Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread rapidly throughout the world since the first cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were observed in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. It has been suspected that infected persons who remain asymptomatic play a significant role in the ongoing pandemic, but their relative number and effect have… Continue reading Prevalence of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Category: Infectivology
Identifying airborne transmission as the dominant route for the spread of #COVID-19
Various mitigation measures have been implemented to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including widely adopted social distancing and mandated face covering. However, assessing the effectiveness of those intervention practices hinges on the understanding of virus transmission, which remains uncertain. Here we show that airborne transmission is highly virulent and represents the dominant route… Continue reading Identifying airborne transmission as the dominant route for the spread of #COVID-19
Influence of perceived threat of Covid-19 and HEXACO personality traits on toilet paper stockpiling
Following the fast spread of Covid-19 across Europe and North America in March 2020, many people started stockpiling commodities like toilet paper. Despite the high relevance for public authorities to adequately address stockpiling behavior, empirical studies on the psychological underpinnings of toilet paper stockpiling are still scarce. In this study, we investigated the relation between… Continue reading Influence of perceived threat of Covid-19 and HEXACO personality traits on toilet paper stockpiling
ACE2 Expression is Increased in the Lungs of Patients with Comorbidities Associated with Severe COVID-19
Patients who died from COVID-19 often had comorbidities, such as hypertension, diabetes, and chronic obstructive lung disease. Although angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is crucial for SARS-CoV2 to bind and enter host cells, no study has systematically assessed the ACE2 expression in the lungs of patients with these diseases. Here, we analyzed over 700 lung transcriptome… Continue reading ACE2 Expression is Increased in the Lungs of Patients with Comorbidities Associated with Severe COVID-19
SARS-CoV2 vaccines: Slow is fast
..The need to develop a vaccine is urgent, but most estimates conclude that even if trials are successful, an effective vaccine will not be widely available for 12 to 18 months. Much of the required time is related to the pace of proper clinical trials. Studies are usually first needed in experimental animals. However, non-human… Continue reading SARS-CoV2 vaccines: Slow is fast
Presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections and Transmission in a Skilled Nursing Facility
coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can spread rapidly within skilled nursing facilities. After identification of a case of Covid-19 in a skilled nursing facility, we assessed transmission and evaluated the adequacy of symptom-based screening to identify infections in residents.. ..Twenty-three days after the first positive test result in a resident at this skilled nursing facility, 57… Continue reading Presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections and Transmission in a Skilled Nursing Facility
Association of Stay-at-Home Orders With COVID-19 Hospitalizations in 4 States
In analyses of the effectiveness of response measures to the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), most studies have used the number of confirmed cases or deaths. However, case count is a conservative estimate of the actual number of infected individuals in the absence of community-wide serologic testing. Death count is a lagging metric and… Continue reading Association of Stay-at-Home Orders With COVID-19 Hospitalizations in 4 States
FDA Approves Only Drug in U.S. to Treat Severe #Malaria
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved artesunate for injection to treat severe malaria in adult and pediatric patients. Treatment of severe malaria with intravenous (IV) artesunate should always be followed by a complete treatment course of an appropriate oral antimalarial regimen. Prior to this approval, IV artesunate was only available to patients through… Continue reading FDA Approves Only Drug in U.S. to Treat Severe #Malaria
Cigarette #smoke exposure and inflammatory signaling increase the expression of the #SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 in the respiratory tract
Abstract The factors mediating fatal SARS-CoV-2 infections are poorly understood. Here, we show that cigarette smoke causes a dose-dependent upregulation of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2), the SARS-CoV-2 receptor, in rodent and human lungs. Using single-cell sequencing data, we demonstrate that ACE2 is expressed in a subset of secretory cells in the respiratory tract. Chronic… Continue reading Cigarette #smoke exposure and inflammatory signaling increase the expression of the #SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 in the respiratory tract
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