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.

New approach can reduce unnecessary evaluations of swollen lymph nodes after COVID-19 vaccination

Swelling of lymph nodes in the armpit area is a normal response to COVID-19 vaccinations, but when they are seen on mammograms, they can be mistaken for nodes that are swollen because of cancer. In some cases, the nodes are biopsied to confirm they are not cancer.

25 Feb 2021

Is the CDC 10-day COVID-19 quarantine guideline enough?

Researchers at the University of Florida and the Florida Department of Health evaluated test positivity rates for SARS-CoV-2 infection among student contacts. The team found that nine days are not enough to ascertain that the student did not contract the virus.

24 Feb 2021

Lab study of South African SARS-CoV-2 variant and Moderna vaccine: reduced neutralization, but still protective

Researchers from the US recently compared antibody binding and viral neutralization against 2 SARS-CoV-2 variants that emerged in different parts of the world. The researchers used sera from spike mRNA vaccinated and naturally infected individuals against a circulating B.1 variant and the emerging B.1.351 variant. The study is published on the preprint server bioRxiv.

24 Feb 2021

Full characterization of mammalian-produced SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domains

A research paper recently uploaded to the preprint server bioRxiv by Dominguez-Vega et al. (23rd Feb, 2021) describes an in-depth structural analysis of the RBD of the spike protein expressed in mammalian Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells, providing a new understanding of protein structure and function.

24 Feb 2021

Complement system appears to be specifically implicated in severe COVID-19

Researchers in the United States have conducted a study showing that activation of the complement system is specifically implicated in the pathogenesis of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), rather than being a broader indicator of critical illness.

24 Feb 2021

Study: Many cancer survivors worried about treatment disruptions during the pandemic

New study reports that early in the 2020 pandemic in the United States, one-third of cancer survivors worried about treatment and cancer care disruptions.

24 Feb 2021

Travelers to the tropics are more prone to acquiring superbacteria than previously thought

Exploring exposure to superbacteria, researchers at the University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital got unexpected results from an international collaborative study conducted in real time among 20 travelers to Southeast Asia.

24 Feb 2021

Study shows antibody responses persisting 10 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers in Italy have conducted a study showing that patients who had tested positive for infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) still had neutralizing antibodies against the virus 10 months later.

24 Feb 2021

Study takes a closer look at the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on dental hygienists

Despite having been designated as high risk for COVID-19 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a new study finds 3.1 percent of dental hygienists have had COVID-19 based on data collected in October 2020.

24 Feb 2021

Research shows the effectiveness of a digital healthcare treatment for osteoarthritis

The steadily increasing prevalence and high costs of treating chronic joint pain worldwide poses a challenge for healthcare systems and healthcare payers.

24 Feb 2021

Survey finds highest ever vaccination rates during the 2020-2021 flu season

More U.S. adults reported receiving or planning to receive an influenza vaccination during the 2020-2021 flu season than ever before, according to findings from a December 2020 national survey.

24 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 does not infect the entire body in the same way, finds study

COVID-19, the disease caused by the pandemic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, is primarily regarded as a respiratory infection. Yet the virus has also become known for affecting other parts of the body in ways not as well understood, sometimes with longer-term consequences, such as heart arrhythmia, fatigue and "brain fog."

24 Feb 2021

Losing ACA protections for pre-existing conditions could increase health disparities

If Affordable Care Act protections for pre-existing condition coverage are no longer available, the coronavirus pandemic would leave many Americans - a disproportionate number of whom are people of color - without health insurance, a new Oregon Health & Science University study indicates.

24 Feb 2021

Electronic doctors’ notes could help hospitals plan for surges in COVID-19 cases

A new study, published today in Nature Digital Medicine, found that 'natural language processing' (NLP) of information routinely recorded by doctors - as part of patients' electronic health records - reveal vital trends that could help clinical teams forecast and plan for surges in patients.

24 Feb 2021

Household odorant smell tests could help detect COVID-19, say study

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science and other institutions developed a new tool to help detect COVID-19 infection. The team developed and tested a real-time tool to measure olfactory perception impairment by asking the participants to smell household odorants.

24 Feb 2021

GW team to play a role in Sanofi COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial

The George Washington University announced today its participation in a Sanofi COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial. GW was selected as one of approximately 25 sites in the United States to launch a phase 2 study for its adjuvanted recombinant protein-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

24 Feb 2021

COVID-19 hospitalizations still high in England despite recent decline in cases, says study

Results from the latest round of the real-time assessment of community transmission study (REACT-1) study in England indicate that although coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases have decreased, the number of hospitalizations remains high.

24 Feb 2021

Researchers explore how N501Y mutation in SARS-CoV-2 increases viral transmissibility

Researchers at Erasmus University Medical Center in The Netherlands have explored how and why new variants of SARS-CoV-2 have exhibited heightened infectivity.

24 Feb 2021

Corticosteroid receptor inhibitor shows anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vivo

A team of researchers examined PT150, which is an allosteric modulator of androgen and glucocorticoid receptors, to assess whether it had any antiviral activity or immunomodulatory activity to decrease the hyperinflammatory response of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

24 Feb 2021

Researchers explore suicide risk management protocol in cardiac patients

UIC College of Nursing associate professor Susan Dunn explores this question as lead author of "Suicide Risk Management Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial of Cardiac Patients Reporting Hopelessness," a paper published in the January/February edition of Nursing Research.

24 Feb 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

New approach can reduce unnecessary evaluations of swollen lymph nodes after COVID-19 vaccination

Is the CDC 10-day COVID-19 quarantine guideline enough?

Lab study of South African SARS-CoV-2 variant and Moderna vaccine: reduced neutralization, but still protective

Full characterization of mammalian-produced SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domains

Complement system appears to be specifically implicated in severe COVID-19

Study: Many cancer survivors worried about treatment disruptions during the pandemic

Travelers to the tropics are more prone to acquiring superbacteria than previously thought

Study shows antibody responses persisting 10 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection

Study takes a closer look at the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on dental hygienists

Research shows the effectiveness of a digital healthcare treatment for osteoarthritis

Survey finds highest ever vaccination rates during the 2020-2021 flu season

SARS-CoV-2 does not infect the entire body in the same way, finds study

Losing ACA protections for pre-existing conditions could increase health disparities

Electronic doctors’ notes could help hospitals plan for surges in COVID-19 cases

Household odorant smell tests could help detect COVID-19, say study

GW team to play a role in Sanofi COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial

COVID-19 hospitalizations still high in England despite recent decline in cases, says study

Researchers explore how N501Y mutation in SARS-CoV-2 increases viral transmissibility

Corticosteroid receptor inhibitor shows anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vivo

Researchers explore suicide risk management protocol in cardiac patients

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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