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.

Danish vs. Swedish data shows social interaction major risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in September 2020 compares the prevalence of antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Danish and Swedish healthcare workers, to conclude that “social interaction is one of the biggest risk factors for getting infected with SARS-CoV-2.”

30 Sep 2020

Study shows how human cells fight viral infections with the emergence of SARS-CoV-2

Science's pursuits of unraveling how human cells fight viral infections kicked into high gear in 2020 with the devastating emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

30 Sep 2020

New research supports evidence of airborne transmission of COVID-19 in enclosed spaces

New research from the University of Georgia supports growing evidence for airborne transmission of COVID-19 in enclosed spaces.

30 Sep 2020

Political leaders and media should acknowledge uncertainties in epidemiological models, shows study

Scientists, policymakers and the media should acknowledge inherent uncertainties in epidemiological models projecting the spread of COVID-19 and avoid "catastrophizing" worst-case scenarios, according to new research from Cornell University.

30 Sep 2020

A TLR2 agonist reduces SARS-CoV-2 in upper respiratory tract of ferret model

In a recent bioRxiv* preprint paper, Professor Miles W. Carroll et al. study an agonist for reducing the SARS-CoV-2's viral load. They show that prophylactic intra-nasal administration of TLR2/6 (toll-like receptor) agonist, INNA-051, reduces viral RNA in the nose and throat, in a ferret model.

30 Sep 2020

COVID-19 has created a perfect storm for people with heart disease

The COVID-19 pandemic is creating a perfect storm for heart health, the World Heart Federation warns on World Heart Day.

30 Sep 2020

COVID-19 has created a perfect storm for people with heart disease

The COVID-19 pandemic is creating a perfect storm for heart health, the World Heart Federation warns on World Heart Day.

30 Sep 2020

Abacus Diagnostica's new multiplex assay provides reliable influenza, COVID-19 diagnosis in 75 minutes

Abacus Diagnostica is a small Finnish company developing and manufacturing assays and devices for rapid molecular diagnostics. Since the beginning of COVID-19 outbreak the company has worked decisively on the development of SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics.

30 Sep 2020

Novel nasal treatment could protect people from COVID-19

A novel nasal treatment developed to boost the natural human immune system to fight common colds and flu, has proved remarkably successful in reducing COVID-19 viral replication test results, released today, reveal.

30 Sep 2020

Survey: 37% of UK consumers say temperature checks are critical to COVID-19 safety

37 per cent of UK consumers have said that since the outbreak of COVID-19, they would be more likely to visit pubs, restaurants and hotels which have temperature checking in place for customer safety.

30 Sep 2020

College football crowds could impact COVID-19 spread

The observed increase in COVID-19 cases coinciding with the reopening of college campuses all over the US has drawn intense scientific attention. A recent paper, by Washington State University researchers, published on the preprint server medRxiv* in September 2020 reports that this threat is directly linked to the holding of in-person sporting events on these campuses.

29 Sep 2020

Genetic defects in patients' immune system may underlie severe COVID-19

Worldwide, otherwise healthy adolescents and young people without underlying conditions are sometimes severely affected by COVID-19, with the viral infection in the worst cases quickly becoming life-threatening. But why is this happening?

29 Sep 2020

Excessive social media use during COVID-19 related to depression and secondary trauma

Can't stop checking social media for the latest COVID-19 health information? You might want to take a break, according to researchers at Penn State and Jinan University who discovered that excessive use of social media for COVID-19 health information is related to both depression and secondary trauma.

29 Sep 2020

Using AI and big data to predict the future spread of COVID-19 cases

During COVID-19, artificial intelligence (AI) has been used to enhance diagnostic efforts, deliver medical supplies and even assess risk factors from blood tests. Now, artificial intelligence is being used to forecast future COVID-19 cases.

29 Sep 2020

Ventilation systems may increase the risk of exposure to novel coronavirus

Ventilation systems in many modern office buildings, which are designed to keep temperatures comfortable and increase energy efficiency, may increase the risk of exposure to the coronavirus, particularly during the coming winter, according to research published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

29 Sep 2020

Australian scientists develop a nasal spray that could stop SARS-CoV-2 infection

The novel product, called INNA-051, is being developed by Ena Respiratory, and laboratory experiments have shown that it reduced viral replication by as much as 96 percent in the animal study. Spearheaded by Public Health England’s (PHE) Deputy Director, Professor Miles Carroll, the new study described the potential treatment and has been published in the open-source preprint server bioRxiv*.

29 Sep 2020

Nasal calcium-rich salts effectively eliminate airborne particles from airways

In a paper published in Molecular Frontiers Journal, researchers from Cambridge, Massachusetts have discovered a more effective way of eliminating airborne particles from airways using nasal calcium-rich salts called FEND, which have potential applications in the fight against Covid-19.

29 Sep 2020

Case fatality rates for COVID-19 and health indicators

Researchers from Turkey and Switzerland collaborated to study the nation-specific case fatality rates for COVID-19 caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The pandemic has affected around 33.5 million people worldwide and killed over 1 million making it one of the largest global health crises in recent memory.

29 Sep 2020

Qatar worker communities may have attained herd immunity against SARS-CoV-2

Now, a recent study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in September 2020 shows the achievement of herd immunity for SARS-CoV-2 infection by at least some expatriate worker communities in Qatar.

29 Sep 2020

Discovery of specific kinase as a novel drug target against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses

By using a modern genome-wide knockout approach to single out coronavirus host factors in human cells, researchers from Rega Institute in Belgium discovered a potential new target that might be exploited for developing drugs against the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, but also future outbreaks of highly pathogenic coronaviruses

29 Sep 2020

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Danish vs. Swedish data shows social interaction major risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection

Study shows how human cells fight viral infections with the emergence of SARS-CoV-2

New research supports evidence of airborne transmission of COVID-19 in enclosed spaces

Political leaders and media should acknowledge uncertainties in epidemiological models, shows study

A TLR2 agonist reduces SARS-CoV-2 in upper respiratory tract of ferret model

COVID-19 has created a perfect storm for people with heart disease

COVID-19 has created a perfect storm for people with heart disease

Abacus Diagnostica's new multiplex assay provides reliable influenza, COVID-19 diagnosis in 75 minutes

Novel nasal treatment could protect people from COVID-19

Survey: 37% of UK consumers say temperature checks are critical to COVID-19 safety

College football crowds could impact COVID-19 spread

Genetic defects in patients' immune system may underlie severe COVID-19

Excessive social media use during COVID-19 related to depression and secondary trauma

Using AI and big data to predict the future spread of COVID-19 cases

Ventilation systems may increase the risk of exposure to novel coronavirus

Australian scientists develop a nasal spray that could stop SARS-CoV-2 infection

Nasal calcium-rich salts effectively eliminate airborne particles from airways

Case fatality rates for COVID-19 and health indicators

Qatar worker communities may have attained herd immunity against SARS-CoV-2

Discovery of specific kinase as a novel drug target against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses

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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