Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Latest Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

SARS-CoV-2 re-infection is real but rare: Case study

Now, American researchers have looked at all reported cases of re-infection and the possible reasons behind them. Their study titled, “Re-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and Failure of Humoral Immunity: a case report,” is published online on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020.

28 Sep 2020

Healthy vitamin D levels could reduce COVID-19 complications

Published in the journal PLOS ONE, the study investigates the link between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and its effect on adverse clinical outcomes and parameters of immune function and mortality due to COVID-19.

28 Sep 2020

One-third of parents in the U.S. won’t get flu shots for their kids during the pandemic

A survey from the National Poll on Children’s Health, however, revealed that one-third of American parents have no plans of getting their children vaccinated for the flu virus this year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

28 Sep 2020

Life-threatening COVID-19 associated with specific genetic variants

Results of a genome-wide association study on 2,244 critically-ill patients due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from 208 intensive care units across the United Kingdom revealed significant host-specific genetic determinants that can predispose people to the severe form of the disease. The report is currently available on the medRxiv preprint server.

28 Sep 2020

Mapping the evolutionary profile of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 using mutation order approach

Several months into the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), we still do not know much about the early evolutionary history and order of mutational events of the virus during this pandemic.

28 Sep 2020

Genetic mutations hinder immune response in severe COVID-19

Now, a truly international team of nearly 140 researchers aimed to determine why some people develop severe illness when once infected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19 disease.

28 Sep 2020

Auto-antibodies may explain why some people develop severe COVID-19

Now, a new study by an international team of health experts shows that some life-threatening cases of COVID-19 can be traced to specific weak spots in the patients' immune system.

28 Sep 2020

Clover Biopharma's new trimeric subunit vaccine candidate prevents COVID-19 in monkeys

The vaccine candidate produced a high level of neutralizing antibodies in animal models. Rhesus macaques immunized with the vaccine candidate showed reduced viral loads in the lungs. The research is published on the preprint server bioRxiv.

28 Sep 2020

Special formulation of inhaled niclosamide may be effective against SARS-CoV-2

Now in new research published on the preprint server bioRxix*, a novel formulation of the drug Niclosamide (NIC) is observed to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV in mouse models; it also protects against methicillin-resistance Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia and inflammatory lung damage.

28 Sep 2020

Anti-N-protein IgG may predict severity of COVID-19

A recent study by researchers at the University of Miami, Miami VA Healthcare System and Express Gene and published on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 reports on the prognostic significance of the anti-N Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

28 Sep 2020

Risk factors for mortality among hospitalized patients with COVID-19

A new study by scientists at biotechnology company Genentech, Inc., and published on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 attempts to identify the factors which may shape the risk for death in COVID-19 disease.

27 Sep 2020

CRISPR screening identifies human host pathways that facilitate coronavirus infection

The human coronavirus family consists of 7 known pathogens, for which there are no approved vaccines or specific therapeutic options. Although the seasonal human coronaviruses - OC43, HKU1, 229E, and NL63 – only cause mild respiratory infections, three highly pathogenic coronaviruses that emerged in the last two decades revealed the pandemic potential of this family of viruses.

27 Sep 2020

Young adults now driving force behind the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic says CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a report stating that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is on the rise among young adults and this rise is preventing the pandemic from abating.

27 Sep 2020

Bacteria-free method for making SARS-CoV-2 infectious clones

Using a circular polymerase chain reaction, researchers have developed a method for making severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) recombinant virus, with the ability to introduce mutations. The research by Japanese scientists is published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in September 2020.

27 Sep 2020

Human recombinant soluble ACE2 successfully used in a patient with severe COVID-19

A multinational research group recently published a paper in the journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine which describes the first patient with a severe form of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that was successfully treated with human recombinant soluble ACE2.

27 Sep 2020

Complex SARS-CoV-2 serology means universal immunological assay is not feasible

As we improve our understanding of immune responses and correlates of protection against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), two UK researchers emphasize that we will probably utilize different assays to tackle specific questions. Their commentary is published in the prestigious journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.

27 Sep 2020

D614G mutation now the dominant variant in the global COVID-19 pandemic

Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 shows that a significant variant characterized by the D614G mutation has higher infectivity, which may account for its rapid rise to the dominant position in all regions where it has emerged.

25 Sep 2020

Inflammation in the eye after COVID-19

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv shows the occurrence of ocular pathology in the period of recovery following COVID-19. This throws more light on the occurrence of inflammation in people recovering from COVID-19.

25 Sep 2020

Human-to-cat transmission of SARS-CoV-2 confirmed

Cat-to-cat transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has been experimentally proven, but little is known about the significance of this novel virus as a feline pathogen or its reverse zoonotic potential. The establishment of new animal reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2 could pose serious problems for human health in the future.

24 Sep 2020

A possible inverse relationship between Dengue and COVID-19 in Brazil

Their study titled, “How super-spreader cities, highways, hospital bed availability, and dengue fever influenced the COVID-19 epidemic in Brazil,” was released pre-peer review on the preprint medRxiv* early this week.

24 Sep 2020