Coronavirus News and Research

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WHO underestimates coronavirus' transmissibility

The coronavirus probably has a stronger ability to spread than the World Health Organization has estimated so far. This according to a review of previous studies of the coronavirus' transmissibility performed not least by researchers at Umeå University in Sweden.

14 Feb 2020

Effectiveness of travel bans to control infectious disease outbreaks is mostly unknown

Because of the quick and deadly outbreak in late December of a novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China, now known as COVID-19 – infecting tens of thousands and killing hundreds within weeks, while spreading to at least 24 other countries – many governments, including the United States, have banned or significantly restricted travel to and from China.

14 Feb 2020

Antibiotic resistance poses a growing risk during pandemics

Researchers investigating the drug prescription response to a "superbug" enzyme that renders bacteria resistant to antibiotics are available to discuss why such resistance is posing a growing risk during pandemics such as the current coronavirus.

14 Feb 2020

Facts vs. fears: Five things to help weigh your coronavirus risk

The news about the novel coronavirus in China grows more urgent daily. The number of related deaths is now greater than 1,300, while tens of thousands of people have been infected — most of them in China. People returning to the U.S. from China are quarantined for 14 days.

14 Feb 2020

Experimental antiviral prevents MERS-CoV in rhesus macaques

The experimental antiviral remdesivir successfully prevented disease in rhesus macaques infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), according to a new study from National Institutes of Health scientists.

13 Feb 2020

Is the coronavirus disease outbreak slowing down?

Chinese officials recorded the lowest number of new coronavirus cases in two weeks, supporting a medical adviser’s projection that the outbreak may end by April. Is the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ending soon?

13 Feb 2020

Coronavirus tests public health infrastructure in the heartland

Every weekday at noon since Jan. 27, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Randall Williams gathers his outbreak response team for a meeting on coronavirus.

13 Feb 2020

Coronavirus spread will remain under control and specific groups should not be stigmatized, urges microbiologist

As the global outbreak of coronavirus continues to dominate the headlines, a leading medical microbiologist from Kingston University says it is inevitable the United Kingdom will see more cases, but emphasized the spread of the virus will remain under control and called on people not to stigmatize particular communities.

13 Feb 2020

To fight Chinese outbreak, doctors deploy drugs targeting HIV, malaria and Ebola

As the scientific community scrambles to find a drug that can effectively treat tens of thousands of patients sickened by a new respiratory virus, they are trying some surprising remedies: medicines targeting known killers like HIV, Ebola and malaria.

13 Feb 2020

Study finds no evidence of intrauterine vertical transmission of COVID-19 infection

There is currently no evidence that the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) causes severe adverse outcomes in neonates or that it can pass to the child while in the womb, according to a small observational study of women from Wuhan, China, who were in the third trimester of pregnancy and had pneumonia caused by COVID-19.

12 Feb 2020

Increased hand hygiene at airports can mitigate spread of coronavirus by 37%

As coronavirus spreads across the globe via infected air travelers, authorities are attempting to contain the outbreak and avoid a pandemic.

12 Feb 2020

Mysterious virus found in Brazil puzzles scientists with its unique genetic makeup

A team of Brazilian scientists discovered a puzzling new virus made of genetic material never seen before. But the virus won’t pose a serious health threat to humanity since it seems to only hunt amoebas.

12 Feb 2020

2019 coronavirus virus officially named COVID-19

The novel coronavirus disease, which has spread from China to 24 other countries around the globe, has received its official name – COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

12 Feb 2020

Individual response to Ebola predicted by new method

The Ebola virus produces widely varying reactions, from asymptomatic illness to death, in people depending on the individual's susceptibility. But what drives this difference in response? A new study published in the journal Cell Reports on February 2020 goes one step further in understanding how the immune system reacts to the virus causing varying levels of severity of disease between cases.

11 Feb 2020

MGH researchers uncover potential antiviral drug target for treating infectious diseases

As the coronavirus outbreak shows, viruses are a constant threat to humanity. Vaccines are regularly developed and deployed against specific viruses, but that process takes a lot of time, doesn't help everyone who needs protection, and still leaves people exposed to new outbreaks and new viruses.

11 Feb 2020

Coronavirus can live on common surfaces for nine days - how to kill it

When a new pathogen wreaks havoc on the planet, scientists from across the globe race to understand how it behaves and spreads. Now, scientists have found that the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) can survive on metal, plastic, and glass for as long as nine days.

11 Feb 2020

Coronavirus app detects if you’ve been exposed

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) can spread rapidly, with at least a thousand new infections and a hundred of deaths each day. The epicenter of the outbreak, Wuhan in China, has been locked down since the peak of the outbreak. Now, Chinese officials say they’ve developed a new coronavirus app that tracks people and alerts them if they have been in close contact with the deadly virus.

11 Feb 2020

PolyU develops fully automated, rapid diagnostic platform for detecting respiratory infectious diseases

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University today announced the development of the world's most comprehensive automated multiplex diagnostic system (the System) which includes a fully automated machine and a multiplex full-screening panel for the point-of-care genetic testing of respiratory infectious disease including the 2019-nCoV.

11 Feb 2020

Australian scientists grow live coronavirus virus

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is rapidly spreading across the globe, with the highest magnitude taking a toll on mainland China. Scientists are racing to find a vaccine or a treatment to help contain the virus spread. Now, a team of scientists and health experts in Australia may have found a breakthrough to fight the deadly virus.

11 Feb 2020

Coronavirus could have spread to humans from bats via pangolins

A new research from China reveals that the novel corona virus that has killed hundreds of infected persons in Wuhan from the Hubei province in China and infected thousands across the world could have spread to humans via bats mediated via another species of animals – pangolins.

10 Feb 2020