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Ortho introduces second COVID-19 antibody test with 100% specificity

Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, a global leader of in vitro diagnostics with a rich history of bringing critical tests for infectious diseases to market, today introduced and announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Emergency Use Authorization to its second COVID-19 antibody test—the VITROS Immunodiagnostic Products Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG Test. This test is one of only a handful of antibody tests to be granted Emergency Use Authorization.

From Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc. 29 Apr 2020

How hospitals can prepare for an influx of COVID-19 cases

Hospitals and healthcare systems worldwide are overwhelmed, with many facilities full of patients requiring emergency care for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 disease causes severe respiratory illness in patients, with some needing mechanical ventilation.

28 Apr 2020

New approach for easier detection of SARS-CoV-2 via swabs and saliva

A recent Israeli study points toward Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) as a potentially effective tool for acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on-the-spot detection by using swabs or saliva – addressing the community need for simple surveillance.

28 Apr 2020

UTHealth experts successfully treat 3-week-old infant with severe COVID-19

In one of the first reported cases of its kind, a 3-week-old infant in critical condition recovered from COVID-19 due to rapid recognition and treatment by physicians from McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston/

28 Apr 2020

Boston Children's Hospital launches two-pronged study of COVID-19 in children

Boston Children's Hospital has launched a two-pronged study of COVID-19 disease among children and youth up to age 25 across the country, with $2.1 million in funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

28 Apr 2020

Novel disinfection process could extend usage of N95 masks during shortage

Amid shortages of personal protective equipment due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a St. Louis health care system has implemented a process to disinfect disposable N95 respirator masks that allows health care workers to reuse their own mask for up to 20 cycles.

28 Apr 2020

AI system could predict a youth's risk for committing acts of school violence

By leveraging the basics of artificial intelligence technology now used to predict risk for suicide or other mental health issues, researchers developed an AI system that analyzes linguistic patterns to predict a youth's risk for committing acts of school violence.

28 Apr 2020

Mobile telehealth system used in China to enable clinical communication during COVID-19

A mobile telehealth system (MTS) has been used in a hospital in China where COVID-19 patients were treated in isolation wards set off from other healthcare providers.

28 Apr 2020

Scientists launch clinical trial to test the efficacy of HIV drug against COVID-19 infection

A team of scientists from St. Michael's Hospital, Sinai Health and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre have launched a clinical trial to understand whether an existing drug used for HIV treatment and prevention may work to prevent COVID-19 infection.

28 Apr 2020

Lawmaker pushing mental health reform: It’s ‘more needed than ever’

During the first week of school closures in San Jose, state Sen. Jim Beall's office received more than a dozen phone calls from distressed parents and caregivers.

28 Apr 2020

Widely used surgical masks are putting health care workers at serious risk

With medical supplies in high demand, federal authorities say health workers can wear surgical masks for protection while treating COVID-19 patients — but growing evidence suggests the practice is putting workers in jeopardy.

28 Apr 2020

Health insurers prosper as COVID-19 deflates demand for elective treatments

As doctors and consumers are forced to put most nonemergency procedures on hold, many health insurers foresee strong profits.

28 Apr 2020

COVID-19 pandemic may signal the end of egalitarian National Health Service

Dr Sabrina Germain, a Senior Lecturer in The City Law School, says the COVID-19 pandemic could signal the end of the National Health Service based on the liberal egalitarian conception of distributive justice.

28 Apr 2020

Researchers develop a new, promising treatment for HIV

A novel means to prevent HIV infection was developed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center that could allow people with or at risk of acquiring the virus to take medicines once a year.

28 Apr 2020

Majority of Americans want federal government to reduce economic inequality, shows survey

A new poll finds that a majority of Americans say that the federal government should commit to reducing economic inequality in this country over the next year, considering the spread of coronavirus in the United States and its impact on the economy and the American people.

28 Apr 2020

Antibiotic exposure and its priming effect on disease-causing bacteria

Antibiotics save lives -- but using them also helps antibiotic-resistant strains evolve and spread. Each year, antibiotic-resistant bacteria infect some 2.8 million people in the United States, killing more than 35,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

27 Apr 2020

Using neutralising antibodies in the fight against COVID-19

While many scientists and pharmaceutical companies are racing to develop a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine, there is also an urgent need for a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment. The potent virus has now spread to 210 countries and territories, affecting more than 3.04 million people. Now, a team of German scientists is working on using antibodies to prevent and treat COVID-19.

27 Apr 2020

The approved dose of ivermectin alone not useful in treating COVID-19

A new paper published on the preprint server medRxiv in April 2020 shows that the use of the already approved drug ivermectin in clinical trials to treat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)s not feasible. This contradicts earlier reports of its ability to suppress the virus in vitro.

27 Apr 2020

Recommendations for reducing impact of COVID-19 on people living in urban slums

Government-enforced social isolation may help relatively affluent populations limit the spread of COVID-19, but these measures can be devasting for the nearly 1 billion people around the globe currently dwelling in urban slums, where physical space is scarce, and many rely on daily wage labor for survival.

27 Apr 2020

Researchers develop new method for remotely stimulating activity in deep brain regions

University of Texas at Dallas researchers have developed a promising method for remotely stimulating activity in deep brain regions, advancing understanding of how molecules act in the brain and paving the way for better cancer treatments and therapies for other diseases.

27 Apr 2020