Severe Acute Respiratory News and Research

RSS

Study estimates impact of amino acid changes on SARS-CoV-2 infection

New research led by Costas D. Maranas from The Pennsylvania State University predicts amino acid changes to the receptor-binding domain of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein would negatively impact binding affinity and subsequent infection into human cells.

31 Mar 2021

Study reports on two cats that caught COVID-19

Our feline friends are also vulnerable to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, according to new research posted to the preprint server bioRxiv. The researchers diagnosed two cats living in France with mild symptomatic COVID-19 illness. The virus was most likely transmitted from their owners.

31 Mar 2021

Risk of SARS-CoV-2 from reinfected individuals with previous infection or vaccination

A technical report recently published by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has summarized all available literature regarding the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission from asymptomatic reinfected individuals with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination.

31 Mar 2021

Are marine mammals are at risk of COVID-19?

Researchers have identified a number of marine mammal species native to Italian seawaters that may be highly susceptible to the disease. Additionally, these species inhabit ocean areas where the virus may be present even after receiving sewage treatment, thus highlighting the need for strict sewage improvement plans.

31 Mar 2021

Researchers evaluate antibodies that inhibit SARS-CoV-2 RBD variants with a novel assay

A team of researchers recently discussed the potential role of a new assay in bridging a major gap in SARS-CoV-2 research. This assay can throw light on 1) the selection of complementary monoclonal antibody candidates and 2) rapid identification of the immune escape to emerging RBD variants following vaccination or natural infection.

31 Mar 2021

Male fetuses impair the maternal and placental immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy, finds study

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is now established to be more likely to lead to symptomatic and serious illness in males relative to females. This may extend as far back as pregnancy, suggests a recent study.

31 Mar 2021

Obesity and ethnicity identified as key risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 exposure in UK

The risk factors for severe COVID-19 have been established on the basis of observational studies. However, SARS-CoV-2 continues to cause thousands of COVID-19 cases all over the world, and the risk factors are unclear. A new study deals with this aspect of the pandemic.

31 Mar 2021

Infliximab may hinder the effectiveness of some COVID-19 vaccines

A new study reports reduced vaccine efficacy following the use of a single COVID-19 vaccine dose in people who are on the immunosuppressive monoclonal antibody Infliximab.

31 Mar 2021

Asymmetrical vaccine distribution could promote vaccine evading mutations in SARS-CoV-2

Researchers have investigated the ultimate influence of unequal vaccine distribution by mathematical modeling, revealing the critical role of fair distribution in future COVID-19 containment strategy.

31 Mar 2021

SARS-CoV-2 inhibits the cellular response to interferon

Researchers have explored the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the function of RIG-I and MDA5, and ultimately on interferon production.

31 Mar 2021

Development of a model of substrate coordination to Zn-bound ACE2

The ongoing coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has claimed more than 2.8 million lives worldwide. Authorities are facing difficulty in preventing the spread of disease due to the highly infectious nature of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, reducing the virus's ability to infect an individual's respiratory epithelial cells could prove an effective measure to prevent disease transmission.

31 Mar 2021

Study of twins reveals differences in adaptive immunity towards SARS-CoV-2

Twins may look alike on the outside, but not so much on the inside. That's one takeaway from a new preprint study posted to the medRxiv server where Brazilian researchers observed different T-cell responses in two pairs of identical twins exposed to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). One twin who was reinfected with SARS-CoV-2 four months after had low recognition of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell epitopes.

31 Mar 2021

New coronavirus variant with E484K mutation detected in Arizona

Arizona joins the ever-growing list of American states harboring a variant of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A study led by Efrem S. Lim of Arizona State University confirms evidence of the B.1.243.1 with an E484K mutation on the spike protein.

30 Mar 2021

Impact of COVID-19 on mental health in the US: CDC report

The study, published in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), underlies the importance of evaluating the impact of strategies addressing adult mental health status during the pandemic. This way, these can help plan strategies and interventions for the affected groups.

30 Mar 2021

mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective among front liners, CDC study shows

The study, published in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), highlights the efficacy of mRNA vaccines in protecting against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

30 Mar 2021

SARS-CoV-2 mutation T478K spreading at alarming speed in Mexico

Several SARS-CoV-2 variants have emerged, posing a renewed threat to COVID-19 containment and to vaccine and drug efficacy. In this study, we analyzed more than 820,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences deposited up to March 26, 2021 and identified a novel T478K mutation located on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein.

30 Mar 2021

Comparing the transmission routes of two SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern

The research team had previously identified the UK variant as having higher viral RNA shedding than the D614G variant. However here, they wanted to compare the transmission of such variants through different routes of potential infection: direct contact, aerosol (airborne droplets), and fomite (objects which may be contaminated and therefore spread infectious agents).

30 Mar 2021

Researchers examine the evolutionary race between SARS-CoV-2 and human defenses

Researchers have analyzed this evolution of the virus based on evolutionary ecology theory. Using the virus genomes available in the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) database, the researchers focused their inquiry on mutations in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2.

30 Mar 2021

Researchers develop novel test that screens for SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern

A team of scientists from the United States has recently developed a single-tube duplex molecular assay for rapid detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants containing E484K and N501Y spike mutations.

30 Mar 2021

Single dose of Pfizer and Oxford vaccines shows 60% efficacy in elderly care home residents

A new study deals with the effect of two widely used vaccines in eliciting humoral immunity against the virus in this group. These are the Oxford/AstraZeneca viral-vectored vaccine (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19), and the Pfizer/BioNTech’s messenger RNA-based vaccine (BNT162b2). Both express the viral spike antigen, and both are currently being employed in the UK’s vaccination program.

30 Mar 2021