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.

Hot temperatures, air pressure, UV radiation may decrease COVID-19 incidence

A new scientific paper published on the preprint server medRxiv shows that the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness that has spread across the world to kill hundreds of thousands in 2020, shows that weather conditions reduce the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

15 May 2020

Tissue Solutions and CBSB join forces to increase COVID-19 sample availability

The UK’s leading supplier of human tissue samples is joining forces with a Cambridge Biobank to provide COVID-19 samples for scientists.

15 May 2020

Experts urge health systems to fast-track implementation of Patient Blood Management

In a new article published in print Anesthesia & Analgesia, a group of 43 leading experts have called for health systems to fast-track the implementation of Patient Blood Management.

15 May 2020

Research investigates COVID-19 virus origin using artificial intelligence (AI)

The coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic has spread across the globe with unprecedented speed and lethality, killing hundreds of thousands of people and forcing countries’ entire populations to self-quarantine.

15 May 2020

Mental health of 41% of people in the UK is at risk, study reveals

An international study, led by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Spain) spin-off Open Evidence, has revealed that the mental health of 41% of the UK population is at risk as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

15 May 2020

Importance of detecting neutralizing antibody response in recovered COVID-19 patients

In an article published today in Cell Host and Microbe, Professor Kanta Subbarao stressed the importance of detecting a neutralizing antibody response in recovered COVID-19 patients, and of studies of COVID-19 vaccines in animal models.

15 May 2020

Online exercise messages do not match up with national physical activity guidelines

Whether for convenience, cost or comfort, many people look to online resources for fitness and exercise information -- especially when faced with fitness center and gym closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

15 May 2020

Viral shedding seen in plasma donors who have recovered from COVID-19

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that plasma donors who have recovered from the deadly COVID-19 infection were still shedding viral RNA. This could be significant they write in their article titled, “Prolonged viral RNA shedding after COVID-19 symptom resolution in older convalescent plasma donors,” that is published on the preprint server Medrxiv* prior to peer review.

15 May 2020

BGU researcher develops one-minute COVID-19 breath test

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev's Prof. Gabby Sarusi has developed and is now validating a test that identifies carriers of the COVID-19 virus in less than a minute with greater than 90% accuracy and at a dramatically lower price than any other method available.

15 May 2020

A road map to find unanswered questions about COVID-19

There are many unanswered questions about COVID-19. A Kansas State University infectious disease scientist and collaborators are offering a possible research road map to find the answers.

15 May 2020

TUM researchers develop innovative x-ray method for lung diagnostics

Researchers at the Technical University of Munich have developed an innovative x-ray method for lung diagnostics, which they now plan to test in one of its first applications for diagnosis of the respiratory ailment COVID-19 caused by Coronavirus.

15 May 2020

Researchers develop new method to study the effect of long-term oxygen deficiency

Researchers at Luleå University of Technology have developed a method to study how muscle cells in the blood vessels of the lung, permanently contract because of long-term oxygen deficiency.

15 May 2020

Antiviral agent accelerates virus clearance in cases of COVID-19

A team of researchers from have found an antiviral therapy that seems to be an effective treatment for patients with moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

15 May 2020

Pandemic situation in India: Too early to predict outcomes

A new paper published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 suggests that India could be facing the end of a relatively mild outbreak of COVID-19 compared with many other countries.

14 May 2020

COVID-19 and food insecurity in the U.S.

A new paper published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 reports that the measures taken to block the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) such as social distancing and lockdown are associated with widespread effects on food security in the US state of Vermont.

14 May 2020

SARS-CoV-2 will infect 250 million people in Africa

A study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) has predicted that the coronavirus will infect almost one-quarter of a billion people in Africa during the first year of the pandemic. Unless immediate measures are taken to control the spread of the virus, as many as 190,000 of them are likely to die, the researchers warn.

14 May 2020

New insights into SARS-CoV-2 viral diversity

The first comprehensive, large-scale analysis available on the preprint server bioRxiv attempted to identify specific genomic signatures of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strains within and across individual hosts – revealing recombination events, specific geographic profiles, as well as multi-strain and/or superinfections characteristic for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

14 May 2020

Continuously active antiviral coating may reduce the spread of COVID-19

Surfaces coated with a quaternary ammonium polymer have remarkable antiviral properties. They may even be capable of reducing the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in areas with high risk for contamination, such as indoor environments or public places. University of Arizona researchers explain the antiviral potential of these in a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv.

14 May 2020

NIH begins clinical study to evaluate hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for COVID-19

A clinical trial has begun to evaluate whether the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, given together with the antibiotic azithromycin, can prevent hospitalization and death from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

14 May 2020

Study finds increase in home wine consumption during confinement

Among other conclusions, the study also adds that 33% of people polled declare they spend more on wine during confinement. Furthermore, solitary consumption has increased and the phenomenon of digital snacking has emerged.

14 May 2020