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.

COVID-19 prevalence in the U.S. has far exceeded the known number of cases

In a new study, National Institutes of Health researchers report that the prevalence of COVID-19 in the United States during spring and summer of 2020 far exceeded the known number of cases and that infection affected the country unevenly.

24 Jun 2021

New class of compounds can stop the reproduction of coronavirus

A human genetic mechanism hijacked by SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus behind the COVID-19 pandemic, to help it spread also makes it vulnerable to a new class of drug candidates, a new study finds.

24 Jun 2021

A study of circulating biomarkers in hospitalized patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 alpha variant

Now, a new study published on the medRxiv* preprint server proposes a rapid method to identify the mutations in B.1.1.7 (N501Y mutation and H69/V70 deletion) and the impact of this variant on various biomarkers in hospitalized patients. This is the first study that correlates the biomarker levels to SARS-CoV-2 variants.

23 Jun 2021

SARS-CoV-2 detection with a simple, inexpensive, and sensitive molecular test

Researchers from the US recently described a rapid molecular test named WHotLAMP for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva. WHotLAMP is easy to use, very sensitive at 3.6 viral RNA copies per microliter of saliva, specific, and inexpensive. This study is published on the medRxiv*preprint serve.

23 Jun 2021

Study finds no evidence for remdesivir's benefit in severe COVID-19 patients

A new analysis of current data indicates that remdesivir does not show efficacy in regulating the severity of the illness.

23 Jun 2021

SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant likely to become dominant in the United States

Researchers have conducted a study showing that the B.1.1.7 lineage of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that emerged in the UK is now rapidly being displaced as the dominant strain in the United States by the variants of concern B.1.617.2 (Delta) and P.1 (Gamma) that emerged in India and Brazil, respectively.

23 Jun 2021

Research suggests people living with HIV/AIDS may be less susceptible to SARS-CoV-2

Researchers in India have conducted a study showing that the seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – was lower among people living with HIV and AIDS than among the general population.

23 Jun 2021

More older adults may have undiagnosed dementia than previously estimated

Only 1 in 10 older adults in a large national survey who were found to have cognitive impairment consistent with dementia reported a formal medical diagnosis of the condition.

23 Jun 2021

CD39+ monocyte count higher in pregnant than non-pregnant COVID-19 patients

A new study published on the bioRxiv* server describes the changes in the representation of a subset of activated monocytes in this group of patients.

23 Jun 2021

New report details the current landscape of Minnesota youth's sexual health

A new report from the University of Minnesota Medical School's Healthy Youth Development - Prevention Research Center (HYD-PRC) highlights that Minnesota youth continue to contract sexually transmitted infections (STIs) at alarmingly high rates, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

23 Jun 2021

Increased severity of COVID-19 in pregnancy

A new preprint on the medRxiv* server provides more evidence that COVID-19 likely causes a more serious phenotype to arise in pregnant women.

23 Jun 2021

New method uses swabs from smartphone screens to accurately detect COVID-19

An accurate, non-invasive, and low-cost method of testing for COVID-19 using samples taken from the screens of mobile phones has been developed by a team led by UCL researchers at Diagnosis Biotech.

23 Jun 2021

Young home isolated people have persistent symptoms six months after acute COVID-19

A paper published in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine on long-COVID, describes persistent symptoms six months after acute COVID-19, even in young home isolated people.

23 Jun 2021

SARS-CoV N protein elicits production of IFN-β by provoking ubiquitination of RIG-I, finds study

A recent study published in Frontiers in Immunology focuses on the roles of the SADS-CoV N protein in IFN suppression during infection.

23 Jun 2021

Assessing the extent of community spread caused by mink-derived SARS-CoV-2 variants

A recent study published in The Innovation evaluated the possibility of community transmission caused by a SARS-CoV-2 variant from an animal.

23 Jun 2021

SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission in the North American deer mouse

A recent study conducted in Canada reports that the North American deer mouse can be infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from humans.

23 Jun 2021

Repurposing immunomodulatory drugs to treat COVID-19

EULAR has released new points to consider on the use of immunomodulatory drugs in the fight against severe COVID-19.

23 Jun 2021

Repeated vaccination could control infection with SARS-CoV-2 variants among infection-naïve individuals

Researchers have suggested that repeated vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 may enable previously uninfected individuals to cope with viral variants.

23 Jun 2021

Indian SARS-CoV-2 variant has unique infection and immune escape strategy say researchers

Researchers have conducted a study suggesting that the B.1.617 lineage of SARS-CoV-2 that emerged in India has evolved a unique strategy.

23 Jun 2021

Recovering from critical COVID-19: A secondary analysis of a UK study

A study has aimed to characterize the severity levels of fatigue as a long-lasting symptom post-COVID-19 in patients who were ICU-survivors.

23 Jun 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

COVID-19 prevalence in the U.S. has far exceeded the known number of cases

New class of compounds can stop the reproduction of coronavirus

A study of circulating biomarkers in hospitalized patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 alpha variant

SARS-CoV-2 detection with a simple, inexpensive, and sensitive molecular test

Study finds no evidence for remdesivir's benefit in severe COVID-19 patients

SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant likely to become dominant in the United States

Research suggests people living with HIV/AIDS may be less susceptible to SARS-CoV-2

More older adults may have undiagnosed dementia than previously estimated

CD39+ monocyte count higher in pregnant than non-pregnant COVID-19 patients

New report details the current landscape of Minnesota youth's sexual health

Increased severity of COVID-19 in pregnancy

New method uses swabs from smartphone screens to accurately detect COVID-19

Young home isolated people have persistent symptoms six months after acute COVID-19

SARS-CoV N protein elicits production of IFN-β by provoking ubiquitination of RIG-I, finds study

Assessing the extent of community spread caused by mink-derived SARS-CoV-2 variants

SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission in the North American deer mouse

Repurposing immunomodulatory drugs to treat COVID-19

Repeated vaccination could control infection with SARS-CoV-2 variants among infection-naïve individuals

Indian SARS-CoV-2 variant has unique infection and immune escape strategy say researchers

Recovering from critical COVID-19: A secondary analysis of a UK study

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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