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.

Mental health of undocumented college students worst hit by COVID-19 pandemic

A new study by researchers at Delaware State University and published on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 reports that the impact on mental health is disproportionately felt among undocumented immigrants studying in US colleges.

5 Oct 2020

Study fails to establish independent risk factors for SARS-COV-2 infection in HIV patients

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread worldwide, a new study published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases in September 2020 reports that people with HIV infection are not at greater risk of COVID-19 compared to the general population.

5 Oct 2020

Individual and socioeconomic factors associated with COVID infection, hospitalization and death

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is actively spreading across nations, with millions of people affected. In the United States alone, more than 7.45 million people have been infected, and more than 210,000 have died.

5 Oct 2020

Most Australians favourable to a COVID-19 vaccination

Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* by scientists at the University of New South Wales aimed to determine the public perfections regarding a future COVID-19 vaccine in Australia. They wanted to know if Australians would get the vaccine if one becomes available.

5 Oct 2020

COVID-19 spread rebounds quickly after relaxation of social distancing measures

Across the U.S., the relaxation of statewide physical distancing measures that are designed to control the COVID-19 pandemic frequently resulted in an immediate reversal of public health gains against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and colleagues reported.

5 Oct 2020

Advanced model reveals dynamic motions of SARS-COV-2 spike-shielding glycans

A recent paper published on the preprint server bioRxiv in September 2020 discusses the dynamic interactions of the spike protein glycan shield, which may be of great value in developing therapeutic compounds to fight severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

5 Oct 2020

Women, workers of color facing safety risks at high-hazard jobs

When exploring data on Washington workers during the pandemic -- demographics, working conditions, wages and benefits, and risks of exposure to disease -- the authors of a new report found that women hold two-thirds of the jobs in the harshest category of work.

5 Oct 2020

NIST technique could improve detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus

A multidisciplinary research team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a way to increase the sensitivity of the primary test used to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19.

5 Oct 2020

Wyss Institute’s technologies licensed to Agile Biodetection to aid COVID-19 diagnostic efforts

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University announced today that its nasopharyngeal swab and toehold switch technologies have been licensed to Alabama-based Agile Biodetection, which will use them to develop solutions for unmet diagnostic needs in the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in environmental or clinical settings.

5 Oct 2020

New research project to examine primary health care for people with mental illness

For those living with serious mental illness, ensuring primary care providers do not overlook their chronic health problems is essential because hospitalization and, even, death from chronic health issues is a real risk.

5 Oct 2020

WHO survey: COVID-19 halted mental health services in 93% of countries

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide while the demand for mental health is increasing, according to a new WHO survey.

5 Oct 2020

Will COVID-19 become a seasonal virus?

In this interview, Dr. Hadi Yassine and Dr. Hassan Zaraket speak about their research into whether COVID-19 will become a seasonal virus.

5 Oct 2020

Midges and mosquitoes unlikely to spread SARS-CoV-2

A recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in September 2020 looked to see if biting insects pose a risk for transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to humans or animals following a SARS-CoV-2 infected blood meal.

5 Oct 2020

Sebum changes in COVID-19 patients, for future testing and prognosis

Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 shows that sebum lipids change in COVID-19. This could help develop a cheap and straightforward method of non-invasive diagnosis.

5 Oct 2020

Viral loads peak before symptom onset in COVID-19

By reviewing published literature on viral loads and viral shedding, researchers found that viral loads for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)peak before symptoms are seen. This has substantial implications for prevention strategies.

5 Oct 2020

Feasibility of using dry reagents LAMP assay for SARS-CoV-2 detection

In a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv, researchers evaluated the suitability of the Loopamp SARS-CoV-2 Detection kit from Eiken Chemica, Japan, for detecting SARS-CoV-2. This is a LAMP method that uses dry reagents for RNA amplification.

5 Oct 2020

Researchers determine the predictability of Ebola's trajectory in China and throughout Southeast Asia

What exactly happened in Asia that caused SARS-CoV-2 to rapidly spread across the region and then essentially came to a halt there? That's what researchers from the University of South Florida are trying to determine in a new study funded by an NSF Rapid Response grant.

5 Oct 2020

Study: Virtual follow-up care is just as beneficial as those who meet face-to-face

Surgical patients who participate in virtual follow-up visits after their operations spend a similar amount of time with surgical team members as those who meet face-to-face.

5 Oct 2020

An effective Origami mask for COVID-19

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in September 2020 reports constructing disposable masks using simple paper folding or origami steps, from filter material. This could make mask-wearing more acceptable and their construction less cumbersome.

5 Oct 2020

AbC-19 blood test detects COVID-19 antibodies 20 weeks after first symptoms/PCR positive result

Serological antibody immunoassays are one of the essential tools to combat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. In a new study, Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies are detected in a large cohort, lasting up to 140 days. The researchers propose an alternative to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive status as a standard for assessing SARS-CoV-2 antibody assays and show robust performance metrics for the AbC-19 rapid test.

5 Oct 2020