Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Bringing ‘Poogie’ home: Hospice in the time of COVID-19

After she landed in the hospital with a broken hip, Parkinson’s disease and the coronavirus, 84-year-old Dorothy “Poogie” Wyatt Shields made a request of her children: “Bring me home.”

26 May 2020

EKF secures COVID-19 novel sample collection kit manufacturing and supply contracts

EKF Diagnostics, the global in vitro diagnostics company, announces it has secured new contracts for the manufacture and supply of a novel, patented sample collection device which allows COVID-19 samples to be rapidly inactivated in the collection tube, avoiding contamination and preserving RNA without need for refrigeration.

From EKF Diagnostics 26 May 2020

Genes associated with dementia doubles the risk of developing severe COVID-19

Having a faulty gene linked to dementia doubles the risk of developing severe COVID-19, according to a large-scale study.

26 May 2020

COVID-19 appears to attack the placenta in pregnant women

Pregnant women should take extra precautions amid the coronavirus pandemic. A new study shows that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), attacks the placenta.

26 May 2020

Preterm birth rates during COVID-19 in Denmark

The current COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic in March 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO). This led to the enforcement of a lockdown on an almost global scale with wide-ranging consequences. Now, a new Danish study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 reveals the impact on preterm birth rates.

26 May 2020

Occupational risk for COVID-19

Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in May 2020 examines the risk of COVID-19 disease in various occupations, showing that as expected, health workers and those in social care occupation are at the highest risk. This should help guide policies to protect and support these occupations during this trying period.

25 May 2020

ACE2 receptors for SARS-CoV-2 in human eye

Since its emergence in Wuhan, China, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread rapidly over most of the world’s inhabited regions, causing millions of cases and hundreds of thousands of deaths. The primary symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, are fever, dry cough, and tiredness.

25 May 2020

Zero benefit of Hydroxychloroquine or Chloroquine in COVID-19, says extensive study

The purported "game-changer" anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine, which was claimed to be effective in preventing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and also helping better outcomes in COVID-19 patients, seems to have failed in clinical trials.

25 May 2020

Rats on the rampage as leftovers from closed restaurants become scarce, warns CDC

The Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) has warned that as restaurants are closed due to social distancing and lockdowns owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, rats are resurfacing en masse. The CDC warns that these rats are becoming aggressive as they are deprived of their usual source of food.

25 May 2020

Newly identified gene may have contributed to rapid evolution of COVID-19

An international team of researchers has identified a previously uncharacterized gene within the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genome that may be important in understanding the origins and evolution of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

25 May 2020

New study pinpoints ideal antiviral targets within the SARS-CoV-2 viral cycle

A specific biophysical model for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) shows how potential drugs inhibiting both viral transcription and translation would be particularly effective against coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The model was developed by University of Minnesota researchers and described in their recent publication available on the bioRxiv preprint server.

25 May 2020

Pinpointing SARS-CoV-2 origin with new predictive model

Researchers in the United States and Canada have developed a combination of predictive statistical models that could help guide decisions about which animal species should be prioritized for detecting the origin of novel potential zoonotic viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

25 May 2020

SARS-CoV-2 is uniquely adapted to infect humans

The novel coronavirus pandemic has sparked much debate on its origin, with some suggesting it may have been laboratory-grown. Previous studies, however, mentioned that it is zoonotic in nature, which means that the virus jumped from wild animals and found its way to humans.

25 May 2020

Can Chlorpromazine help treat COVID-19?

A new research paper published in the journal L'Encéphale in May 2020 reports on the planned ReCoVery Study, which will examine the possibility of repurposing the antipsychotic drug chlorpromazine for the treatment of COVID-19.

25 May 2020

Children with COVID-19 presenting with sudden severe lung disease

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to seek out new victims, puzzling new presentations are further confusing the situation. A new study published online in The Lancet Rheumatology in May 2020 reports a case of severe COVID-19 in a child who rapidly developed acute respiratory distress symptoms without prior respiratory symptoms. This case should alert clinicians to consider this diagnosis in children as well.

24 May 2020

How 'superspreaders' impact COVID-19

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in May 2020 reflects the need to rethink and selectively impose lockdown on some but not all social activities, in the light of the impact of superspreaders on disease transmission.

24 May 2020

Lung ultrasound use in COVID-19 patients

One point of discussion is the best approach to imaging infected patients, because computed tomography (CT) scanning, the gold standard method for chest imaging, can spread infection due to the need to transport the patient to specialized facilities.

24 May 2020

New biomarkers to consider for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

Researchers at the University of Melbourne have made new discoveries about how the immune system responds to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that could be important to consider in vaccine research.

24 May 2020

Study shows cats can harbor SARS-CoV-2 without any symptoms

A recent paper from Spanish researchers at the Hospital Universitario San Pedro-CIBIR, available on the medRxiv* preprint server, suggests that cats may act as asymptomatic dispersers of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), even though viral transmission from animals to humans still seems highly unlikely.

24 May 2020

Smokers at increased risk of severe COVID-19 according to a large population study

A new UK study available on the preprint server medRxiv screened 2.4 million users of a symptom reporting application during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, revealing that smokers are at higher risk of increased symptom burden and more prone to hospitalization.

24 May 2020