Disease/Infection News

RSS

Mobile phone data shows how Japan averted large-scale outbreaks of COVID-19

Why did Japan largely contain COVID-19 despite famously jam-packed Tokyo and despite the country's proximity to China? With no penalties and only requests for cooperation, Japan's state of emergency somehow averted the large-scale outbreaks seen elsewhere. At least one viable answer has now emerged.

6 Nov 2020

Study may help develop effective drugs against COVID-19

Scientists at the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with Justus-Liebig University, Germany, have uncovered how the genome of SARS-CoV-2 - the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 - uses genome origami to infect and replicate successfully inside host cells.

5 Nov 2020

Study reveals new therapeutic approach for superbug infections

A research team led by Professor Hongzhe SUN, Chair Professor from the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, in collaboration with Dr Pak-Leung HO, Director of the HKU Carol Yu Centre for Infection from the Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine.

5 Nov 2020

Anxiety disorders increase among US citizens during COVID-19 pandemic

Scientists from the University of North Carolina and City University New York have recently revealed that a majority of United States citizens have suffered from anxiety disorders amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Financial adversity is one of the major causative factors for anxiety symptoms. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

5 Nov 2020

A digital CRISPR-based method for quick detection and absolute quantification of SARS-CoV-2

In a recent medRxiv* preprint manuscript, researchers from Singapore and the United States report the development of a digital CRISPR method for the sensitive, specific, and rapid detection of viral nucleic acids at a constant temperature, which could be exploited for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

5 Nov 2020

New Zealand case study shows room for improvement in genomic sequencing of COVID-19 outbreaks

Researchers in New Zealand, the United States and Australia have demonstrated the effectiveness of real-time genomic sequencing at tracking the re-emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in New Zealand, in August this year.

5 Nov 2020

Pre-existing anti-IFN autoantibodies may worsen COVID-19 in lupus patients

“Our observations suggest that the presence of these autoantibodies may predispose SLE patients to infection with SARS-CoV-2 with a more severe presentation and represent an additional risk factor in this patient population,” write Sarthak Gupta and colleagues from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland.

5 Nov 2020

First-time mothers report how the pandemic has disrupted breastfeeding experiences

The COVID-19 pandemic and the implications of physical distancing have disrupted new mothers' birth and breastfeeding experiences even if they are not COVID-19 positive or a person awaiting results.

5 Nov 2020

Persistent and extensive lung damage seen in COVID-19 patients

A team of researchers at the University of Trieste in Italy aimed to determine the extent and the causes of lung damage from COVID-19 to better understand the pathological correlates of the disease.

5 Nov 2020

Llama antibodies could be a potent nanoweapon against COVID-19

Today in Science, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine describe a new method to extract tiny but extremely powerful SARS-CoV-2 antibody fragments from llamas, which could be fashioned into inhalable therapeutics with the potential to prevent and treat COVID-19.

5 Nov 2020

Occupational risk of COVID-19 in 3.5 million Norwegians

A team of researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health have sought to determine which among workers and employees have higher odds of COVID-19 infection in the first and second waves of the outbreak.

5 Nov 2020

Children produce different antibodies in response to infection with new coronavirus

Children and adults produce different types and amounts of antibodies in response to infection with the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, a new study from researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons has found.

5 Nov 2020

COVID-19 patients who experience strokes appear to have worse outcomes

People who experience strokes while infected with COVID-19 appear to be left with greater disability after the stroke, according a study led by UCL and UCLH researchers.

5 Nov 2020

Nanobodies efficiently neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in cells

Two separate studies have identified nanobodies - which could be produced less expensively than monoclonal antibodies - that bind tightly to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and efficiently neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in cells.

5 Nov 2020

Stanford researchers create a highly automated device that can detect COVID-19 in 30 minutes

Throughout the pandemic, infectious disease experts and frontline medical workers have asked for a faster, cheaper and more reliable COVID-19 test.

5 Nov 2020

Illustrations by Nigerian artist kickstart debate on neglected tropical disease

Illustrations by a local artist in Nigeria are helping health workers and policy makers understand what it's really like to live with a neglected tropical disease (NTD).

5 Nov 2020

Researchers identify antibodies that prevent SARS-CoV-2 from infecting human cells

The ability of SARS-CoV-2 to infect cells depends on interactions between the viral spike protein and the human cell surface protein ACE2.

5 Nov 2020

Study reveals new mechanism underlying immune-cell activation

When antibody-producing immune cells encounter infectious pathogens for the first time, they engage a signal cascade to generate a massive activation signal within seconds.

5 Nov 2020

Study shows T cells can prevent Zika infection in mice

Where Aedes mosquitoes fly, Zika virus may not be far behind. Although the explosive 2015–2016 Zika epidemics in the Americas are behind us, Zika may re-emerge, and "in many countries, Zika may be spreading in silence," says Sujan Shresta, Ph.D., a professor at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI).

5 Nov 2020

Green tea and some fruit juices inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vitro

Green tea, chokeberry juice, and pomegranate juice killed flu and SARS-CoV-2 viruses when incubated with the viruses in vitro. Thus, oral rinsing using these might be effective in preventing COVID-19.

5 Nov 2020