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.

Antiviral drug molnupiravir linked to new mutations in SARS-CoV-2

Molnupiravir, an antiviral drug used to treat patients with COVID-19, appears to be driving SARS-CoV-2 to mutate and evolve, with some of these new viruses being transmitted onwards, a new study has shown.

26 Sep 2024

Brief behavioral intervention reduces intrusive memories of trauma in healthcare workers post-COVID-19

Researchers examine whether a cognitive task can reduce intrusive memories in healthcare workers exposed to traumatic experiences during the pandemic.

26 Sep 2024

Genetic factors that make the bacteria behind cholera so dangerous uncovered

Study reveals key genetic factors in Vibrio cholerae O1 that drive cholera transmission and severity, highlighting targets for novel therapeutic strategies.

26 Sep 2024

Nursing aides plagued by PTSD after ‘nightmare’ covid conditions, with little help

One evening in May, nursing assistant Debra Ragoonanan's vision blurred during her shift at a state-run Massachusetts veterans home.

26 Sep 2024

Childhood obesity: How the first 2,000 days hold the key to lifelong health

Researchers reveal that early life factors, especially within the first 2,000 days, play a critical role in shaping future obesity risk. Addressing these factors with integrated interventions could combat the global childhood obesity crisis.

26 Sep 2024

Drug-free nasal spray demonstrates effectiveness in blocking viral and bacterial infections

Researchers from the Brigham detail how the spray they created may offer broad-spectrum protection from respiratory infections by COVID-19, influenza, everyday cold viruses, and pneumonia-causing bacteria

25 Sep 2024

H5N1 bird flu is mutating fast and jumping to mammals - could the next pandemic be here?

Researchers reveal how H5N1 viruses rapidly adapted to mammals through genetic reassortment and specific mutations, raising concerns over potential pandemic risks. Evidence from mink, marine mammals, and dairy cattle shows mammal-to-mammal transmission.

25 Sep 2024

COVID-19 pandemic reduced sexual partners and activity in the U.S.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced the number of sexual partners and sexual encounters in the U.S., with non-married women experiencing the most pronounced declines.

24 Sep 2024

Study reveals gaps in outbreak detection resources in Asia

A landmark study led by Duke-NUS Medical School revealed that despite the recent pandemic, outbreak detection efforts remain under-resourced in South and Southeast Asia, with only about half the countries reviewed having integrated pathogen genomic surveillance initiatives in their national plans.

24 Sep 2024

Review highlights failures in global control strategies for bird flu transmission

A review of sustained mammal-to-mammal bird flu transmission in diverse species, led by The Pirbright Institute, shows global control strategies are not working.

24 Sep 2024

Global myopia prevalence among children and teens set to surpass 740 million by 2050

Around 1 in 3 children and teens around the world is short (near)-sighted, with the global prevalence of myopia set to top 740 million cases by 2050 in this age group, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

24 Sep 2024

New Health Impact Investment Platform launches to strengthen primary care

Execution is starting under the new Health Impact Investment Platform on the first country health investment plans turning original commitment into operational reality.

24 Sep 2024

Study shows little rebound in cancer diagnoses post-pandemic

Cancer incidence trends in 2021 largely returned to what they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

24 Sep 2024

Internet searches predict ADHD medication prescriptions during COVID-19

In a groundbreaking study published in Brain Medicine (Genomic Press), UCI researchers have uncovered a striking correlation between internet searches for ADHD medications and actual prescription rates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

24 Sep 2024

Digital health investment could save millions from noncommunicable diseases

An investment today of an additional US$0.24 per patient per year in digital health interventions, such as telemedicine, mobile messaging and chatbots, can help save more than 2 million lives from noncommunicable diseases over the next decade, says a new report released jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and ITU (International Telecommunication Union).

23 Sep 2024

Study shows no increased autism risk for pandemic-era children

Children born during the first year of the pandemic, including those exposed to COVID in utero, were no more likely to screen positive for autism than unexposed or pre-pandemic children, found researchers from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

23 Sep 2024