Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Latest Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

German scientists test TB vaccine against coronavirus

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) had taken a toll on the world, affecting 168 countries and more than 417,000 people. So far, more than 18,600 people have died due to complications of the disease. Scientists across the globe race to develop the first vaccine against the novel coronavirus.

24 Mar 2020

Projects to develop COVID-19 vaccines receive U.K. gov’t funding

The U.K. government backs six projects aimed to fight the coronavirus outbreak, promising $23 million (£20 million) in funding. The projects, including two focused on vaccination trials, will help fast track the development of a vaccine to stop the spread of the coronavirus, leading to the death of more than 16,500 people across the globe.

24 Mar 2020

Huge WHO trial of COVID-19 therapies begins

As the world reels from the devastating impact and the looming threat of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, researchers around the globe are racing to find a cure that will reduce symptom severity and reverse the course of the disease, freeing up more hospital space and making it possible to treat more of the severely affected cases.

24 Mar 2020

Patients treated with ACEIs and ARBs may be at increased risk of severe COVID-19

James Diaz, MD, MHA, MPH & TM, Dr PH, Professor and Head of Environmental Health Sciences at LSU Health New Orleans School of Public Health, has proposed a possible explanation for the severe lung complications being seen in some people diagnosed with COVID-19.

23 Mar 2020

Lockdowns not enough to combat coronavirus, WHO warns

With more than 336,000 confirmed cases and at least 14,600 deaths across the globe, many countries and regions have imposed lockdowns in their territories to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The World Health Organization (WHO), however, says it is not enough.

23 Mar 2020

New data shows Wuhan COVID-19 fatality rate 1.4 percent, lower than other countries

It is now abundantly clear that COVID-19 is not "just the flu" as Italy grapples to contain the virus. The country has taken surpassed the death toll of China since it recorded 5,476 deaths with a fatality rate of 8.3 percent. China has first shown a fatality rate of 2 to 3.4 percent, but a new study shows that the rate is lower than previously known.

22 Mar 2020

Researchers highlight urgent need for public health leadership during COVID-19 pandemic

For decades, public health officials have directed the containment of emerging pandemics - perhaps most notably - the worldwide eradication of smallpox starting in the early to mid-1960s.

19 Mar 2020

Pets, the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 disease

Can dogs and other pets play a role in the transmission of the novel coronavirus? The question has surfaced after a Pomeranian in Hong Kong tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 or the novel coronavirus last week.

19 Mar 2020

Lopinavir and ritonavir drug combo tested in severe COVID-19

Researchers from China and the United Kingdom have collaborated to conduct a clinical trial looking at the efficacy of a combination of two anti-HIV drugs lopinavir and ritonavir to combat severe cases of COVID-19. Their study titled, “A Trial of Lopinavir–Ritonavir in Adults Hospitalized with Severe COVID-19,” was published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

19 Mar 2020

Coronavirus can stay in the air for hours and surfaces for days – how to disinfect?

As COVID-19 (coronavirus) spreads across the globe, scientists have found the virus can persist in the air for hours and on surfaces for days.

19 Mar 2020

Lessons learned from three Singapore COVID-19 clusters

A study published in the journal The Lancet in March 2020 reports on three clusters of COVID-19 that happened in Singapore in February 2020. The first was because of a tour group, the second a company conference, and the third a church gathering.

17 Mar 2020

COVID-19 epidemic is the product of natural evolution, study finds

The novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that emerged in the city of Wuhan, China, last year and has since caused a large scale COVID-19 epidemic and spread to more than 70 other countries is the product of natural evolution, according to findings published today in the journal Nature Medicine.

17 Mar 2020

COVID-19 stable for several hours to days in aerosols and on surfaces

The virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is stable for several hours to days in aerosols and on surfaces, according to a new study from National Institutes of Health, CDC, UCLA and Princeton University scientists The New England Journal of Medicine.

17 Mar 2020

Can you get the coronavirus twice?

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has rippled across the globe, spanning 155 countries with infections. The virus has touched all continents, except Antarctica, making it a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus has now infected more than 196,000 worldwide, while more than 7,800 have succumbed to the viral infection.

17 Mar 2020

You can now donate to a COVID-19 WHO, UN response fund

Now that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is officially a global pandemic, everyone has one common goal, keep everybody safe from the deadly disease. To strengthen the response against the rapid spread of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations have partnered to curb the pandemic, as they launched the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

16 Mar 2020

Chest CT shows COVID-19 damage to the lungs

A new study presents peer-reviewed cases of COVID-19 in order to ensure that the disease is diagnosed as rapidly as possible, and thus help prevent an overwhelming spike in infections in any one place during the course of the current pandemic. Much interest has been shown in the possibility of using chest X-rays, and computed tomography (CT) scans to screen for and diagnose patients with this illness, whether suspected or confirmed.

15 Mar 2020

Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal review: COVID-19 appears less severe in children

As outbreaks of COVID-19 disease caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continue worldwide, there's reassuring evidence that children have fewer symptoms and less severe disease.

13 Mar 2020

UK lab looks for volunteers to be infected with coronavirus

Amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, scientists are asking for healthy volunteers to help in the development of the vaccine. Volunteers will be infected with the two strains of the common coronavirus.

12 Mar 2020

Study details first locally-transmitted case of severe SARS-CoV-2 in the USA

Person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurred between two people with prolonged, unprotected exposure while the first patient was symptomatic. Despite active monitoring and testing of 372 contacts of both cases, no further transmission was detected

12 Mar 2020

COVID-19 spares children but they play a crucial role in its spread – What can be done?

The new coronavirus (COVID-19) mysteriously spares children from severe disease, but it does not mean they do not get it. Though children and teens do not appear so far to get sick COVID-19, they play a pivotal role in the spread of the deadly pathogen.

12 Mar 2020