Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Study: UnityPhilly app can help fight America's opioid crisis

Equipped with naloxone and a smartphone app, community members can save lives in the fight against America's opioid crisis, according to a paper from researchers at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health and colleagues published this week in The Lancet journal EClinicalMedicine.

6 Aug 2020

Recovered COVID-19 patients report hair loss months after infection

Several members of Survivor Corps, the Facebook support group of people who have had COVID-19, recently tackled about experiencing hair loss months after recovering from the wrath of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2).

6 Aug 2020

COVID-19 should be treated as an acute inflammatory disease, Massey scientist says

The COVID-19 pandemic has had detrimental effects on global infrastructure sectors, including economic, political, health care, education and research systems, and there is still no definitive treatment strategy for the disease.

5 Aug 2020

CDC warns acute flaccid myelitis is poised for a comeback in kids this fall

As if the novel coronavirus pandemic was not enough! Now the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns parents and pediatricians to be on the watch for a rare condition called Acute Flaccid Myelitis or AFM for short, which could affect young children and cause unexplained muscle paralysis similar to poliomyelitis. Their report is published today in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

5 Aug 2020

SARS-CoV-2 may not be targeting taste bud cells

An intriguing early symptom among some COVID-19 patients is the loss of the sense of smell and/or taste, which has led to the suspicion that the virus that causes the illness, SARS-CoV-2, could be targeting taste buds.

5 Aug 2020

Eosinophils contribute to antiviral host defense mechanisms during influenza

Eosinophils residing in the airways of mice respond to influenza A virus infection through alterations in surface expression of various markers necessary for migration and cellular immunity responses, according to research published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology by researchers from Le Bonheur Children's Hospital and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

5 Aug 2020

Researchers discover how to activate brown fat in humans

The receptor responsible for activating the energy-burning property of brown fat in humans has been identified.

5 Aug 2020

New UK supply contract for COVID-19 sample collection kits

EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc, the AIM listed point-of-care business, announces that it has received an initial order worth £3 m from a partner from the private sector to supply PrimeStore MTM, a novel patented sample collection device, to be used in a COVID-19 testing programme for UK staff.

From EKF Diagnostics 5 Aug 2020

Could labs that test livestock ease covid testing backlog for people? Well … maybe.

In a heated exchange late last month on CNN's State of the Union, host Jake Tapper pressed Adm. Brett Giroir, the Health and Human Services assistant secretary who oversees COVID testing efforts for the Trump administration, on why the government isn't requiring commercial labs to increase testing capacity in order to speed turnaround time.

5 Aug 2020

Avidity of binding responsible for cross-neutralization of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2

In a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv researchers characterized the crystal structure of the antibody-SARS-CoV-2 RBD complex in an attempt to find the epitope and the mechanism that enables cross-neutralization.

5 Aug 2020

Large proportion of UK healthcare workers may have already had Covid-19 infection

A large proportion of UK healthcare workers may already have been infected with Covid-19, according to new research led by the University of East Anglia in collaboration with University College London.

5 Aug 2020

Study: "Memory" T cells that recognize common cold coronaviruses also recognize SARS-CoV-2

Your immune system's "memory" T cells keep track of the viruses they have seen before. This immune cell memory gives the cells a headstart in recognizing and fighting off repeat invaders.

5 Aug 2020

Dire COVID-19 warning from World Health Organization

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has swept across the globe, infecting more than 18 million people. With the rapid spread of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that there might never be a “silver bullet” to combat the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

5 Aug 2020

Photodynamic therapy can be used to fight secondary infections in COVID-19 patients

Photodynamic therapy can be an efficient ally to combat secondary infections in COVID-19 patients.

4 Aug 2020

Picomolar inhibitors to SARS-CoV-2 proteins

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 reports the development of mini-inhibitors based on computational design, that are suitable for such topical use.

4 Aug 2020

Test, trace, isolate key to safe schools in COVID-19

Researchers led by Professor Kristine Maccartney from the National Centre for Immunization Research and surveillance, the Children's Hospital at Westmead and the University of Westmead, Australia explain that schools around the world have shut down to prevent the virus transmission.

4 Aug 2020

Regeneron antibody cocktail shows promise as potential COVID-19 treatment

Researchers in the U.S. have shown both preventive and treatment effects of an antibody cocktail in animal models of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) - the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

4 Aug 2020

Study finds low rate of COVID-19 transmission in educational settings

The rate of COVID-19 transmission in New South Wales (NSW) educational settings was extremely limited during the first wave of COVID-19, research findings published today in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health have shown.

4 Aug 2020

Estrogen modestly protective against COVID-19?

Almost from the beginning, scientists have been struck by the disproportionately higher numbers of men and older adults who have developed severe COVID-19 disease compared to younger individuals and women. Prior research has shown that in 37 of the 38 countries from which sex-stratified data was available, males were at a higher risk of death. Also, post-menopausal women are at increased risk of severe COVID-19. However, the biological underpinnings of this have been less visible.

4 Aug 2020

Extensive study of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing reveals six strains of the virus

The virus causing the COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, presents at least six strains. Despite its mutations, the virus shows little variability, and this is good news for the researchers working on a viable vaccine.

3 Aug 2020