Disease/Infection News

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Impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy and breastfed infants

Pregnant women are among those at high risk of developing COVID-19, as confirmed in Wuhan early in the pandemic. A new study from Portugal published on the preprint server medRxiv in May 2020 analyses the data on the impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy and disease outcomes, using published cases of pregnant women diagnosed with the illness.

4 May 2020

Study sheds new light on the body's initial response to DENV infection

A study led by scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research sheds new light on the body's initial response to dengue virus (DENV) infection, describing the molecular diversity and specificity of the antibody response.

4 May 2020

Kudos Pro: A communications platform for coronavirus-related research

Kudos, the award-winning service for accelerating research impact, has today announced that it is opening up its leading research communications platform - Kudos Pro - to the global academic community, with complimentary access for 60 days.

4 May 2020

Research detects a more dangerous SARS-CoV-2 mutation

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in May 2020 reports the setting up of a system to help track new mutations in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that is behind the current COVID-19 pandemic. This will help analyze mutations to find and track the spread of those that are most likely to increase the pathogenicity of the virus, either by making it easier to transmit or by enhancing its resistance to treatment.

4 May 2020

Australia's lockdown measures halt COVID-19 for now

A new study from the University of Melbourne finds that measures taken by the Australian public and government have effectively contained the spread of COVID-19 in Australia for the present. The paper is published on the preprint server medRxiv in May 2020.

4 May 2020

Certain scores can predict susceptibility of trauma patients to multiple infections

Trauma patients are at risk of developing multiple infections while in the hospital, but it's difficult to identify those who are especially susceptible.

4 May 2020

Rapid affordable viral testing kits for low-resource settings

A new paper published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in April 2020 reports a low-cost, sensitive and rapid RT-PCR testing kit for the detection of COVID-19. If validated, this could provide an enormous boost to diagnostic testing in low-resource regions of the world.

4 May 2020

Blood sugar control is key for people with type 2 diabetes and COVID-19

A study reported in the journal Cell Metabolism on April 30 adds to the evidence that people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are at greater risk of a poor outcome should they become infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.

4 May 2020

No rise in COVID-19 cases as Denmark eases lockdown

Outside of Asia, Denmark became the first nation to ease the forced social distancing norms or lockdown. Last week on Thursday, the officials declared that since the removal of the lockdown, there had been no rise in the number of COVID-19 cases. Their easing of the lockdown rules has been gradual, say the officials, and this process began in mid-April. There have been 9,721 reported cases and 484 deaths due to COVID-19 to date. The number of cases has also declined since 7th April.

3 May 2020

Hydroxychloroquine combined with azithromycin and abnormal heart rhythms in COVID-19 patients

A new study shows that the initially lauded combination of drugs against COVID-19 - Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine combined with azithromycin, could lead to abnormal and life-threatening heart rhythms. In patients hospitalized with the novel coronavirus infection or SARS CoV-2, this combination can lead to prolonged QT interval as can be detected on ECG.

3 May 2020

Study reveals antiviral properties of glycosaminoglycans against SARS-CoV-2

Glycosaminoglycans can inhibit cell invasion by acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and other coronaviruses, which supports the utilization of such therapeutics in the fight against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) – reports a new study available on the preprint server bioRxiv.

3 May 2020

Low molecular weight heparins inhibit SARS-CoV-2 cell invasion

A recent paper available on the preprint server bioRxiv* reports preliminary data on the ability of low molecular weight heparins to interact with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), elicit structural changes in its key proteins and subsequently halt cell invasion.

3 May 2020

"Stratify-and shield" a potential alternative to COVID-19 lockdowns

Researchers in Scotland who have evaluated a “stratify-and shield” policy for combating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the UK say it is time to consider the approach as an alternative to social distancing seriously.

3 May 2020

Anti-malarial drug use for COVID-19 associated with increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias

Since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a Public Health Concern of Global Interest on January 30, more than one million have tested positive for the illness in the United States, and more than 62,000 have died.

3 May 2020

Inventor of hepatitis C cure wins prestigious award from University of Edinburgh

A medicinal chemist who found a cure for the viral disease hepatitis C has received a prestigious award from the University of Edinburgh.

3 May 2020

High blood pressure drugs found to be safe for COVID-19 patients

Despite concerns expressed by some experts, common high blood pressure drugs did not increase the risk of contracting COVID-19 - or of developing severe disease - in a study of 12,594 patients.

3 May 2020

EPFL computer scientists test and refine proximity tracing app

Over the past two weeks, EPFL computer scientists have been testing and refining the smartphone-based system developed by the international Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing project, with the help of the Swiss Army.

2 May 2020

Cancer patients with COVID-19 more likely to die from the disease

People with cancer who develop COVID-19 are much more likely to die from the disease than those without cancer, according to physician-researchers at Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

2 May 2020

AHA awards grants to 12 teams for fast-tracked heart and brain health research related to COVID-19

Less than a month after issuing a rapid response call for scientific research proposals for fast-tracked studies of the effects of COVID-19 on the body's cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems, the American Heart Association has awarded $1.2 million in grants to teams at 12 institutions across the U.S. to begin this unprecedented work.

2 May 2020

Wake Forest Baptist Health creates special respiratory isolation unit for COVID-19

In an effort to rapidly provide specialized care for patients with coronavirus-like symptoms while protecting the safety of health care workers, doctors at Wake Forest Baptist Health created a special respiratory isolation unit from an existing 24-bed medical-surgical unit in the hospital in Winston-Salem.

2 May 2020