Disease/Infection News

RSS

How are the interventions against COVID-19 working in Sweden?

In a new study, Swedish researchers speculate the effects of the present intervention strategies on the healthcare system as the COVID-19 pandemic affects the nation. Their study titled, “Intervention strategies against COVID-19 and their estimated impact on Swedish healthcare capacity,” has not been published yet; however, the findings are available as pre-peer-reviewed study at medRxiv.

19 Apr 2020

Novel coronavirus mutation could spell trouble for vaccine development

New research shows that the novel coronavirus is undergoing mutations that could make it challenging to develop a vaccine against. There are a few vaccine candidates that are in the making to prevent COVID-19. With a potential for mutation, the vaccines that are being developed now may not work against the emergent mutated strains worry Taiwanese and Australian researchers. The study is titled, “Analysis of the mutation dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 reveals the spread history and emergence of 2 RBD mutant with lower ACE2 binding affinity.”

19 Apr 2020

Scientists unveil novel coronavirus variants in India

The global coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic is ravaging the world, affecting 185 countries and territories and infecting 2.4 million people. Now, a team of scientists aims to shed light on the variants of the novel coronavirus strains in India, showing how changes correspond to its transmission and how it causes disease.

19 Apr 2020

Research suggests Nelfinavir and Cepharanthine as potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents

A new study published in the journal bioRxiv in April 2020 reports the identification of a promising multidrug treatment against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for causing COVID-19 disease. The team predicts that this combination will prevent the virus from reproducing, hence both halting the transmission and progress of the disease.

19 Apr 2020

Scientists estimate fatality ratio across full spectrum of COVID-19 disease

A team of researchers from Imperial College London has conducted a study aimed at calculating a reasonably accurate case fatality ratio and infection fatality ratio, which is based on Chinese data as well as international reports. The research is published on the pre-print server MedRxiv.

19 Apr 2020

Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin treatment in 80 COVID-19 patients: short-term outcomes

The COVID-19 pandemic is still spreading around the world and affecting nearly 2.4 million people, with over 164,000 dead so far. With neither vaccine nor proven therapeutic drug being available so far, the need of the hour is for effective treatment. Now, a new study reports the potential usefulness of a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a treatment in mild cases of COVID-19 infection and urges the need for further evaluation and widespread use if its findings are confirmed.

19 Apr 2020

West Virginia University creates aerosol-blocking intubation boxes to prevent COVID-19 spread

Boxes, barriers, and shields of various types and designs are making their appearance the world around to protect vulnerable healthcare professionals and allied staff from picking up COVID-19 while undertaking their duties. One such new device is the intubation box from West Virginia University (WVU).

19 Apr 2020

Computer simulations yield promising vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2

In a recent study that appeared on a preprint server bioRxiv, scientists from India designed a multi-epitope peptide-based vaccine that predicted high immunogenic response in the population.

19 Apr 2020

New model predicts the impact of outbreaks such as COVID-19 on global supply chains

A transportation review written by a professor from the Berlin School of Economics and Law presents a way of analyzing the predicted impacts epidemic outbreaks have on global supply chains and describes the results of a simulation-based analysis of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) as an example.

19 Apr 2020

Researchers identify a promising model for testing COVID-19 therapeutics

After comparing how infections from SARS-CoV-2 (which causes COVID-19) and two other human coronaviruses develop in cynomolgus macaques, researchers report that SARS-CoV-2 gives the animals a mild COVID-19-like disease.

18 Apr 2020

Projecting the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, a major unanswered question is how SARS-CoV-2 will persist in the human population after its initial pandemic stage.

18 Apr 2020

UC San Diego Health launches serological tests to detect past exposure to novel coronavirus

Clinical laboratory physicians and scientists at UC San Diego Health have launched a pair of serological tests that will look for novel coronavirus antibodies -- evidence in persons tested that they have previously been infected by SARS-CoV-2, the viral cause of COVID-19, even if they never experienced tell-tale symptoms.

18 Apr 2020

Kehn-Hall working to rapidly test, deploy new tool to enhance detection of SARS-CoV-2

Kylene Kehn-Hall, Associate Professor/Associate Director, School of Systems Biology, National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, is working to rapidly test and deploy a universal virus enrichment tool that can be used to enhance the detection of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) for any type of diagnostic assay under development, thereby reducing false negatives and the risk of worldwide pandemic.

18 Apr 2020

UniFrac microbiome tool optimized for computer GPUs

Researchers at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California San Diego have been applying their high-performance computing expertise by porting the popular UniFrac microbiome tool to graphic processing units in a bid to increase the acceleration and accuracy of scientific discovery, including urgently needed COVID-19 research.

18 Apr 2020

COVID-19: AGS reinforces the need for medical supplies, telehealth in older adult care

In a new series of letters sent yesterday to Congressional leaders, Vice President Pence, and White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Deborah Birx, MD, experts at the American Geriatrics Society continued to reinforce the need for medical supplies, telehealth, expertise in older adult care, and a range of other priorities as the federal government plans the next phase of America's response to COVID-19.

18 Apr 2020

COVID-19 forecast hub developed for more accurate disease projections

The Influenza Forecasting Center of Excellence team at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is developing a COVID-19 forecast hub by unifying multiple models in an effort to produce a more accurate picture of the potential impacts of the novel coronavirus.

18 Apr 2020

COVID-19 pandemic in Africa

In a New England Journal of Medicine "Perspective" published today, Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, global director of ICAP at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and Jessica Justman, MD, ICAP's senior technical director, and associate professor of epidemiology, urge a coordinated global effort in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, with "countries around the world [taking] concrete steps to assist Africa in staying ahead of the curve, even as they confront their own epidemics."

18 Apr 2020

Disease/Infection News

How are the interventions against COVID-19 working in Sweden?

Novel coronavirus mutation could spell trouble for vaccine development

Scientists unveil novel coronavirus variants in India

Research suggests Nelfinavir and Cepharanthine as potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents

Scientists estimate fatality ratio across full spectrum of COVID-19 disease

Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin treatment in 80 COVID-19 patients: short-term outcomes

West Virginia University creates aerosol-blocking intubation boxes to prevent COVID-19 spread

Computer simulations yield promising vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2

New model predicts the impact of outbreaks such as COVID-19 on global supply chains

Researchers identify a promising model for testing COVID-19 therapeutics

Projecting the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 pandemic

UC San Diego Health launches serological tests to detect past exposure to novel coronavirus

Kehn-Hall working to rapidly test, deploy new tool to enhance detection of SARS-CoV-2

UniFrac microbiome tool optimized for computer GPUs

COVID-19: AGS reinforces the need for medical supplies, telehealth in older adult care

COVID-19 forecast hub developed for more accurate disease projections

COVID-19 pandemic in Africa

In fine print, HHS appears to ban all surprise billing during the pandemic

Novel coronavirus is infecting more children than expected

McMaster researchers to study why some people are more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2

Leveraging the power of automation to boost research

Automating research - solutions and best practices

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Latest News