Disease/Infection News

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Persistence of symptoms up to a year after hospitalization for COVID-19

Researchers conducted a prospective cohort study to determine the persisting COVID-19 associated symptoms after hospitalization and their risk factors.

15 Dec 2021

Cell surface expression of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein and its role in immunity

Researchers demonstrated the unexpected roles of nucleocapsid protein in innate and adaptive immunity to SARS-CoV-2.

15 Dec 2021

Trajectory of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and immunity examined in new model

Researchers have created a model of looking at the spread of COVID-19 that takes both vaccination rates and rates of loss of immunity into account and can be adjusted as factors change.

15 Dec 2021

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant binding to its receptor and therapeutic entities

Researchers generated a set of computed structural models of the Omicron receptor-binding domain attached to its receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme.

15 Dec 2021

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment quickly resolves severe breathing difficulties in COVID-19 patients

High pressure (hyperbaric) oxygen resolves severe breathing difficulties in COVID-19 patients much more quickly than standard therapy, taking an average of 3 rather than 9 days, reveal the results of a small comparative clinical trial published online in Emergency Medicine Journal.

15 Dec 2021

Monoclonal antibody activity against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

Scientists from Germany have recently pointed out that the third booster dose of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in neutralizing the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.

15 Dec 2021

Containing a Nipah virus outbreak amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

A new study deals with a single case of Nipah virus that occurred in 2021, with no discoverable chain of transmission, apparently ending with the death of the index patient in Kerala.

15 Dec 2021

Exploring the impact of DNA nanoswitches in RNA purification

A new study reports a tool to enable RNA purification by sequence, helping to determine the structure, chemical modifications, and interactions between different RNA molecules.

15 Dec 2021

Effectiveness of inactivating SARS-CoV-2 by spraying disinfectant in the form of Dry Fog

A new study investigates the use of aerosolized hypochlorous acid solution and hydrogen peroxide solution for inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus adhering to an environmental surface.

15 Dec 2021

Risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome decreases after COVID-19 vaccination

A new study suggests that low GBS incidence in vaccinated patients compared to non-vaccinated people should encourage the active propagation of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2.

15 Dec 2021

Engineering of brain-mimetic injectable hydrogel scaffolds with self-healing properties

A team of scientists bioengineered a physiologically relevant, brain mimetic 3D scaffold for culturing neuronal cells.

15 Dec 2021

Structure of human receptor and Omicron variant

Researchers studied the complex structure of the receptor-binding domain of the omicron variant with the human host receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2.

15 Dec 2021

Eating before saliva collection may interfere with detection of SARS-CoV-2

A new study, published on the medRxiv* preprint server, has aimed to determine if children's diet impacts the detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus in saliva. Scientists performed diagnostic tests to detect this virus using real-time self-collected specimens provided by five healthy children. The samples were collected before and after eating selected foods. The specific time of collection of samples after eating were 0 minutes, 20 minutes, and 60 minutes after eating.

15 Dec 2021

How fast has the Omicron strain been spreading in South Africa?

Scientists have shown the exponential growth of the Omicron strain found in Gauteng. They reported the doubling time of this strain to be equal to 3.38 days by analyzing its growth from November 8 to December 5, 2021. Based on the mutation accumulation profile, researchers revealed that this strain began to diverge between October 28 and November 5, 2021.

15 Dec 2021

Climate change will affect bats hosting future coronaviruses, scientists predict

A new study led by David T. S. Hayman of Massey University in New Zealand details the creation of an ecological modeling pipeline to identify bat biodiversity data and patterns on bat distribution based on climate and landscape relationships.

14 Dec 2021

Frequent cognitive impairments after 4-month follow-up in ICU COVID-19 patients

Results from a recent observational study published in the Journal Of The Neurological Sciences found that after a 4-month follow-up, ICU patients with severe COVID-19 illness were more likely to have mild cognitive impairment with features related to a diffuse encephalopathy than patients with mild infection who do not need a ventilator. Additionally, ICU patients experienced more significant impairment in executive function. All neurological deficits involve the peripheral nervous system.

14 Dec 2021

Thrombosis may increase mortality risk in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

A team of US-based scientists has recently explored various risk factors associated with the poor prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). They have identified thrombosis-related risk factors as a major predictor of in-hospital COVID-19 related mortality. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server while awaiting peer review.

14 Dec 2021