Disease/Infection News

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Acquisition of a natural mutation primes SARS-CoV-2 for neutralization by a cross-reactive antibody

A team of scientists from the United States reveals that the acquisition of a natural mutation makes severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) susceptible to neutralization by a cross-reactive SARS-CoV antibody. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

22 Sep 2020

Phase 2 clinical trial to examine the effects of razuprotafib on COVID-19 patients

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati and UC Health will host a Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT04511650) to examine the effects of a drug that targets blood vessel inflammation and injury in patients with COVID-19.

22 Sep 2020

Confirmed early re-infection with SARS-CoV-2

As scientists strive to develop commercially viable and effective antivirals and vaccines to counter the growing COVID-19 pandemic, there is considerable uncertainty about how long and how durable the immunity induced by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is. A new paper recently published in the journal Clinical Infectious Disease in September 2020 reports a confirmed case of re-infection with this virus following recovery.

22 Sep 2020

Study explores women's interest in long-acting injectable PrEP to prevent HIV

Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a highly effective method of reducing risk for HIV, yet use of PrEP is uniformly low, especially among women.

22 Sep 2020

Parkinson's disease diagnosed after SARS-CoV-2

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, new and unusual chronic sequelae of the disease are cropping up in many medical practices. Now, a new case paper published in The Lancet in September 2020 describes a case of new-onset Parkinson's disease following infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

22 Sep 2020

Study provides evidence of stark social inequities in COVID-19 outcomes

A geocoding approach - linking routinely collected public health data to neighborhood socioeconomic factors - shows consistently higher rates of COVID-19 illness and death among people living in more-disadvantaged communities, reports a study in the November/December Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.

22 Sep 2020

How COVID-19 flew to Greece

A recent study published in the journal Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease in September 2020 reports a series of cases following travel on a commercial airliner that heralded the earliest imported COVID-19 infections in Greece.

22 Sep 2020

Study shows effectiveness of UV-C light for killing COVID-19 on N95 respirators

Dermatology researchers at Henry Ford Health System, in collaboration with a team at the University of Michigan, have demonstrated that certain N95 respirators tainted with COVID-19 can be effectively and safely decontaminated for reuse using ultraviolet-C light (UV-C), a method commonly utilized for treating rare skin diseases.

22 Sep 2020

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Swiss schoolchildren shows most infections undiagnosed

A new study reports the seroprevalence among schoolchildren in Zurich, Switzerland. Published on the preprint server medRxiv* in September 2020, this study contributes to the current discussion on how and when to reopen schools.

22 Sep 2020

Men are dying from COVID-19 at a higher rate than women

A new review article from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center shows people who are biologically male are dying from COVID-19 at a higher rate than people who are biologically female.

22 Sep 2020

Researchers examine the impact of human movement on disease spread

Due to continual improvements in transportation technology, people travel more extensively than ever before. Although this strengthened connection between faraway countries comes with many benefits, it also poses a serious threat to disease control and prevention.

22 Sep 2020

Wastewater analysis predicts COVID-19 spread

The researchers from Yale University provided an outline of the spread of the infection in the community. Their study titled, “Measurement of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater tracks community infection dynamics,” is published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology.

22 Sep 2020

Farming population is highly vulnerable to COVID-19

Preventing the horrific mortality and ill health consequences of COVID-19 infection poses a huge and on-going challenge in Ireland and among the farming community over the coming months.

22 Sep 2020

NIH expands clinical trials to evaluate convalescent plasma as a treatment for COVID-19

Two randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are expanding enrollment to further evaluate convalescent plasma as a treatment for patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

22 Sep 2020

Research consortium receives $111 million NCI grant to prevent, treat HIV-related cancers

The widespread use of antiretroviral therapy to suppress the HIV virus has helped tens of millions of people with HIV live healthier, longer lives--but an unfortunate consequence of people living longer with HIV is an increased risk of cancer.

22 Sep 2020

Michigan Tech develops three new open-source tools in response to COVID-19

Michigan Tech's Open Sustainability Technology Lab developed three new open-source tools in response to COVID-19: a high-temperature 3D printer, a firefighter PAPR mask and a printable, emergency-use ventilator.

22 Sep 2020

COVID-19 can affect the retina

Now, a new study published in the journal EClinicalMedicine shows that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), targets the retina.

22 Sep 2020

Respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 decrease in the U.S., CDC report

In the report, published on Sept. 18, the CDC shows that indicators tracking COVID-19 activity continued to decline or remain stable. Still, two regions say a slight increase in the percentage of specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. Meanwhile, four regions reported a slight increase in the percent of outpatient or emergency department visits for influenza-like illness (ILI).

22 Sep 2020

Discovering a molecule that could interfere with SARS-CoV-2 replication

In this interview, News-Medical speaks to Stepan Nersisyan about his discovery of a molecule that could replicate SARS-CoV-2.

22 Sep 2020

Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 with antisense oligonucleotides

A part of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral RNA is highly conserved. Researchers have used this as a target for designing antisense oligonucleotide gapmers to cleave the RNA and disrupt virus replication. Their research is published as a preprint on the online server bioRxiv in September 2020.

22 Sep 2020