Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Stanford Medicine scientists pinpoint COVID-19 virus’s entry and exit ports inside our noses
(Stanford Medicine) A discovery by Stanford Medicine researchers and colleagues may pave the way for a “morning after” or prophylactic nasal spray to prevent infection. Somebody just coughed on you. On a plane. At a dinner party. In a supermarket line. If only there were a “morning after” nasal spray that could knock out respiratory […]
Jan 10, 2023
COVID-19 is more widespread in animals than we thought
(National Geographic) From lions and tigers to big hairy armadillos, a growing number of animals have been infected with the coronavirus. Here’s what we’ve learned. We think of COVID-19 as a human pandemic, but it’s much more than that. The virus that causes the disease, SARS-CoV-2, can infect a wide and growing range of animals, […]
Jan 10, 2023
11 Rapid At-Home Covid-19 Tests—and Where to Find Them
(Wired) The pandemic isn’t over. Regardless of how small your circle is, it’s still very possible to contract and spread Covid-19. To help prevent this, it’s important to get tested regularly (along with getting vaccinated and wearing an N95 face mask). There are free testing sites across the country, but those pressed for time can trade in the long lines for […]
Jan 10, 2023
China’s Covid-19 Infections Hit Peak in Populous Regions, Officials Say
(WSJ) (Video at the link )Some of China’s most populous provinces have passed the peak in the current wave of Covid-19 infections sweeping across the country, officials said Monday. In central China’s Henan province, 89% of the 100 million residents had already been infected by the Omicron variants by Friday, said Kan Quancheng, director of the provincial health commission. Link […]
Jan 10, 2023
This Is What Shanghai’s Covid Outbreak Looks Like
(New York Times) Shanghai is being gripped by China’s massive Covid wave, leading to a surge in hospitalizations and crowded funeral homes. Local health officials said last week that up to 70 percent of the city’s 26 million residents had been infected, and they expressed confidence that its outbreak had peaked. But many of the city’s hospitals are […]
Jan 10, 2023
Satellite images capture crowding at China’s crematoriums and funeral homes as Covid surge continues
(CNN) Satellite images taken over a number of Chinese cities have captured crowding at crematoriums and funeral homes, as the country continues its battle with an unprecedented wave of Covid-19 infections following its dismantling of severe pandemic restrictions. The images – taken by Maxar in late December and early January and reviewed by CNN – show a […]
Jan 10, 2023
The COVID Heart—One Year After SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Patients Have an Array of Increased Cardiovascular Risks
(JAMA) An analysis of data from nearly 154 000 US veterans with SARS-CoV-2 infection provides a grim preliminary answer to the question: What are COVID-19’s long-term cardiovascular outcomes? The study, published in Nature Medicine by researchers at the Veterans Affairs (VA) St Louis Health Care System, found that in the year after recovering from the illness’s acute phase, patients had […]
Jan 10, 2023
Why COVID’s XBB.1.5 ‘Kraken’ Variant Is So Contagious
(Scientific American) A new variant of the virus that causes COVID has mutations that make it more transmissible, but vaccines are still likely to protect against severe disease. A new, rapidly spreading variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, means a rise in new infections could be around the corner. And while it likely […]
Jan 10, 2023
Maybe Don’t Unleash the Kraken
(The Atlantic) These days, it’s a real headache to keep tabs on the coronavirus’s ever-shifting subvariants. BA.2, BA.4, and BA.5, three Omicron permutations that rose to prominence last year, were confusing enough. Now, in addition to those, we have to deal with BQ.1.1, BF.7, B.5.2.6, and XBB.1.5, the version of Omicron currently featuring in concerned headlines. […]
Jan 10, 2023
COVID-19 vaccines: From nasal drops to a redesign, what 2023 could have in store
(CBS News) Several vaccine companies say they are expecting breakthroughs as early as this year as they pursue new ways to protect people against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The Food and Drug Administration is set to convene a panel of its outside vaccine advisers later this month to weigh key issues over the future of COVID-19 […]
Jan 10, 2023