Fever integrates antimicrobial defences, inflammation control, and tissue repair in a cold-blooded vertebrate

Multiple lines of evidence support the value of moderate fever to host survival, but the mechanisms involved remain unclear. This is difficult to establish in warm-blooded animal models, given the strict programmes controlling core body temperature and the physiological stress that results from their disruption. Thus, we took advantage of a cold-blooded teleost fish that …

Continue reading Fever integrates antimicrobial defences, inflammation control, and tissue repair in a cold-blooded vertebrate

Association between vitamin D supplementation and COVID-19 infection and mortality

Vitamin D deficiency has long been associated with reduced immune function that can lead to viral infection. Several studies have shown that Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increases the risk of infection with COVID-19. However, it is unknown if treatment with Vitamin D can reduce the associated risk of COVID-19 infection, which is the …

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Prevalence of parvovirus B19 viraemia among German blood donations and the relationship to ABO and Rhesus blood group antigens

AbstractAsymptomatic blood donors can transmit human parvovirus B19 (B19V). We assessed the B19V prevalence amongst a large cohort of blood donations collected in Germany during 2015-2018. In total, 167,123 donations were screened for B19V DNA with 22 cases of viraemia identified (0.013% positive). Infections peaked at a four-year interval and the highest number of cases …

Continue reading Prevalence of parvovirus B19 viraemia among German blood donations and the relationship to ABO and Rhesus blood group antigens

Are Lockdowns Effective in Managing Pandemics?

The present coronavirus crisis caused a major worldwide disruption which has not been experienced for decades. The lockdown-based crisis management was implemented by nearly all the countries, and studies confirming lockdown effectiveness can be found alongside the studies questioning it. In this work, we performed a narrative review of the works studying the above effectiveness, …

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Occurrence and transmission potential of asymptomatic and presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections: Update of a living systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundDebate about the level of asymptomatic Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection continues. The amount of evidence is increasing and study designs have changed over time. We updated a living systematic review to address 3 questions: (1) Among people who become infected with SARS-CoV-2, what proportion does not experience symptoms at all during …

Continue reading Occurrence and transmission potential of asymptomatic and presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections: Update of a living systematic review and meta-analysis