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.

HKUST researchers unveil eco-friendly disinfectant alternative to chloroxylenol

A widely used disinfectant worldwide, chloroxylenol, has been associated with eco-toxicological threats in water environments due to its relatively high chemical stability and massive consumption.

6 Sep 2024

Artificial lymphoid organ-chips created to predict vaccine responses in humans

Researchers at the Institut Pasteur in France have developed artificial "lymphoid organ-chips" that recreate much of the human immune system's response to booster vaccines

6 Sep 2024

New DELIVER guidelines aim to accelerate nanomedicine development

They're tiny drug-delivery systems 1000 times smaller than a human hair, but while nanomedicines have long been hailed as the future for treating debilitating and life-threatening diseases, their journey from lab to patient has many challenges.

6 Sep 2024

Errors in Deloitte-run Medicaid systems can cost millions and take years to fix

The computer systems run by the consulting giant Deloitte that millions of Americans rely on for Medicaid and other government benefits are prone to errors that can take years and hundreds of millions of dollars to update.

5 Sep 2024

Boom, now bust: Budget cuts and layoffs take hold in public health

Even as federal aid poured into state budgets in response to the covid-19 pandemic, public health leaders warned of a boom-and-bust funding cycle on the horizon as the emergency ended and federal grants sunsetted.

5 Sep 2024

A call for robust H5N1 influenza preparedness and response

As the global threat of H5N1 influenza looms with outbreaks across species and continents including the U.S., three international vaccine and public health experts say it is time to fully resource and support a robust strategy to address this and future potential pandemic influenza threats, including to consider voluntary vaccination for those now at exposure risk.

5 Sep 2024

Semaglutide reduced mortality in obese patients by lowering infection-related deaths during COVID-19 pandemic

Semaglutide significantly reduces all-cause mortality in non-diabetic obese patients, particularly by lowering infection-related deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the study's findings should be interpreted with caution due to potential competing risks and unique pandemic circumstances.

5 Sep 2024

Study aims to find new ways of alleviating the long-term effects of COVID-19

An innovative study for the treatment of post-COVID syndrome (PCS) is starting under the direction of Frankfurt University Hospital’s Department of Infectious Diseases.

4 Sep 2024

WHO unveils global framework for investigating origins of novel pathogens

With the support of the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), the World Health Organization (WHO) has published a global framework to help Member States comprehensively investigate the origins of new and re-emerging pathogens.

4 Sep 2024

Immune cells prevent the lungs' protective barrier from healing after viral infections

Investigators involved in a multicenter study co-led by Cedars-Sinai discovered a pathway by which immune cells prevent the lungs' protective barrier from healing after viral infections like COVID-19.

4 Sep 2024

Study finds Lassa fever infection rates to be far greater than previously believed

The first-ever detailed estimate of the real damage done by Lassa fever, a virus endemic to West Africa, has found that it infects 2.7 million people a year, ten times more than health agencies had assumed.

4 Sep 2024

Lifestyle interventions in patients after colorectal cancer treatment

A recent RCT reveals the HEAL ABC intervention is feasible for 87% of colorectal cancer survivors, supporting healthy lifestyle changes and improved well-being.

4 Sep 2024

New approach to treat post-COVID symptoms

In a world still grappling with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, a team of international researchers has proposed a novel approach to treating the persistent symptoms that plague many survivors of viral infections. The study, published on 30 August 2024 in Brain Medicine (ISSN: 2997-2639, Genomic Press, New York), outlines a multimodal treatment strategy that could offer hope to millions suffering from post-acute infectious syndromes (PAIS), including the condition commonly known as Long COVID.

4 Sep 2024

Newly discovered antibody can neutralize all known variants of SARS-CoV-2

Researchers have discovered an antibody able to neutralize all known variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as distantly related SARS-like coronaviruses that infect other animals.

3 Sep 2024

UNICEF issues emergency tender for mpox vaccine procurement

UNICEF today announced that it has issued an emergency tender for the procurement of mpox vaccines. Vaccines can play a critical role in containing the mpox outbreak which was declared a public health emergency by both the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

2 Sep 2024

COVID-19 treatment reporting in U.S. media lacked scientific rigor, study says

A study in JMIR Infodemiology reveals how U.S. media reports on early COVID-19 therapies often lacked scientific evidence and highlighted uncertainties, contributing to misinformation and public mistrust.

2 Sep 2024

Long COVID symptom severity varies widely by age, gender, and socioeconomic status

Study analyzes self-reported long COVID symptoms through a healthcare app, revealing that symptom severity significantly varies by demographic factors such as age, gender, race, education, and socioeconomic status.

2 Sep 2024

Wearable heart monitor for AF screening increases diagnoses but not stroke prevention

Screening for atrial fibrillation (AF) using a wearable heart monitor for 2 weeks can identify older adults with this potentially dangerous abnormal heart rhythm, but does not prevent subsequent strokes, according to late breaking research presented in a Hot Line Session at this year's ESC Congress 2024 in London, UK (30 Aug - 2 Sept).

2 Sep 2024

Study finds wearable monitors effective in diagnosing atrial fibrillation

Wearable, long-term continuous heart monitors helped identify 52% more cases of atrial fibrillation compared to usual care, but that did not lead to a reduction in hospitalizations due to stroke, according to a study led by the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

1 Sep 2024

Digital consultations improve medication optimization in heart failure patients

Patients with heart failure, a condition affecting more than 60 million worldwide, are four times more likely to receive the optimal combination of medications after 12 weeks of digital consultations.

1 Sep 2024