push nursing homes to upgrade care and working conditions

Nursing homes and long-term care facilities, where 182,000 Americans perished during the covid pandemic, have taken heat from government regulators, residents and their families. Now the industry is hearing it from an unexpected source: their investors.

27 Apr 2021

Pandemic imperiled non-English speakers more than others

In March 2020, just weeks into the Covid-19 pandemic, the incident command center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston was scrambling to understand this deadly new disease. It appeared to be killing more Black and brown patients than whites. For Latinos, there was an additional warning sign: language.

27 Apr 2021

World Immunization Week: Vaccination in 2021

News-Medical talks to experts in different areas of the medical sector on why immunization week is so prevalent in 2021.

27 Apr 2021

Study in Ireland identifies underlying conditions associated with severe COVID-19 outcomes

A national study of 20,000 patients conducted by RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences and the HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has identified the underlying conditions that are associated with more severe outcomes from COVID-19 in an Irish setting.

27 Apr 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Ohio’s Amish suffered a lot from Covid, but vaccines are still a hard sell

Eosinophils modify the respiratory barrier during influenza A infection, shows study

Novel platform has potential to detect many disease-related biomarkers in just one test

Municipalities with low socioeconomic status in Greater Santiago have higher COVID-19 mortality

Why do we lose our sense smell/taste with COVID?

ASPS survey reveals COVID-19's impact and patient demand for plastic surgery

Neonates exposed to SARS-CoV-2 can sustain adverse health outcomes

Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) vaccine successfully curbs COVID-19 in Israel

Researchers design "nanotraps" to capture and destroy SARS-CoV-2 viruses

ANTICOV clinical trial to test new treatment for people with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in Africa

CU Cancer Center researchers receive PRCRP grant to investigate metastasis

SARS-CoV-2 clade linked to disease severity in the early phase of the pandemic

Israel study suggests elementary school reopenings are low-risk for COVID-19 transmission

Some heart medications may facilitate SARS-CoV-2 infection through increasing ACE2 receptor levels

What is the role of nanotechnology in the current COVID-19 outbreak?

Nucleocapsid-based vaccines may prevent SARS-CoV-2 dissemination to distal organs

Big investors push nursing homes to upgrade care and working conditions

Pandemic imperiled non-English speakers more than others

World Immunization Week: Vaccination in 2021

Study in Ireland identifies underlying conditions associated with severe COVID-19 outcomes

Best practices - optimize qPCR processes for pathogen detection eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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