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High-quality masks could prevent viral transmission and reduce COVID-19 deaths

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Georgia Institute of Technology studied the effectiveness of wearing high-quality masks and face coverings for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Their study titled, “High-Quality Masks Can Reduce Infections and Deaths in the US,” was released on the preprint server medRxiv.

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

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

Social media policies can help control HPV vaccine misinformation, shows study

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease and the primary cause of several cancers. Recent estimates indicate that 70-90 percent of HPV-related cancers may be prevented through vaccination.

5 Oct 2020

Quality services at healthcare facilities could reduce ‘devastating’ birth injury

The number of women in Uganda suffering from obstetric fistula will continue to rise if they go to local traditional healers because healthcare facilities with trained staff are inaccessible, a study warns.

5 Oct 2020

FDA and Mexican regulatory counterparts strengthen partnership on food safety

Today, during a virtual ceremony, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and its regulatory counterparts in Mexico - the Federal Commission for the Protection from Sanitary Risks and the National Service of Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety and Quality - enhanced a partnership to work together on food safety in both countries.

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

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

Study: Parents less likely to know when children vape or use other tobacco products

Most parents know or suspect when their child smokes, but they are much more likely to be in the dark if the child vapes or uses other tobacco products, according to a large national study by researchers at UC San Francisco.

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

NPIs reduced SARS-CoV-2 transmission in South Korea

Although some studies examined how public health interventions can help contain COVID-19 outbreaks, not much information was available on public health measures against SARS-CoV-2 transmission, specifically in South Korea.

4 Oct 2020

A comprehensive clinical and genetic model for predicting severe COVID-19 risk

While determining the risk of severe COVID-19, age, and gender are usually the only considerations. A recent preprint paper published in medRxiv, discusses how researchers from Genetic Technologies Limited, Australia, used the UK Biobank data to develop a comprehensive model that can predict severe COVID-19 risk by incorporating comorbidity risk factors, demographic information, and a set of genetic markers.

4 Oct 2020

Identifying cardiopulmonary processes involved in severe COVID-19

Researchers in the United States have identified cardiopulmonary processes that may partly explain why some individuals with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) develop respiratory failure.

4 Oct 2020

Modeling viral clades improves prediction of COVID-19 growth rates

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Connecticut has revealed a correlation between the prevalence of particular clades of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the growth rate of the associated illness coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

4 Oct 2020

Shedding light on origin, transmission, spread of COVID-19 in Norfolk

Researchers in the UK have conducted a large-scale whole-genome sequencing study of clinical samples positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the Norfolk area to shed light on the origins, genetic variation, transmission, and spread of the virus in the region.

4 Oct 2020

800 million children have high lead levels in their blood

As many as 800 million children have dangerously high lead values in their blood. The neurotoxin can cause permanent brain damage.

1 Oct 2020

Parkinson's disease is an independent risk factor for dying from COVID-19, study suggests

A new study of approximately 80,000 patients shows that people with Parkinson's disease (PD) have a 30% higher risk of dying from COVID-19 than people without the neurodegenerative condition.

1 Oct 2020

UB researchers receive grant to help pharmacies build community health worker programs

University at Buffalo researchers have received a grant from the Community Pharmacy Foundation to help add community health workers to pharmacies to better connect patients to critical services and lower health care costs.

1 Oct 2020

$9.1 million NCI grant renewal will support researchers studying retrovirus cancer models

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute and The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine have been awarded a five-year, $9.1 million grant Program Project Grant renewal from the National Cancer Institute.

1 Oct 2020