Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
(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
COVID Autopsies Reveal The Virus Spreading Through The ‘Entire Body’
(ScienceAlert) Dozens of recent autopsies show persistent evidence of SARS-CoV-2 throughout the body, including in the lungs, the heart, the spleen, the kidneys, the liver, the colon, the thorax, muscles, nerves, the reproductive tract, the eye, and the brain. Related Study in Nature
Jan 10, 2023
Study Finds There Are 4 Subtypes of Long COVID
(Prevention) Research has found that long COVID impacts one in five adults under the age of 65, but scientists are still trying to learn more about the condition. Now, a new study has found there are actually four main subtypes of long COVID. The study, which was published in the journal Nature Medicine, used machine learning to analyze clusters of symptoms […]
Jan 10, 2023
Data-driven identification of post-acute SARS-CoV-2 infection subphenotypes
(Nature) The post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) refers to a broad spectrum of symptoms and signs that are persistent, exacerbated or newly incident in the period after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Most studies have examined these conditions individually without providing evidence on co-occurring conditions. In this study, we leveraged the electronic health record data of […]
Jan 10, 2023
(Nature)Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have been shown to be safe and effective but their protective efficacy against infection in the brain is yet unclear. Here, in the susceptible transgenic K18-hACE2 mouse model of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), we report a spatiotemporal description of SARS-CoV-2 infection and replication through the brain. SARS-CoV-2 brain replication occurs primarily […]
Jan 10, 2023
Most people who ended up with long COVID started with a mild case, new study shows
(CBS News) Even mild COVID-19 cases can have major and long-lasting effects on people’s health. That is one of the key findings from our recent multicountry study on long COVID-19 – or long COVID – recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Long COVID is defined as the continuation or development of symptoms three months after the […]
Jan 10, 2023
Omicron COVID booster cuts hospitalization in over 65s, Israeli study finds
(Reuters) The Omicron-adapted COVID-19 vaccine booster developed by Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE) sharply reduced hospitalizations among older patients, Israeli researchers said on Monday, in some of the first evidence of the jab’s real-world effectiveness.
Jan 9, 2023