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.

School children unlikely to play a significant role in COVID-19 spread, says Finnish study

A study conducted by researchers in Finland suggests that children who are exposed to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in schools are unlikely to transmit the virus further and play any significant role in the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

2 Aug 2020

Pre-COVID-19 coronavirus antibodies fail to neutralize SARS-CoV-2

Researchers in Austria have shown that antibodies with potent neutralizing activity against a well-established seasonal coronavirus had no neutralizing activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

2 Aug 2020

New bivalent vaccine delivers robust cell-mediated and humoral immunity against SARS-CoV-2

In a groundbreaking bioRxiv study, US researchers demonstrate the capability of next-generation bivalent human adenovirus serotype 5 (hAd5) vaccine for inducing both cellular and humoral immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – using both an S protein sequence optimized for cell surface expression and a conserved nucleocapsid antigen designed to be transported to the endosomal subcellular compartment.

2 Aug 2020

Synthetic riboregulators detect SARS-CoV-2 genome parts in 40 minutes

By exploiting the tools of synthetic biology, the researchers from Turkey have successfully developed a de novo riboregulator system for rapidly detecting the presence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genomic material. Their paper is currently available on medRxiv preprint server.

2 Aug 2020

Emergency Committee on COVID-19 highlights the need for sustained global response efforts

The Emergency Committee on COVID-19, convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), held its fourth meeting on 31 July. In its statement following the meeting, published today, it expressed "appreciation for WHO and partners' COVID-19 pandemic response efforts, and highlighted the anticipated lengthy duration of this COVID-19 pandemic, noting the importance of sustained community, national, regional, and global response efforts."

1 Aug 2020

Meta-analysis shows 57% mortality reduction with convalescent plasma in COVID-19

Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in July 2020 reports that an older treatment modality, namely, the use of convalescent antibody-rich plasma, brings down the mortality rate in hospitalized COVID-19 patients by an astonishing 57%. This adds evidence for the use of convalescent plasma in the treatment of high-risk patients.

1 Aug 2020

Children carry 100 times more SARS-CoV-2 virus as adults, study says

As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to wreak havoc across the globe, it has been thought that children mostly seemed to be spared by severe illness. In the majority of cases, children infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) only develop a mild illness, with some tagged as asymptomatic.

31 Jul 2020

Research suggests New York City may have reached coronavirus herd immunity threshold

A new study by researchers at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Brookhaven National Laboratory and published on the preprint server medRxiv in July 2020 discusses the effect of a factor called persistent contact heterogeneity on the final epidemic size of COVID-19.

31 Jul 2020

Innovative e-learning program will empower nurses to improve cancer care

An innovative e-learning programme developed by experts at the University of Huddersfield and University of Stirling will educate and empower nurses to improve cancer care.

31 Jul 2020

New program to study financial hardship, food poverty within the Armed Forces Community

The UK's oldest national tri-service charity, in partnership with Northumbria University has today announced the launch of a programme of research into financial hardship and food poverty within the Armed Forces Community.

31 Jul 2020

Air travel helped spread novel coronavirus in Brazil

Domestic and international air travel helped spread the novel coronavirus in Brazil, a study has found, as tourism bodies push for global travel to resume amid infection resurgences in some countries.

31 Jul 2020

Brain Navi develops new nasal swab robot to prevent cross infections

Inspired by the pandemic, Brain Navi developed a new robot to perform nasal swab tests autonomously to prevent cross infections so we can save the medical system and reestablish economies.

31 Jul 2020

Insurance customers across Asia adopt healthier lifestyle habits amid COVID-19 anxieties

Amid the anxiety and disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, insurance customers across Asia are starting to adopt healthier lifestyle habits in terms of physical health and mental well-being, and increasingly recognise the convenience of digital technology in their day-to-day lives, according to a new survey by Manulife.

31 Jul 2020

Study outlines new approaches to prevent and mitigate wildfire-related impacts

As the western United States enters the 2020 wildfire season with anticipated above normal significant fire potential, a new report from Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE) provides the most expansive synthesis to date on the public health dimensions of wildfire and California's approaches to wildfire prevention and the mitigation of wildfire-related impacts.

31 Jul 2020