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 study reports on extremely potent human monoclonal antibodies for SARS-CoV-2

Researchers have recovered and identified the various types of neutralizing antibodies for SARS-CoV-2 from convalescent COVID-19 patients. Of these, they identified three that are extremely potent and could be used to develop treatment therapies.

11 Oct 2020

Vaccines likely to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 D614G mutation

The emergence of the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mutation D614G has raised many questions, including whether it will cause the virus to become resistant to the vaccines produced against earlier versions of the virus. A new study published in the journal npj Vaccines in October 2020 shows that this may be an unfounded fear.

11 Oct 2020

Rapid and sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 with functionalized magnetic nanoparticles

A recent study published on the preprint server arXiv in October 2020 shows the potential for using functionalized magnetic nanoparticles to detect the presence of the virus in a sample.

11 Oct 2020

Analysis of existing comorbidities and COVID-19 mortality

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, and research related to potential risk factors for COVID-19 mortality continues, it is becoming clear that individuals with underlying comorbidities have a greater risk of death from COVID-19. The exact contribution of different comorbidities is unclear, however. Now, a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE dissects this topic and may help to quantify the risk posed by specific conditions and offer help with the prognosis.

11 Oct 2020

Pathways contributing to hypercoagulability in severe SARS‐CoV‐2 patients

In a study by researchers explored the possible mechanisms of the clotting disorder, focusing on the role of hypoxia-related activation of coagulation factors; cytokine storm, activation of neutrophils, and the release of neutrophil extracellular traps.

11 Oct 2020

New age and sex-specific model of COVID-19 transmission

Researchers at the University of Rostock in Germany have developed a model of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission that considers subdivisions of age and sex to provide better insights into the impact that increased contact rates might have on the risk of infection and mortality.

11 Oct 2020

Exciting findings on CD8 T cell response in recovered COVID patients

An international team of scientists has identified novel T cell-recognized epitopes spanning different proteins of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in COVID-19 recovered patients. The scientists have also revealed phenotypical characteristics of the T cell population.

11 Oct 2020

WVU receives $1.2 million to bring telehealth capabilities to rural emergency departments

Rural emergency departments often lack the medical specialists who staff larger, urban hospitals. Yet rural patients have the same conditions--and need the same prompt care--that people in cities do.

9 Oct 2020

Ottawa Public Health receiving new metric to help measure COVID-19 levels in wastewater

Ottawa Public Health is receiving new metric to help measure levels of COVID-19 in the community: wastewater.

9 Oct 2020

Study compares the effect of hydroxychloroquine versus favipiravir in SARS-CoV-2−infected hamsters

Virologists at the Rega Institute have shown that the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine does not limit SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus replication in hamsters.

9 Oct 2020

Investment in PPE for health care workers saves lives, provides substantial economic return

Providing adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) for all health care workers around the world requires an initial investment of billions of dollars, but the returns on that investment could be close to 8000% in productivity gains, according to a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Nicholas Risko of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and colleagues.

9 Oct 2020

Exuberant activation of immune cells in severe COVID-19 resembles lupus

In severe cases of COVID-19, Emory researchers have been observing an exuberant activation of immune cells, resembling acute flares of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease.

9 Oct 2020

Key insights into harnessing the tools of population health to combat COVID-19

Battling the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing for the inevitable next surge requires a data-driven population health approach.

9 Oct 2020

COVID-19-related social distancing measures reduce noise exposure nearly in half

People's exposure to environmental noise dropped nearly in half during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, according to University of Michigan researchers who analyzed data from the Apple Hearing Study.

9 Oct 2020

Over $1 million CIHR funding for six uOttawa COVID-19 mental health projects

Six University of Ottawa-affiliated projects focusing on COVID-19's impact on mental health have won important funding grants totaling over $1 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

9 Oct 2020

Stigma against D.O.s had been dissipating until Trump’s doctor took the spotlight

Dr. Katherine Pannel was initially thrilled to see President Donald Trump's physician is a doctor of osteopathic medicine.

9 Oct 2020

As Trump touts his ‘great’ COVID drugs, the pharma cash flows to Biden, not him

Pharmaceutical giants Regeneron and Gilead Sciences got the kind of publicity money can't buy this week after President Donald Trump took their experimental drugs for his coronavirus infection, left the hospital and pronounced himself fully recovered.

9 Oct 2020

Study examines ways to improve prone positioning for severe ARDS during COVID-19 pandemic

A new study published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society examines ways to increase the use of prone positioning for patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and develops specific implementation strategies that can assist in clinicians' response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

9 Oct 2020

Most countries are failing to invest in nature-related economic reforms, shows study

The COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to reset the global economy and reverse decades of ecosystem and species losses, but most countries are failing to invest in nature-related economic reforms or investments, according to a Rutgers-led paper.

9 Oct 2020

Long-lasting antibodies detected in blood and saliva of COVID-19 patients

Two separate studies have documented the persistence of antibodies that target SARS-CoV-2 in hundreds of patients with COVID-19 at least 3 months after symptom onset.

9 Oct 2020

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

New study reports on extremely potent human monoclonal antibodies for SARS-CoV-2

Vaccines likely to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 D614G mutation

Rapid and sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 with functionalized magnetic nanoparticles

Analysis of existing comorbidities and COVID-19 mortality

Pathways contributing to hypercoagulability in severe SARS‐CoV‐2 patients

New age and sex-specific model of COVID-19 transmission

Exciting findings on CD8 T cell response in recovered COVID patients

WVU receives $1.2 million to bring telehealth capabilities to rural emergency departments

Ottawa Public Health receiving new metric to help measure COVID-19 levels in wastewater

Study compares the effect of hydroxychloroquine versus favipiravir in SARS-CoV-2−infected hamsters

Investment in PPE for health care workers saves lives, provides substantial economic return

Exuberant activation of immune cells in severe COVID-19 resembles lupus

Key insights into harnessing the tools of population health to combat COVID-19

COVID-19-related social distancing measures reduce noise exposure nearly in half

Over $1 million CIHR funding for six uOttawa COVID-19 mental health projects

Stigma against D.O.s had been dissipating until Trump’s doctor took the spotlight

As Trump touts his ‘great’ COVID drugs, the pharma cash flows to Biden, not him

Study examines ways to improve prone positioning for severe ARDS during COVID-19 pandemic

Most countries are failing to invest in nature-related economic reforms, shows study

Long-lasting antibodies detected in blood and saliva of COVID-19 patients

Best practices - optimize qPCR processes for pathogen detection eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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