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COVID-19

·April 2, 2020·3 min read

How COVID-19 sheds when symptoms are relatively mild

Study reports viral shedding of SARS-CoV-2 occurs in the upper respiratory tract during early COVID-19 infection when symptoms are mild or hardly noticeable.

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·April 2, 2020·4 min read

Trial drug may block early stages of COVID-19, human cell study shows

hrsACE2, a genetically modified protein already being tested to prevent lung disease, reduces the viral growth of SARS-CoV-2 by a factor of 1,000 to 5,000 in human cell cultures. Researchers believe the enzyme copy lures the virus to attach itself to the copy, rather than human lung cells. The findings suggest hrsACE2 could significantly block the early stages of SARS-CoV-2 infections and prevent COVID-19 from becoming severe.

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·April 1, 2020·2 min read

Loss of smell and taste is strongest predictor of early COVID-19 infection

User data from a new COVID-19 symptom tracking app reveals a loss of taste and smell are the strongest predictors of a positive coronavirus diagnosis. Using the data, researchers have developed a model to identify which combination of symptoms together could best predict COVID-19 infection in individuals.

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·April 1, 2020·6 min read

Historical coronaviruses show evidence of seasonality & immunity

Historical data from Flu Watch about other coronaviruses reveals they appear to have a seasonal pattern, with peaks occurring during winter. Only small amounts of other coronavirus infections were transmitted during the summer. The findings support the hypothesis that COVID-19 may have lower levels of transmission during the summer, but this may reverse during the winter months if there is still a large, susceptible population.

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·April 1, 2020·4 min read

Aggressive lockdowns need to last more than six weeks to contain COVID-19

Preliminary results from a new model suggest the COVID-19 lockdown should last for more than six weeks. The advice is based on data which shows it takes countries almost three weeks to see a growth rate staying below 10% and doubling time over seven days. It takes a month to keep the growth rate under control and at 1%, and 45 days to achieve containment.

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·April 1, 2020·4 min read

Antiviral used to treat cat coronavirus could hold key to COVID-19

A drug used to treat feline infectious peritonitis, an often fatal coronavirus infection in cats, may hold the key for developing a treatment for human COVID-19.

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·April 1, 2020·3 min read

How the novel coronavirus binds to human cells

Compared to the virus that caused the SARS epidemic in the early 2000s, SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, has evolved new strategies to bind to cell receptors, resulting in tighter binding. A new study identifies key mutations that potentially enabled the animal-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The study mapped out important binding sites on SARS-CoV-2 for antibody drugs to act on. If new drugs can bind to the sites on SARS-CoV-2, they will block the virus out of cells.

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·March 31, 2020·4 min read

Depression and anxiety spiked immediately after COVID-19 lockdown announcement

The day following the lockdown of the UK amid the COVID-19 outbreak, 38% of study participants reported significant symptoms of depression, and 36% reported increased levels of anxiety. The day before lockdown, 16% reported depression, and 17% reported feelings of anxiety. The rates of depression and anxiety remained high for a week after the announcement, but not as high as was reported immediately following the lockdown.

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·March 31, 2020·2 min read

Individuals taking class of steroid medications at high risk for COVID-19

People who use glucocorticoids, a class of steroids used to treat asthma and arthritis, are at higher risk of developing severe symptoms of COVID-19.

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·March 31, 2020·5 min read

COVID-19 measures may have already averted up to 120,000 deaths across Europe

Implementing strong physical distancing measures across Europe to suppress the spread of COVID-19 has averted over 100,000 deaths, a new model finds.

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·March 30, 2020·5 min read

Using stem cells to combat COVID-19

Transplanting ACE2-mesenchymal stem cells shows promise for the treatment of COVID-19. A small study reveals seven severely ill patients who received the stem cell transplant recovered and were discharged from hospital within 14 days.

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·March 30, 2020·3 min read

Wastewater test could provide early warning of COVID-19

Researchers have developed a new paper device that can be put into wastewater systems to detect COVID-19. The test works by picking up on biomarkers of the virus in feces and urine. The test can help monitor communities most at risk of the virus and help agencies to restrict the movement of the population at risk.