Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

SARS or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus - the SARS associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) - which can be life-threatening.

New compounds block the replication of coronaviruses and other disease-causing viruses

According to a February 13 report from the World Health Organization, the Wuhan coronavirus has stricken more than 46,000 people and has caused over 1,300 deaths since the first cases in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.

26 Feb 2020

HKUST scientists provide leads for guiding research towards COVID-19 vaccine development

A team of scientists at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has recently made an important discovery in identifying a set of potential vaccine targets for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, providing crucial leads for guiding experimental efforts towards the vaccine development against the novel pneumonia (COVID-19) caused by the virus.

26 Feb 2020

Clinical trial to evaluate safety, efficacy of remdesivir in adults with COVID-19 begins

A randomized, controlled clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the investigational antiviral remdesivir in hospitalized adults diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has begun at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

25 Feb 2020

Scientists join forces to combat coronavirus outbreak

Amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, scientists from around the globe race to fight the deadly virus. Now, a team of Harvard scientists has joined forces with Chinese experts to develop new therapies and prevent the further spread of the virus.

25 Feb 2020

Harvard scientists will join forces with Chinese colleagues on coronavirus research

Since its identification in December, the novel coronavirus has quickly evolved into a global threat, taking a toll on human health, overwhelming vulnerable health care systems and destabilizing economies worldwide.

24 Feb 2020

Coronavirus incubation period could be 27 days, longer than previously thought

Over the past weeks, health officials around the globe traced and advised suspected contacts of people with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to isolate themselves for 14 days, the incubation period of the disease.

24 Feb 2020

Is COVID-19 the dreaded ‘Disease X' scientists warned us about?

Back in February 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) talked about a new virus that will emerge and wreak havoc across the globe. Disease X was the term used for this new unknown pathogen that might cause a future epidemic.

23 Feb 2020

Coronavirus is deadlier than flu with seniors at highest risk

The novel coronavirus (CoV) is a new strain of coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans. The new, or “novel” coronavirus, now called 2019-nCoV, had not previously detected before the outbreak was reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019.

19 Feb 2020

Study identifies new CoV responsible for the Wuhan outbreak

The 2019 novel coronavirus causes fatal pneumonia that has claimed over 1300 lives, with more than 52000 confirmed cases of infection by February 13, 2020, all in the span of just over a month.

18 Feb 2020

UT Southwestern scientists discover potential vulnerabilities in new coronavirus

UT Southwestern Medical Center data scientists analyzing genetic sequences of the COVID-19 coronavirus have identified potential vulnerabilities that could help in vaccine development and further study of the infectious disease now spreading worldwide.

17 Feb 2020

Coronavirus outbreak deaths near 1,700

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, which started in Wuhan, in Hubei province in China, now has nearly 1,700 deaths and more than 69,000 infections. The majority of the infections and deaths are in mainland China but has started to spread across 25 countries. Are these numbers alarming?

16 Feb 2020

Effectiveness of travel bans to control infectious disease outbreaks is mostly unknown

Because of the quick and deadly outbreak in late December of a novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China, now known as COVID-19 – infecting tens of thousands and killing hundreds within weeks, while spreading to at least 24 other countries – many governments, including the United States, have banned or significantly restricted travel to and from China.

14 Feb 2020

Facts vs. fears: Five things to help weigh your coronavirus risk

The news about the novel coronavirus in China grows more urgent daily. The number of related deaths is now greater than 1,300, while tens of thousands of people have been infected — most of them in China. People returning to the U.S. from China are quarantined for 14 days.

14 Feb 2020

Coronavirus spread will remain under control and specific groups should not be stigmatized, urges microbiologist

As the global outbreak of coronavirus continues to dominate the headlines, a leading medical microbiologist from Kingston University says it is inevitable the United Kingdom will see more cases, but emphasized the spread of the virus will remain under control and called on people not to stigmatize particular communities.

13 Feb 2020

To fight Chinese outbreak, doctors deploy drugs targeting HIV, malaria and Ebola

As the scientific community scrambles to find a drug that can effectively treat tens of thousands of patients sickened by a new respiratory virus, they are trying some surprising remedies: medicines targeting known killers like HIV, Ebola and malaria.

13 Feb 2020

Study finds no evidence of intrauterine vertical transmission of COVID-19 infection

There is currently no evidence that the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) causes severe adverse outcomes in neonates or that it can pass to the child while in the womb, according to a small observational study of women from Wuhan, China, who were in the third trimester of pregnancy and had pneumonia caused by COVID-19.

12 Feb 2020

2019 coronavirus virus officially named COVID-19

The novel coronavirus disease, which has spread from China to 24 other countries around the globe, has received its official name – COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

12 Feb 2020

PolyU develops fully automated, rapid diagnostic platform for detecting respiratory infectious diseases

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University today announced the development of the world's most comprehensive automated multiplex diagnostic system (the System) which includes a fully automated machine and a multiplex full-screening panel for the point-of-care genetic testing of respiratory infectious disease including the 2019-nCoV.

11 Feb 2020

Australian scientists grow live coronavirus virus

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is rapidly spreading across the globe, with the highest magnitude taking a toll on mainland China. Scientists are racing to find a vaccine or a treatment to help contain the virus spread. Now, a team of scientists and health experts in Australia may have found a breakthrough to fight the deadly virus.

11 Feb 2020

Coronavirus spread via aerosol raises concern as death toll rises

The Wuhan coronavirus or novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has started to spread in a seafood market in Wuhan China before New Year of 2019 and has since spread to 25 countries and has infected more than 40,000 people. The death toll has surpassed that of the SARS outbreak in 2002-2003, and new developments in the virus’s mode of transmission raise alarm worldwide.

10 Feb 2020