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.

Kawasaki disease outbreak in children with COVID-19

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has marched its way to almost all parts of the world, with hundreds of thousands of deaths and over 4.5 million cases as of May 15, 2020. One saving grace has been the apparent sparing of children, though the mortality in older people is quite high.

17 May 2020

Host-virus interaction drives adaptive mutation in bat CoV related to SARS-CoVs

Virus and receptor diversity is shaped by the need to evolve advanced weaponry to facilitate virus entry and infection, on the one hand, and host resistance, on the other. A new paper published on the preprint server bioRxiv* shows how this mechanism operates in a bat coronavirus, which is related to the earlier SARS coronavirus.

17 May 2020

Staggered local re-openings could be the best COVID-19 exit strategy

When a new infectious disease appears, the lack of an effective treatment or vaccine strategy often results in the application of non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs) or containment measures, including testing for infection, tracing contacts, and isolating potential sources of infection.

17 May 2020

Inadequate vaccine and epidemic control in the US

A new paper published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 shows that vaccination must be combined with nonpharmacological interventions (NPIs) to achieve rapid and effective control of the ongoing pandemic.

17 May 2020

Researchers investigate safety of convalescent plasma for COVID-19

The current pandemic of COVID-19 seems to be slowing down in various parts of the world, but is far from controlled, as incidence rates rise in new regions. In the absence of an effective vaccine or therapeutic drug, scientists have relied on supportive medical care to treat the sick.

17 May 2020

New and unexplored angle in the binding of SARS-CoV-2 to host cells

Researchers in the Netherlands, Cuba, and Italy have made important discoveries about the carbohydrate-mediated binding of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein to host cell lectin receptors and host lung microbiota.

17 May 2020

Study shows human monoclonal antibodies can effectively neutralize SARS-CoV-2

US researchers have published a proof of concept on the efficacy of human monoclonal antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in laboratory conditions, as well as their pioneering use in a mouse model. The study is available on the preprint server bioRxiv*.

17 May 2020

Study shows broad geographic and evolutionary dispersal of betacoronaviruses from African bats

A research group from Nigeria found evidence of long-distance transmission and dispersal between bat coronaviruses isolated in Africa and the ones Europe and Asia, as described in a new paper available on the preprint server bioRxiv.

17 May 2020

Study: U.S. COVID-19 cases could have been much higher without social distancing measures

As stay-at-home orders are being lifted in some states and extended in others, uncertainty continues to surround the COVID-19 pandemic.

15 May 2020

Computer models provide insights into effectiveness of COVID-19 interventions

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization and the University of Göttingen have now succeeded in analyzing the German COVID-19 case numbers with respect to past containment measures and deriving scenarios for the coming weeks.

15 May 2020

Specific immune cells induced by vaccination are early indicators of vaccine efficacy

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich researchers have shown that a specific class of immune cells in the blood induced by vaccination is an earlier indicator of vaccine efficacy than conventional tests for neutralizing antibodies.

15 May 2020

COVID-19 patients at high risk for developing complications associated with blood clots

When researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, used a combination of two specific blood-clotting tests, they found critically ill patients infected with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) who were at high risk for developing renal failure, venous blood clots, and other complications associated with blood clots, such as stroke.

15 May 2020

Experts publish a review of lung cancer treatments for patients with COVID-19

Lung cancer patients are at heightened risk for COVID-19 and the reported high mortality rate among lung cancer patients with COVID-19 has given pause to oncologists who are faced with patients with not one, but two severe, life-threatening diseases.

15 May 2020

Sociodemographic factors linked to positive SARS-CoV-2 test result in primary care

Older age, being male, deprivation, living in a densely populated area, ethnicity, obesity, and chronic kidney disease are associated with a positive test for COVID-19, according to results from 3,802 people tested for SARS-CoV-2 (including 587 positive tests) in the UK.

15 May 2020

Transition to virtual care during COVID-19 does not limit glycemic outcomes of diabetes inpatients

Data collected over a 15-week period showed that using virtual care to manage diabetes patients in the hospital does not have a negative impact on their glycemic outcomes.

15 May 2020

Antiviral drug can help accelerate recovery of COVID-19 patients, study shows

An international team of researchers led by Dr. Eleanor Fish, emerita scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, and professor in the University of Toronto's Department of Immunology, has shown for the first time that an antiviral drug can help speed up the recovery of COVID-19 patients.

15 May 2020

Interdisciplinary team to develop a new physics-based technology for COVID-19 detection

One of the most challenging aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the lack of testing needed to detect and trace infections--and without adequate testing, government officials do not have the data they need to make the best possible decisions in the interest of public health.

15 May 2020

A measured approach to relaxation of COVID-19 lockdown measures may be necessary

A cautious, measured approach to relaxation of lockdown measures is required to protect the most vulnerable members of society and support the health service, a team of infectious disease experts from the University of Warwick, who have investigated the impact of current lockdown measures upon the spread of COVID-19 in the UK, has found.

15 May 2020

UCI partners with Orange County Health Care Agency for large-scale COVID-19 infection survey

It's almost certain that COVID-19 cases across the nation have been vastly undercounted, since people with few to no symptoms - who may be infected but have immunity - are rarely tested.

15 May 2020

Evidence shows Obama team left a pandemic ‘game plan’ for Trump administration

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell alleged that the Obama administration did not provide the Trump administration with any information about the threat of a possible pandemic during a May 11 Team Trump Facebook Live discussion with Lara Trump.

15 May 2020

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Kawasaki disease outbreak in children with COVID-19

Host-virus interaction drives adaptive mutation in bat CoV related to SARS-CoVs

Staggered local re-openings could be the best COVID-19 exit strategy

Inadequate vaccine and epidemic control in the US

Researchers investigate safety of convalescent plasma for COVID-19

New and unexplored angle in the binding of SARS-CoV-2 to host cells

Study shows human monoclonal antibodies can effectively neutralize SARS-CoV-2

Study shows broad geographic and evolutionary dispersal of betacoronaviruses from African bats

Study: U.S. COVID-19 cases could have been much higher without social distancing measures

Computer models provide insights into effectiveness of COVID-19 interventions

Specific immune cells induced by vaccination are early indicators of vaccine efficacy

COVID-19 patients at high risk for developing complications associated with blood clots

Experts publish a review of lung cancer treatments for patients with COVID-19

Sociodemographic factors linked to positive SARS-CoV-2 test result in primary care

Transition to virtual care during COVID-19 does not limit glycemic outcomes of diabetes inpatients

Antiviral drug can help accelerate recovery of COVID-19 patients, study shows

Interdisciplinary team to develop a new physics-based technology for COVID-19 detection

A measured approach to relaxation of COVID-19 lockdown measures may be necessary

UCI partners with Orange County Health Care Agency for large-scale COVID-19 infection survey

Evidence shows Obama team left a pandemic ‘game plan’ for Trump administration

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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