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.

Mollusc-derived compounds potential medicines for COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases

A research team has reviewed the existing literature on compounds derived from molluscs used for treating respiratory diseases.

30 Nov 2020

Mexican case study finds similar mortality rates in diabetic patients with and without COVID-19

In a large case study based in Mexico, researchers recently examined the mortality risk associated with diabetes in symptomatic COVID-19 patients.

30 Nov 2020

What are the risks associated with human challenge trials for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates?

Researchers from the University of Haifa, Israel, and WAW Statistical Consulting Ltd, UK, designed a model that helps determine the risks faced by participants in a hypothetical COVID-19 dosing study.

30 Nov 2020

COVID-19 Peer Hub program works to tackle vaccine hesitancy amid pandemic

UniSA researchers are evaluating a new vaccination education initiative - the COVID-19 Peer Hub - to help immunization and public health professionals to tackle the emerging dangers of vaccine hesitancy amid the pandemic.

30 Nov 2020

Transmission 'hot zones' drive COVID-19 infection patterns, says study

A recent study describes two different mathematical models of high infection zones, which lead to different effects on viral transmission. This underlines the need to understand how the virus spreads within a community as well as within subgroups with different patterns of interaction.

30 Nov 2020

Severe COVID-19 can produce high long-term neutralizing antibodies, study finds

A new study published by a team of scientists in Spain indicates that neutralizing immunity can last for up to 8 months, despite a steep drop in antibody titer over this time.

30 Nov 2020

UK’s post-lockdown COVID-19 restrictions allows families to celebrate Christmas 2020 together

The UK's three-tier system of COVID-19 restrictions could be tweaked to allow a more effective control of viral spread, while still ensuring that families can choose their own course of action over the Christmas holidays, says a new preprint published on the medRxiv* server in late November 2020.

30 Nov 2020

Excessive use of antibiotics during COVID-19 pandemic could intensify drug resistance

A new study published in the journal Science of The Total Environment in November 2020 discusses this potentially serious issue along with its wider consequences.

30 Nov 2020

TDR and WHO develop interactive web-based research toolkit for TB care

TDR, in partnership with the WHO Global Tuberculosis Programme, has developed an interactive web-based toolkit that supports national TB programmes and other partners to conduct implementation research designed to evaluate digital technologies for TB care.

30 Nov 2020

Overcoming pediatric drug-resistant TB crisis

World Children's Day marks the day, over three decades ago, on which world leaders adopted the historic Convention of the Rights of the Child, promising to every child to promote and protect their rights, including the right to life and the right to health.

30 Nov 2020

Could the keto diet help prevent or mitigate severe COVID-19?

A new study published in the journal of Translational Medicine reports that the ketogenic diet (KD) may be useful in this area, with its track history of effectual reduction of fat mass, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, and consequent improvement of cardiovascular health.

30 Nov 2020

Wuhan mass screening program finds 300 asymptomatic cases

A mass screening programme of more than 10 million Wuhan residents identified 300 asymptomatic cases, but none were infectious - according to a study involving the University of East Anglia.

30 Nov 2020

Thousands of doctors’ offices buckle under financial stress of COVID

Cormay Caine misses a full day of work and drives more than 130 miles round trip to take five of her children to their pediatrician. The Sartell, Minnesota, clinic where their doctor used to work closed in August.

30 Nov 2020

How pharma money colors Operation Warp Speed’s quest to defeat COVID

April 16 was a big day for Moderna, a Massachusetts biotech company on the verge of becoming a front-runner in the U.S. government's race for a coronavirus vaccine. It had received roughly half a billion dollars in federal funding to develop a COVID shot that might be used on millions of Americans.

30 Nov 2020