Disease/Infection News

RSS

WHO African Region now certified as wild polio-free after four years

Today, the Africa Regional Certification Commission certified the WHO African Region as wild polio-free after four years without a case. With this historic milestone, five of the six WHO regions – representing over 90% of the world's population – are now free of the wild poliovirus, moving the world closer to achieving global polio eradication.

26 Aug 2020

Two Navajo sisters who were inseparable died of COVID just weeks apart

Cheryl and Corrina Thinn were almost joined at the hip. The sisters, both members of the Navajo Nation, shared an office at Arizona’s Tuba City Regional Health Care. Cheryl conducted reviews to make sure patients were receiving adequate care. Corrina was a social worker. Their desks were just inches apart.

26 Aug 2020

Africa meets certification criteria for wild polio eradication

The independent Africa Regional Certification Commission for Polio Eradication officially declared on Tuesday that the World Health Organization African Region is free of wild poliovirus.

26 Aug 2020

Many people of color, immigrants among 1,080 US health workers lost to COVID

More than 1,000 front-line health care workers reportedly have died of COVID-19, according to Lost on the Frontline, an ongoing investigation by The Guardian and KHN to track and memorialize every U.S. health care worker who dies from the coronavirus.

26 Aug 2020

Prognosis for rural hospitals worsens with pandemic

Jerome Antone said he is one of the lucky ones. After becoming ill with COVID-19, Antone was hospitalized only 65 miles away from his small Alabama town. He is the mayor of Georgiana — population 1,700.

26 Aug 2020

LA hospital seeks vaccine trial participants among its own high-risk patients

The patients at Dr. Eric Daar's hospital are at high risk for serious illness from COVID-19, and he's determined to make sure they're part of the effort to fight the disease.

26 Aug 2020

BM32 vaccine against grass pollen allergy could be potential treatment for hepatitis B infection

Chronic hepatitis B infections represent a global health problem that could hitherto only be treated by chemotherapy.

26 Aug 2020

Estradiol appears to help in female SARS-CoV-2 infection

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in August 2020 shows that the risk of infection is high for pre-menopausal women but the risk of death is much higher for men in the same age group and throws light on the protective nature of estradiol therapy in post-menopausal women.

26 Aug 2020

Inhaled steroid ciclesonide suppresses SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro

A new paper by researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 reports the in vitro suppression of coronavirus (CoV) replication by an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) ciclesonide.

26 Aug 2020

Identifying COVID-19 host genes using symptom-based predictions

A recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 shows that symptom-based prediction of the diagnosis can help identify host genes that are responsible for part of this variability.

26 Aug 2020

Study: COVID-19 vaccine should be at least 80% effective to prevent ongoing pandemic

The American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, is committed to publishing the most robust, evidence-based research and commentary on COVID-19 as they unfold to keep readers up to date and aware of issues relevant to community and individual health during this continually evolving global outbreak.

26 Aug 2020

Synthetic gene fragments from SARS-CoV-2 can help produce accurate diagnostic tests

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have produced synthetic gene fragments from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This material, which is non-infectious and safe to handle, can help manufacturers produce more accurate and reliable diagnostic tests for the disease.

26 Aug 2020

Forsyth Institute to provide research and development support for saliva-based COVID-19 tests

As a world leader in oral biology and salivary diagnostics, the Forsyth Institute is working with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative as an advisor and critical resource in the effort to develop and eventually deploy millions of accurate, rapid COVID-19 point-of-care tests used daily in schools, colleges, universities, and for testing underserved populations.

26 Aug 2020

UC Berkeley demographers calculate the consequences of U.S. lives lost to COVID-19

With over 170,000 COVID-19 deaths to date, and 1,000 more each day, America's life expectancy may appear to be plummeting.

25 Aug 2020

Monoclonal antibodies may be a better choice than convalescent plasma for treating COVID-19

A team of researchers from the Netherlands demonstrated that prophylactic treatment with a high dose of human convalescent plasma or by using concentrated monoclonal antibodies could protect against disease following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in an animal model. However, no protective effect was observed with a ten-fold lower dose of convalescent plasma. The results are currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

25 Aug 2020

Perspective: COVID-19 human milk research should be conducted without disrupting lactation

Scientists have launched a number of human milk and lactation studies to determine if SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted to infants through human milk.

25 Aug 2020

Study finds an increase in fake posts on social media tied to COVID-19

During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, social media platforms have played a major role in conveying information from health care leaders and government officials to communities about how to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

25 Aug 2020

Humidity (not temperature) influences SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission

A recent study conducted in New South Wales, Australia, demonstrates that there is an inverse relationship between relative humidity and transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The study is published in the journal Transboundary and Emerging Diseases.

25 Aug 2020

Preclinical studies of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate show positive results

Preclinical studies of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate at the University of Alabama at Birmingham show positive results that appear to distinguish this vaccine candidate from other vaccine candidates that are currently in advanced stages of clinical development, the Maryland-based Altimmune Inc. announced today.

25 Aug 2020

Assessing the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks once schools reopen

A study conducted by researchers at the London School Of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of Edinburgh, and Leiden University, suggests that only reopening schools to specific age groups would reduce the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) being transmitted between schools and subsequently households.

25 Aug 2020