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.

ATS releases guidance development on restoring elective in-person pulmonary and sleep services

An American Thoracic Society-led international task force has released a guidance document to help guide clinicians on restoring elective in-person pulmonary and sleep services as COVID-19 incidence decreases in their communities.

16 Jul 2020

Researchers develop recommendations to avoid triage of COVID-19 patients

An international expert group led by Mathias Wirth, Professor of Systematic Theology and Ethics at the University of Bern, has developed recommendations for avoiding triage of COVID-19 patients in extreme situations.

16 Jul 2020

Overall mortality of COVID-19 patients admitted in ICUs has reduced considerably, shows study

A systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies from three continents shows overall mortality of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units (ICUs) has fallen from almost 60 per cent at the end of March to 42 per cent at the end of May — a relative decrease of one third.

16 Jul 2020

COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the physical activity of older adults

By now, we're all aware that COVID-19 is especially dangerous for older adults--the older you are, the higher your risk for serious illness and even death if you contract the virus.

16 Jul 2020

Researchers identify distinct immune profiles in COVID-19 patients

Expanding on observations made in smaller patient cohorts, researchers studying immune responses of 125 hospitalized COVID-19 patients identified distinct immune profiles -- "Immunotypes" -- and showed how these signatures correlated with disease severity.

16 Jul 2020

Selective statins may reduce SARS-CoV-2 cell entry and inhibit infection

Statins are a class of drugs often used to control high cholesterol levels in obesity. Now, a study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in July 2020 suggests that statins do not aggravate the risk of COVID-19 infection and may have a small beneficial effect in some cases.

16 Jul 2020

AHA’s Scientific Sessions 2020 goes virtual in light of COVID-19 pandemic

After months of thorough, thoughtful review and discussion, and with a continued commitment to the health and safety of participants and staff, the American Heart Association will present Scientific Sessions 2020 as a 100% virtual experience in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

16 Jul 2020

How do international travel bans effect local COVID-19 epidemics?

Now, a new study published in July 2020 on the preprint server medRxiv* shows that the latter is likely to cause 90% or more of local epidemics and that stringent bans on international travelers are therefore unlikely to affect the course of the local outbreak significantly.

16 Jul 2020

New study offers guidelines on elective orthopedic surgery

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of Americans have had to delay recommended but elective orthopedic surgical procedures, such as joint replacement surgery or knee arthroscopy.

16 Jul 2020

Children with MIS-C have different antibody responses than adults with COVID-19

A new study published on the preprint medRxiv in July 2020 reveals that children with the condition Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) have a distinctly different pattern of antibody generation compared to adults with COVID-19 disease.

16 Jul 2020

Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 placental infection in mild COVID-19

Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in July 2020 reveals evidence of placental infection and hypoxia, despite the lack of serious symptoms in the mother.

16 Jul 2020

Likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 transmission may depend on blood type of spreader and recipient

A modeling study by Dr. Peter Ellis from the University of Kent indicates that ABO incompatibility between infected patients and susceptible individuals may actually decrease the transmissibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by 60% or more. His detailed investigation of such "ABO-interference" can be found on the medRxiv preprint server.

15 Jul 2020

Latent tuberculosis infection in European countries closely correlates with COVID-19 infection

In a recent medRxiv preprint research paper, scientists from India analyzed twenty European countries and showed that the prevalence of exposure to Mycobacterium spp. (which includes BCG vaccine) is consistently negatively correlated with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections.

15 Jul 2020

Study finds significant variability in the accuracy of currently available COVID-19 antibody tests

A new peer-reviewed study by researchers at NSF International and Novateur Ventures finds significant variability in the accuracy of currently available COVID-19 antibody tests.

15 Jul 2020

AIE bioprobes can be an ideal way to detect biomarkers in body fluids

In the pandemic age of telehealth and new technologies, remote site lab or point-of-care (POC) testing of biofluids is a potentially rapid and non-invasive way to test for most diseases - including COVID-19.

15 Jul 2020

Report offers insight into loneliness and social isolation in older adults during COVID-19 pandemic

A joint report published by researchers at the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) and ALONE examines issues of loneliness and social isolation in older adults.

15 Jul 2020

COVID-19 rates among health care workers drop at Mass General Brigham after universal masking

In March of 2020, Mass General Brigham implemented a new policy: everyone working at the hospitals would be required to wear a surgical mask.

15 Jul 2020

States slow to implement social distancing measures saw higher COVID-19 mortality

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the United States, governments at the state and local levels issued emergency declarations and shut down schools.

15 Jul 2020

Study explains why fetuses and newborns are mostly spared by COVID-19

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, it has been previously suggested that the most vulnerable individuals to developing severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) include the elderly, those with underlying health conditions, and those who have weakened immune systems.

15 Jul 2020

Buck researchers investigate ketone bodies as possible therapeutic against COVID-19

Given the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 has on older adults in terms of death and lasting disability, and the impact of common aging-related comorbidities like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, Buck Institute professor and practicing geriatrician John Newman, MD, PhD, can make a compelling argument that those infected with the SARS-CoV2 virus are suffering from an aging-related disease, no matter how old they are when they get infected.

15 Jul 2020

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

ATS releases guidance development on restoring elective in-person pulmonary and sleep services

Researchers develop recommendations to avoid triage of COVID-19 patients

Overall mortality of COVID-19 patients admitted in ICUs has reduced considerably, shows study

COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the physical activity of older adults

Researchers identify distinct immune profiles in COVID-19 patients

Selective statins may reduce SARS-CoV-2 cell entry and inhibit infection

AHA’s Scientific Sessions 2020 goes virtual in light of COVID-19 pandemic

How do international travel bans effect local COVID-19 epidemics?

New study offers guidelines on elective orthopedic surgery

Children with MIS-C have different antibody responses than adults with COVID-19

Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 placental infection in mild COVID-19

Likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 transmission may depend on blood type of spreader and recipient

Latent tuberculosis infection in European countries closely correlates with COVID-19 infection

Study finds significant variability in the accuracy of currently available COVID-19 antibody tests

AIE bioprobes can be an ideal way to detect biomarkers in body fluids

Report offers insight into loneliness and social isolation in older adults during COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 rates among health care workers drop at Mass General Brigham after universal masking

States slow to implement social distancing measures saw higher COVID-19 mortality

Study explains why fetuses and newborns are mostly spared by COVID-19

Buck researchers investigate ketone bodies as possible therapeutic against COVID-19

Best practices - optimize qPCR processes for pathogen detection eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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