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.

U.S. health system underperforms despite massive spending, while Australia and the Netherlands excel

A recent Commonwealth Fund report compares health systems across 10 countries, revealing that the U.S. ranks last overall despite high healthcare spending, with significant gaps in health outcomes, equity, and access to care.

22 Sep 2024

Researchers identify new oscillatory patterns in COVID-19 cases across the U.S.

Researchers discovered previously unrecognized oscillatory trends in COVID-19 cases across the U.S., particularly a north-south oscillation around the 37°-38° north latitude. These patterns highlight the complexity of pandemic dynamics and the importance of understanding regional disease transmission.

22 Sep 2024

Research highlights racial disparities and trends in pediatric firearm homicides

Homicide is a leading cause of death among people 19 and younger in the United States, and firearms are used in a large proportion of these crimes. Although the homicide rate for this population declined in the 1990s and 2000s, it has increased every year since 2013, with a large spike during the COVID-19 pandemic.

20 Sep 2024

New online platform aims to empower Latino families in mental health and behavior

Cory Cobb, PhD, an assistant professor of health behavior at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, is leading a research team that has been awarded a three-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to create an online platform for the intervention program they developed for United States-based Spanish-speaking Latino parents and their children.

20 Sep 2024

Progress made in negotiations for global pandemic prevention agreement

Government-led negotiations on the world's first agreement to protect people from future pandemics made significant progress during the latest round of discussions that ended today at the World Health Organization (WHO).

20 Sep 2024

Study identifies wildlife species likely involved in the origin of SARS-CoV-2

A new international study provides a shortlist of the wildlife species present at the market from which SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, most likely arose in late 2019.

20 Sep 2024

Wastewater monitoring proves effective for tracking foodborne pathogens

First used in the 1940s to monitor for polio, wastewater surveillance proved such a powerful disease monitoring tool that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established the National Wastewater Surveillance System to support SARS-CoV-2 monitoring in September of 2020.

20 Sep 2024

Study shows video games can alleviate PTSD flashbacks

A single treatment session, which includes the video game Tetris, can reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

20 Sep 2024

Fighting staff shortages with scholarships, California bill aims to boost mental health courts

A seemingly innocuous proposal to offer scholarships for mental health workers in California's new court-ordered treatment program has sparked debate over whether the state should prioritize that program or tackle a wider labor shortage in behavioral health services.

20 Sep 2024

Janus particles enable highly precise measurements in microfluidic devices

The importance of testing for diseases was thrust into the limelight during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of us have undergone a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) or ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) test within the past four years.

20 Sep 2024

New research strengthens the case for a zoonotic origin of COVID-19

A new international collaborative study provides a list of the wildlife species present at the market from which SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, most likely arose in late 2019. The study is based on a new analysis of metatranscriptomic data released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

20 Sep 2024

Primary care physicians face rising complexity of mental health concerns

An examination of millions of patient visits to primary care physicians shows that mental health concerns are second only to musculoskeletal complaints in everyday care.

19 Sep 2024

New method identifies biomarkers in wastewater using origami-paper sensors

Researchers at Cranfield University have developed an innovative new method for identifying biomarkers in wastewater using origami-paper sensors, enabling the tracking of infectious diseases using the camera in a mobile phone.

19 Sep 2024

Study highlights disparities in stroke burden across regions

Although stroke is highly preventable and treatable, there has been a rapid rise in the global stroke burden between 1990 and 2021, due to both population growth and the rise of aging populations worldwide, as well as a substantial increase in people's exposure to environmental and behavioral risk factors.

19 Sep 2024

Data analysis sheds light on youth opioid overdose crisis

Drug overdose mortality has risen faster among adolescents than the general population in recent years, largely due to fentanyl, a potent opioid pain medication. A new study published in JAMA sheds light on trends in nonfatal opioid overdoses in youth – an area that was not as well characterized, but key to formulating prevention strategies to save lives.

19 Sep 2024

Antibiotic resistance threatens millions of lives worldwide

More than 39 million people around the world could die from antibiotic-resistant infections over the next 25 years, according to a study published in The Lancet.

18 Sep 2024

Tennessee tries to rein in Ballad’s hospital monopoly after years of problems

Ballad Health, an Appalachian company with the nation's largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly, may soon be required to improve its quality of care or face the possibility of being broken up.

18 Sep 2024

The impact of poverty on child development

After the pandemic, the gap between rich and poor has widened dramatically worldwide, and Norway and the United States are no exception. In the U.S., about one in five kids are growing up in families that struggle to afford even basic needs. In Norway, that number is around eleven percent.

18 Sep 2024

Survey reveals significant gaps in global pandemic preparedness

Abbott announced the findings of a new survey; among leading infectious disease experts around the world on the state of pandemic preparedness and found that while most agree that preparation has improved since the COVID-19 pandemic, respondents say significant gaps remain in building surveillance programs to identify emerging pathogens, public health funding and having adequate testing infrastructure capabilities.

18 Sep 2024

Telehealth app found to improve retention rates in opioid use disorder treatment

Patients who initiated treatment for opioid use disorder through a telehealth mobile app stayed with treatment at a greater rate over six months than those who started treatment in a physical clinic, a new study led by Oregon Health & Science University found.

17 Sep 2024