Influenza News and Research

Latest Influenza News and Research

Study estimates lower herd immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in the U.S.

A new study shows that recognizing the differences in the population composition, connectedness and distribution, as well as inter-individual differences in immunity, susceptibility and infectivity, are crucial to estimating the herd immunity attained as a result of natural severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) more accurately.

8 Oct 2020

Anosmia and ageusia may be useful as COVID-19 surveillance case definitions

A recent study published on the preprint server medRxiv in October 2020 reports the utility of alterations in taste and smell to monitor the prevalence of COVID-19 among contacts and in a community that lacks unlimited testing resources.

7 Oct 2020

Transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in two Indian states

Indian and American researchers collaborated to study the trends of transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in two Indian states – Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Their study titled, “Epidemiology and transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in two Indian states,” was published in the latest issue of the journal Science last week.

7 Oct 2020

Researchers hope to develop an effective COVID-19 vaccine using bovine adenovirus

A researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is part of a team of scientists working to develop a unique COVID-19 vaccine that uses a bovine adenovirus as a safe and effective delivery vehicle.

7 Oct 2020

Biodegradable microneedle patch for local therapeutic gene delivery

There is great potential in gene therapy for treating certain types of cancer and genetic defects, immunological diseases, wounds and infections. The therapies work by delivering genes into the patients' cells, which then produce therapeutic proteins to treat the affliction.

7 Oct 2020

Does the federal health information privacy law protect President Trump?

Within one day, President Donald Trump announced his COVID diagnosis and was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment.

7 Oct 2020

Study shows how CD4+ T cells respond to SARS-CoV-2 virus

As scientists around the world develop life-saving COVID-19 vaccines and therapies, many are still wondering exactly why the disease proves deadly in some people and mild in others.

7 Oct 2020

Study provides greater detail about the characteristics of COVID-19 patients

Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were more likely male, younger, and, in both the US and Spain, had fewer comorbidities and lower medication use than hospitalized influenza patients according to a recent study published by the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics community.

6 Oct 2020

Self-isolation on arrival at airports dramatically improves detection of disease importation

Researchers from Public Health England have conducted a study showing that screening and quarantining travelers on arrival at airports significantly reduces the risk of disease importation during international outbreaks, compared with screening alone.

6 Oct 2020

COVID-19 increases flu vaccine acceptance in the U.K., study finds

In the United Kingdom, a team of researchers at Imperial College London has found that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has increased vaccination acceptance among the study participants. The research is published on the preprint server medRxiv.

6 Oct 2020

Thiopurines could help stop viral replication in human coronaviruses

Researchers from the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Dalhousie University, University of Calgary, and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Canada, worked with human coronaviruses in cell cultures to look for drugs that might prevent accumulation and replication of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

6 Oct 2020

Will COVID-19 become a seasonal virus?

In this interview, Dr. Hadi Yassine and Dr. Hassan Zaraket speak about their research into whether COVID-19 will become a seasonal virus.

5 Oct 2020

Feasibility of using dry reagents LAMP assay for SARS-CoV-2 detection

In a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv, researchers evaluated the suitability of the Loopamp SARS-CoV-2 Detection kit from Eiken Chemica, Japan, for detecting SARS-CoV-2. This is a LAMP method that uses dry reagents for RNA amplification.

5 Oct 2020

Anti-sense agents suppress SARS-CoV-2 virus

Researchers in the United States have conducted a study showing that anti-sense agents called peptide-conjugated morpholino oligomers (PPMOs) have the ability to specifically and potently suppress the growth of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent responsible for the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

4 Oct 2020

Parkinson's disease is an independent risk factor for dying from COVID-19, study suggests

A new study of approximately 80,000 patients shows that people with Parkinson's disease (PD) have a 30% higher risk of dying from COVID-19 than people without the neurodegenerative condition.

1 Oct 2020

Study reveals how immune cells sacrifice themselves to help fight off infections

Whether flu or coronavirus, it can take several days for the body to ramp up an effective response to a viral infection.

1 Oct 2020

Children are active transmitters of COVID-19, shows study

A team of investigators from CDDEP, the Government of Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh studied disease transmission patterns in 575,071 individuals exposed to 84,965 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

1 Oct 2020

AI can be nearly as accurate as a physician in diagnosing COVID-19

The new UCF co-developed algorithm can accurately identify COVID-19 cases, as well as distinguish them from influenza.

30 Sep 2020

Discovery of high affinity binders for SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

An exciting, 'tour-de-force' paper by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology describes de novo discovery of high-affinity peptide binders for SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein, which opens the door for the development of rapid viral identification or conjugates for virus-directed delivery of therapeutics.

30 Sep 2020

A TLR2 agonist reduces SARS-CoV-2 in upper respiratory tract of ferret model

In a recent bioRxiv* preprint paper, Professor Miles W. Carroll et al. study an agonist for reducing the SARS-CoV-2's viral load. They show that prophylactic intra-nasal administration of TLR2/6 (toll-like receptor) agonist, INNA-051, reduces viral RNA in the nose and throat, in a ferret model.

30 Sep 2020