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.

More than half of COVID-19 patients in Brazil came from Italy

Italy has grappled with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), with more than 139,000 people infected and more than 17,000 people dead. In the first week of March, the number of cases in Italy skyrocketed before the lockdown was set in place. Prior to the country shutting down its border, many people had already left, flocking to other countries in an attempt to escape the virus.

8 Apr 2020

Philadelphia Eagles owner contributes $1 million to Penn Medicine to fight COVID-19 pandemic

Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie today announced a $1 million contribution to Penn Medicine to establish the COVID-19 Immunology Defense Fund, laying the foundation for the world's foremost experts to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic.

8 Apr 2020

Newer drug associated with significantly reduced rates of pulmonary complications

The tragic COVID-19 pandemic is creating new awareness regarding the importance of breathing problems, pneumonia and ventilators.

8 Apr 2020

Air pollution and PM2.5 raise risk of COVID-19 death

According to a new analysis, air pollution is associated with more deaths in the currently raging COVID-19 pandemic. A new American study from researchers at Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, showed that a single unit increase in particle pollution levels in the air could raise the risk of death by 15 percent and that before this pandemic if the air was cleaner, it could have saved many lives.

8 Apr 2020

New study to accelerate early detection of COVID-19 in healthcare professionals

The West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, WVU Medicine, and smart ring maker Oura Health today (April 8) announced a national study designed to accelerate early detection of the COVID-19 virus symptoms and contagiousness.

8 Apr 2020

Ebola drug now being tested against COVID-19

As the coronavirus pandemic claims lives and overwhelms health care systems throughout the world, scientists are closely watching several late-stage trials of the antiviral drug remdesivir.

8 Apr 2020

Infectious diseases from animals likely to cause further pandemics

As humans move to cities to settle, there is a sharp decline in biodiversity leading to several disturbances in the balance and relationship between humans and wild animals. A new study from researchers at the University of California, Davis' One Health Institute, shows that this has led to the spread of zoonotic viruses from animals to humans, such as COVID-19, which has caused a global pandemic involving over 184 countries and territories. The study was published in the latest issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

8 Apr 2020

A simple fix to increase breathing devices for COVID-19 patients

Engineers and scientists in Leeds, UK, have developed a way to turn a sleep apnea machine into a ventilator to treat people with COVID-19.

8 Apr 2020

ESO cautions against consequences of COVID-19 crisis on stroke care

The European Stroke Organisation cautions against the consequences of the Coronavirus-Crisis on stroke care.

8 Apr 2020

World's largest protein connection map reveals cell workings

The human body is comprised of billions of cells. Yet it functions and grows as a single organism, because of trillions of interactions that help various cells recognize and respond to each other via different molecules on their surface or inside the cells. Now, a new study published in the journal Nature in April 2020 describes the first-ever interactome map, to help distinguish healthy interactions and disease-producing ones.

8 Apr 2020

Spanish study shows infections in children occur early in COVID-19 epidemics

With the spread of COVID-19, scientists are finding out more about the disease. One major aspect that is being studied is how the virus affects children. A new report from Spain, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics in April 2020, shows that pediatric populations are infected early in the epidemic and that about 10% of those with symptoms suggestive of infection test positive. Severe infection can also occur among children, requiring hospitalization and intensive care.

8 Apr 2020

Short-term exposure to even low levels of air pollution can affect gene expression

New data from a landmark study done by Monash University researchers in Australia raises significant concerns that even short-term exposure to low level air pollution can affect gene expression, leaving us at risk of other diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

8 Apr 2020

UCF researchers seek novel mask material to catch and kill COVID-19

Masks that protect doctors and nurses from COVID-19 only block the virus before it reaches their faces, but UCF researchers are working to create a protective coating that would include a novel mask material that would catch the virus and kill it within seconds.

8 Apr 2020

Life in refugee camps causes havoc on the health of many children

Greek and Norwegian researchers have conducted a study on the health conditions in six refugee camps in Greece.

8 Apr 2020

Postcard from the edge: L.A. street vendors who can’t stop working

One day last week, on a sunny, beautiful Los Angeles afternoon, 23-year-old Alex Salvador Morales set up shop on a sidewalk near downtown, selling freshly cut pineapple, mango and watermelon in quart-sized plastic cups for $5.

8 Apr 2020

‘When it starts getting into your local hospital, it becomes real’

The folding chairs outside the windows appeared late last month, after the maintenance staff at St. James Parish Hospital labeled each window with a patient room number so families and friends could at least see their loved ones battling COVID-19.

8 Apr 2020

Pandemic delays federal probe into Medicare Advantage health plans

Federal health officials, citing a need to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, have temporarily halted some efforts to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in overpayments made to Medicare Advantage health plans.

8 Apr 2020

Huge asymptomatic pool of coronavirus infected worldwide, say researchers

A startling new report from the University of Göttingen debunks the idea that the official statistics regarding the number of confirmed cases of the pandemic COVID-19 are accurate. It is much more likely, say the researchers, that the official figures which are the basis of government action and of much media analysis represent only about 6% of all infections. If so, they say, there are already tens of millions of infected people worldwide.

8 Apr 2020

Scientists urge public to assess mental health impact of COVID-19 pandemic

Scientists are appealing to the public for help to assess the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the aim to inform and improve future policies concerning pandemics.

8 Apr 2020

Trial assesses tissue plasminogen activator as a treatment for COVID-19-related respiratory failure

A new study published online in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery in March 2020 reports that the anticoagulation drug tPA could be a potential aid in managing respiratory failure in patients with COVID-19.

8 Apr 2020