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.

Mobile phone contamination could be part of SARS-CoV-2 transmission chain in hospitals, Brazil case study suggests

Researchers conducting a study at a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) intensive care unit (ICU) in São Paulo, Brazil, have warned that infection control guidelines need to include a universal policy regarding the disinfection of mobile phones in the hospital setting.

8 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2 antibodies wane, depending on age, symptoms and ethnicity

Researchers at the University of Oxford have conducted a study of UK healthcare workers showing how antibody responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can wane over time, depending on age, previous symptoms and ethnicity.

8 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2 infection risk in day care centers for children and educators is low

Their findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection rarely occurs in daycare centers, and thus, these centers should not be considered as potential reservoirs of the virus. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

8 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2 viral antigens found in non-pulmonary tissues in recovering patients

A team of researchers in Singapore, led by Dr. Joe Yeong, and Prof. Tony Kiat Hon Lim, have reported the presence of residual SARS-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid (RNA) – the virus' genetic material – in stool samples and gastrointestinal tissues from patients recovering from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

8 Nov 2020

Delirium common after hospital discharge in critically ill COVID-19 patients

Anesthesiologist and other researchers from Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, New York Medical College, Valhalla and Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, have reported a case series of critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients who have developed neuropsychological symptoms after having been discharged from the hospital.

8 Nov 2020

Health workers with religious beards experiencing professional discrimination amid COVID-19, UK study finds

A new study conducted by researchers across the UK has looked at how male health workers with religious beards have been affected by workplace practices during the pandemic. The researchers from Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, UK, sought to determine some of the effects on male healthcare workers who had been asked to remove their beards in light of personal protective equipment (PPE) policies, particularly strict mask fit-testing stipulations.

8 Nov 2020

Decreasing humidity in the winter is likely to lead to more COVID-19 cases

A team of researchers from the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, USA, and Johns Hopkins University, USA, found evidence to support the notion that increased humidity may have contributed to lesser cases in spring earlier this year (2020). However, as the winter season fast approaches, the researchers fear that the decreasing humidity is likely to lead to an increase in COVID-19 cases.

8 Nov 2020

Cats shed SARS-CoV-2 RNA for a shorter duration compared to humans, study finds

Since the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there have been numerous reports of pets becoming infected. Both dogs and cats have been observed to exhibit symptoms of infection.

8 Nov 2020

Innate immunity key to limiting viral load in COVID-19 cases

As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to cause many difficulties for public health authorities, research is ongoing to understand how the virus can cause fatal effects on those infected and thereby suggest effective preventive and therapeutic measures against it.

8 Nov 2020

Second wave of COVID-19 in UK has reached “critical” stage, says study

The current paper reports the preliminary findings of the sixth round of the REal-time Assessment of Community Transmission-1 (REACT-1) study, which has traced the path of the outbreak in England since May this year (2020).

8 Nov 2020

Universal nanoparticle platform may help in rapid development of a COVID-19 vaccine

A research group in China recently published a paper on the pre-print server bioRxiv* that reports the performance of a potentially universal nanoparticle platform that may prove useful for the rapid development of a COVID-19 vaccine, as well as other vaccines in the future.

8 Nov 2020

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Change is in the air

Assuming former Vice President Joe Biden becomes President-elect Joe Biden and Republicans retain control of the Senate, the health agenda could be very different from what Democrats campaigned on.

6 Nov 2020

Lupus patients receiving prophylactic therapy are at high risk for adverse reactions

New research shows that adults with systemic lupus erythematosus, who receive trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), a prophylactic therapy to help prevent pneumocystis pneumonia, are at high risk for adverse reactions to the drug, particularly if they are also positive for anti-Smith (anti-Sm) antibodies.

6 Nov 2020

Patients with rheumatic diseases reported antimalarial drug shortages during COVID-19

A new study shows that patients with rheumatic diseases across Africa, Southeast Asia, the Americas and Europe had trouble filling their prescriptions of antimalarial drugs, including hydroxychloroquine, during the 2020 global coronavirus pandemic, when antimalarials were touted as a possible COVID-19 treatment.

6 Nov 2020

Survey: Only few children with rheumatic diseases report contracting COVID-19

Results from a large, international survey shows that only a small fraction of children with rheumatic diseases reported contracting COVID-19.

6 Nov 2020

People of color with rheumatic disease have worse COVID-19 outcomes

New research at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatology's annual meeting, reveals that people of color with rheumatic disease have worse health outcomes from COVID-19 infection, are more likely to be hospitalized to treat their coronavirus infection, and are more likely to require invasive ventilator treatment

6 Nov 2020

Study shows low incidence of COVID-19 infection in people with rheumatic diseases

A new study shows that the COVID-19 infection incidence has been low in people with rheumatic diseases, and most of those infected experience a mild course of illness.

6 Nov 2020

VA joins Pentagon in recruiting volunteers for COVID vaccine trials

The Department of Veterans Affairs is recruiting 8,000 volunteers for the Phase 3 clinical trials of at least four COVID-19 vaccine candidates at 20 federal medical facilities across the U.S., according to officials with the VA and Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration's initiative to fast-track a coronavirus vaccine.

6 Nov 2020

How escalating COVID cases forced one state to change its masking strategy

In Montana's conservative Flathead County, prosecutors and local leaders were turning a blind eye to businesses that flouted state mask and social distancing mandates, even as the area's COVID infections climbed to their highest levels.

6 Nov 2020

Study shows iscan method could be effective for rapid COVID-19 testing

A simple COVID-19 test kit combines virus amplification with a CRISPR-Cas system for effective SARS-CoV-2 detection. The kit, called iSCAN, uses reagents that can be locally manufactured.

6 Nov 2020