Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Latest Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Pets, the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 disease

Can dogs and other pets play a role in the transmission of the novel coronavirus? The question has surfaced after a Pomeranian in Hong Kong tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 or the novel coronavirus last week.

19 Mar 2020

Lopinavir and ritonavir drug combo tested in severe COVID-19

Researchers from China and the United Kingdom have collaborated to conduct a clinical trial looking at the efficacy of a combination of two anti-HIV drugs lopinavir and ritonavir to combat severe cases of COVID-19. Their study titled, “A Trial of Lopinavir–Ritonavir in Adults Hospitalized with Severe COVID-19,” was published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

19 Mar 2020

Coronavirus can stay in the air for hours and surfaces for days – how to disinfect?

As COVID-19 (coronavirus) spreads across the globe, scientists have found the virus can persist in the air for hours and on surfaces for days.

19 Mar 2020

Lessons learned from three Singapore COVID-19 clusters

A study published in the journal The Lancet in March 2020 reports on three clusters of COVID-19 that happened in Singapore in February 2020. The first was because of a tour group, the second a company conference, and the third a church gathering.

17 Mar 2020

COVID-19 epidemic is the product of natural evolution, study finds

The novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that emerged in the city of Wuhan, China, last year and has since caused a large scale COVID-19 epidemic and spread to more than 70 other countries is the product of natural evolution, according to findings published today in the journal Nature Medicine.

17 Mar 2020

COVID-19 stable for several hours to days in aerosols and on surfaces

The virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is stable for several hours to days in aerosols and on surfaces, according to a new study from National Institutes of Health, CDC, UCLA and Princeton University scientists The New England Journal of Medicine.

17 Mar 2020

Can you get the coronavirus twice?

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has rippled across the globe, spanning 155 countries with infections. The virus has touched all continents, except Antarctica, making it a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus has now infected more than 196,000 worldwide, while more than 7,800 have succumbed to the viral infection.

17 Mar 2020

You can now donate to a COVID-19 WHO, UN response fund

Now that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is officially a global pandemic, everyone has one common goal, keep everybody safe from the deadly disease. To strengthen the response against the rapid spread of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations have partnered to curb the pandemic, as they launched the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

16 Mar 2020

Chest CT shows COVID-19 damage to the lungs

A new study presents peer-reviewed cases of COVID-19 in order to ensure that the disease is diagnosed as rapidly as possible, and thus help prevent an overwhelming spike in infections in any one place during the course of the current pandemic. Much interest has been shown in the possibility of using chest X-rays, and computed tomography (CT) scans to screen for and diagnose patients with this illness, whether suspected or confirmed.

15 Mar 2020

Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal review: COVID-19 appears less severe in children

As outbreaks of COVID-19 disease caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continue worldwide, there's reassuring evidence that children have fewer symptoms and less severe disease.

13 Mar 2020

UK lab looks for volunteers to be infected with coronavirus

Amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, scientists are asking for healthy volunteers to help in the development of the vaccine. Volunteers will be infected with the two strains of the common coronavirus.

12 Mar 2020

Study details first locally-transmitted case of severe SARS-CoV-2 in the USA

Person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurred between two people with prolonged, unprotected exposure while the first patient was symptomatic. Despite active monitoring and testing of 372 contacts of both cases, no further transmission was detected

12 Mar 2020

COVID-19 spares children but they play a crucial role in its spread – What can be done?

The new coronavirus (COVID-19) mysteriously spares children from severe disease, but it does not mean they do not get it. Though children and teens do not appear so far to get sick COVID-19, they play a pivotal role in the spread of the deadly pathogen.

12 Mar 2020

COVID-19 epidemic is now an official pandemic

The spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has reached pandemic status, spanning 114 countries and territories, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared. The novel coronavirus that emerged three months ago has rapidly infected more than 126,000 people, taking the lives of more than 4,600.

12 Mar 2020

Researchers discover human protein that potently inhibits coronavirus

A protein produced by the human immune system can potently inhibit several coronaviruses, including the one behind the current COVID-19 outbreak, an international team of investigators reports today. The research reveals that the LY6E protein impairs the coronavirus' ability to initiate infection, which could lead to treatments for the illness.

10 Mar 2020

Study confirms coronavirus median incubation period at 5.1 days

Since the start of the novel coronavirus outbreak in late December 2019, doctors and health officials have imposed a quarantine period of 14 days since the estimated incubation period of the virus was expected to be between three and 14 days. A new study affirms that it may take about five days after exposure before patients manifest the symptoms of the disease.

10 Mar 2020

CDC urges older people to stay at home amid coronavirus spread

The novel coronavirus is continuing to spread worldwide, with more than 113,000 cases and now more than 4,000 deaths. In the United States, health officials urge residents not to panic due to the viral infection’s low mortality rate. Still, they advise that older people are at the highest risk of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

10 Mar 2020

Coronavirus spreads even without symptoms and how Hangzhou province contained virus spread

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading across the globe, and containment measures have been implemented at many of the hotspots for the disease. Though isolation and quarantine measures are considered the best way to contain the virus, one new study suggests it might not be as effective as hoped.

9 Mar 2020

Scientists may have found a way to prevent coronavirus spread

Just like any other virus, the coronavirus needs a host to survive. Viruses enter the cells of the human body to cause disease by attaching to a specific receptor site on the host cell membrane. To do this, they attach to proteins in the capsid through glycoproteins found in the envelope of the virus.

8 Mar 2020

Two genome sequences of coronavirus (COVID-19) show possible internal transmission

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading around the globe. With the high infection rate and spread of the virus to more than 80 countries, scientists are racing to study the nature of the virus, in the hopes of finding new vaccines and therapeutics.

4 Mar 2020