Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Pandemic forced insurers to pay for in-home treatments. Will they disappear?

After seven days as an inpatient for complications related to heart problems, Glenn Shanoski was initially hesitant when doctors suggested in early April that he could cut his hospital stay short and recover at home — with high-tech 24-hour monitoring and daily visits from medical teams.

23 Jun 2020

Single-dose Israeli vaccine candidate protective against SARS-CoV-2

Now, a new Israeli study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 reports a new recombinant vaccine expressing the S or spike protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to be highly protective with a single dose in an animal model. This could be a gamechanger in the fight to contain the outbreak.

23 Jun 2020

Dire warning on contamination of water and COVID-19 spread

A recent report by scientists in the United Kingdom and Poland and published on the preprint server medRxiv in June 2020 describes the presence of stable severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in water for up to 25 days, with the risk of infection by the contaminated water varying by the country’s environment.

22 Jun 2020

Prior infection provides protection against SARS-CoV-2 virus in hamsters

In an animal model for COVID-19 that shares important features of human disease, scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the University of Tokyo and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai show that prior infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus provides protection against reinfection, and treatment with convalescent serum limits virus replication in their lungs.

22 Jun 2020

UTHealth tests arthritis drug's effect on COVID-19-induced cytokine storm

A drug is being studied for its effectiveness in treating a type of severe immune overreaction seen in patients with COVID-19-induced pneumonia by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

22 Jun 2020

Early COVID-19 cases may be 80 times greater than originally reported

Many epidemiologists believe that the initial COVID-19 infection rate was undercounted due to testing issues, asymptomatic and alternatively symptomatic individuals, and a failure to identify early cases.

22 Jun 2020

UQ superbug drug discoveries will be fast-tracked under international research deal

Antibiotics discovered at The University of Queensland will be fast-tracked under an US$11 million international research deal.

22 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 paradox: Lower death rate during early stages of the pandemic

An analysis of national weekly mortality rates between December 2019 - March 2020, compared to the same period for the previous five years, by researchers at WMG and WMS, University of Warwick, has shown that there have been fewer deaths registered this year during the lead up to the Covid-19 pandemic.

22 Jun 2020

Favipiravir has weak effect on SARS-CoV-2 and Hydroxychloroquine none at all in hamster model

A new study from Belgian researchers shows that antiviral drug Favipiravir could have a weak effect against the dreaded novel coronavirus or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as seen in hamster models. However, the study also finds there is no efficacy of the much-touted drug Hydroxychloroquine.

22 Jun 2020

Scientists show how harmless adenovirus disrupts the heart's electrical signaling

Adenovirus, which typically can cause a common cold, has a far more dangerous impact if it reaches the heart.

22 Jun 2020

Reassuring news on the Oxford vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2

A new paper from the UK vaccine research group, currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server, reveals that a single dose of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222) can induce antigen-specific antibody and T cells responses against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and a booster shot additionally enhances antibody production with an increase in neutralizing titers – particularly in pigs.

22 Jun 2020

Inhaled corticosteroids have no effect on COVID-19 mortality, say researchers

A study conducted by UK researchers has found no evidence to support the hypothesis that regular use of inhaled corticosteroids may have a beneficial effect on mortality outcomes among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

22 Jun 2020

Further confirmation Holder pasteurization inactivates SARS-CoV-2 in breast milk

Researchers in Australia have shown that a standard pasteurization method commonly used in human milk banks is effective at inactivating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

22 Jun 2020

Homeless patients with respiratory infections more likely to be treated with ventilators than non-homeless

Researchers from UCLA, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Tokyo found that during a recent six-year period, homeless people in New York state were more likely to hospitalized and treated with mechanical ventilators for respiratory infections than people who are not homeless.

22 Jun 2020

Researchers provide evidence-based review on COVID-19 respiratory transmission

In a new article, scientists provide an exhaustive, evidence-based review of how COVID-19 droplets from infected patients spread through the air and describe how health care professionals can protect themselves.

22 Jun 2020

Easy to say ‘get tested.’ Harder to do. Here’s how.

Will Bondurant decided to get tested for COVID-19 after attending three racial justice demonstrations over a five-day period in San Francisco, where he lives.

22 Jun 2020

As problems grow with Abbott’s fast COVID test, FDA standards are under fire

In mid-May, the Food and Drug Administration issued a rare public warning about an Abbott Laboratories COVID-19 test that for weeks had received high praise from the White House because of its speed: Test results could be wrong.

22 Jun 2020

How weather affects COVID-19 in India

With India now having endured six months of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, there are now over 410,000 official cases in and more than 13,000 deaths recorded. Almost all these deaths have occurred in the last three months, April to June, with 100 deaths on April 4, 2020, increasing almost 16-fold by May 4, and 63-fold by June 4, 2020.

21 Jun 2020

Infants tested positive for COVID-19 mostly have mild illness with fever

A report from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago shows that infants under 90 days of age who tested positive for COVID-19 tend to be well, with little or no respiratory involvement. Fever was often found to be the primary or only symptom.

21 Jun 2020

Direct structural link between SARS-CoV-2 and essential fatty acid

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 reports the discovery of a novel free fatty acid (FFA) binding pocket on the SARS-CoV-2 virus that could explain in part the viral effects of hyperinflammation, immune modulation, and membrane structure.

21 Jun 2020