Disease/Infection News

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An inverse relationship between smoking and COVID-19

Researchers at the University of Washington and Stanford University School of Medicine have reported a significant inverse relationship between current smoking and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality rates across forty countries.

15 Jun 2020

NIH launches a centralized, secure enclave to store and study COVID-19 patient data

The National Institutes of Health has launched a centralized, secure enclave to store and study vast amounts of medical record data from people diagnosed with coronavirus disease across the country.

15 Jun 2020

Identifying early routes of SARS-CoV-2 introduction to Los Angeles

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, have described for the first time, the likely sources of acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) introduction to the Los Angeles community.

15 Jun 2020

UIC clinical trial to soon test a vaccine for COVID-19

The University of Illinois at Chicago will soon test a vaccine for COVID-19.

15 Jun 2020

Deep vein thrombosis common in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19

In their paper available on the medRxiv preprint server, researchers from Russia showed that patients with moderate and severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have a high incidence of deep vein thrombosis – indicating that they may necessitate an early administration of anticoagulation therapy as a part of their treatment regimen.

15 Jun 2020

Nasal swab tests miss low viral SARS-CoV-2

A recent study by researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, currently available on the preprint server medRxiv, demonstrates how nasal swab samples reliably detect patients infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that present with high viral loads, but may miss many patients with lower viral loads – questioning their role as a sole specimen for diagnostic purposes.

15 Jun 2020

Developing a new rapid test for COVID-19

News-Medical speaks to Professor Matt Gibson about his groundbreaking research where his team has developed a new rapid test for COVID-19 detection.

15 Jun 2020

COVID-19 transmission from mother to baby during pregnancy is uncommon

Transmission of COVID-19 from mother to baby during pregnancy is uncommon, and the rate of infection is no greater when the baby is born vaginally, breastfed or allowed contact with the mother, according to a new study.

15 Jun 2020

Combination of nelfinar and amodiaquine shows promise for treating COVID-19

Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 7.4 million people have been infected, and more than 410 000 have died. As yet, there is no treatment or vaccine for the disease.

15 Jun 2020

New project could help healthcare providers plan for coronavirus consequences

Could COVID-19 harm patients after the infection has gone? Members of the EUROMENE COST Action are adapting their work on chronic fatigue syndrome to coronavirus patients.

15 Jun 2020

A teen’s death from COVID

It started as a normal day. Dawn Guest, 54, got up and headed out to her job as a nurse around 5 a.m. She heard her 16-year-old son, Andre, stirring in his room, but he had always been an earlier riser, even when his school was shut for COVID-19.

15 Jun 2020

Researchers are developing new diagnostic tool for rapid detection of coronavirus

Coronavirus diagnostics currently require centralized facilities and collection/distribution of swabs and results are 'next day'.

15 Jun 2020

GlobalData: New Zealand’s aggressive approach to control COVID-19 spread has proven to be effective

After a little over 100 days since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 reported on 28 February 2020, New Zealand has lifted almost all restrictions after reporting no active cases in the country.

15 Jun 2020

Clear COVID-19 testing strategy needed before re-opening the U.S. economy, says GlobalData

Contact tracing is a tried and true strategy for reducing the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, as demonstrated in many countries such as South Korea and Taiwan.

15 Jun 2020

Experts recommend tweezers to protect children from ticks

Not all bloodsuckers are created equal in parents' eyes. When it comes to bug bites, parents are twice as likely to be concerned about ticks as they are about mosquitoes transmitting disease, a new national poll finds.

15 Jun 2020

Chimeric reference standards for validating controls in SARS-CoV-2 tests

A preliminary study by researchers from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and the University of New South Wales and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 reports the use of chimeric design to produced reference standards for diagnostic tests. This could allow a highly flexible approach to the development of different genetic features in the same test, even for organisms that are not directly related.

15 Jun 2020

Tuberculosis and polio vaccines may offer temporary protection against SARS-CoV-2

As the world grapples with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, scientists race to develop an effective vaccine to protect against the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus. While potential vaccines are still being developed and tested, researchers propose that existing vaccines could give the immune system a temporary boost to ward off infection.

14 Jun 2020

Glycans "lock and load" the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein for infection

A new study by scientists from the University of California San Diego, USA and Maynooth University, Ireland and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in June 2020 reports preliminary results showing that the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2, as well as its glycan coat, has “hitherto unseen functional and structural” properties. These may be useful in designing novel therapeutics to target this molecule.

14 Jun 2020

Hydroxychloroquine ineffective in animal SARS-CoV-2 infection

A new study by scientists from the U.S and U.K. and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 reports that there is no evidence of efficacy for the drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) against infection with SARS-CoV-2 in hamsters or macaque models. This finding does not support the current widespread prophylactic and therapeutic use of HCQ in COVID-19.

14 Jun 2020

Steroidal drugs subvert SARS-CoV-2 interaction with ACE2 receptors

A new study by Italian researchers and published online on the preprint server bioRxiv* in June 2020 reports the ability of several existing steroidal drugs to reduce the binding of the SARS-CoV-2 to the ACE2 receptor. This could help define newer strategies using viral entry blockers to reduce viral load.

14 Jun 2020