- The recent COVID-19 outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.
- Known as SARS-Cov-2, the virus has resulted in more than 4.4 million infections and 302,000 deaths.
- The SARS-CoV-2 infection causes a respiratory illness called COVID-19.
- COVID-19 has now reported on every continent except Antarctica.
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Medical News Today
The global no of deaths from COVID19 has passed 300,000. 🌎
There have been 302,493 COVID-19 deaths, 85,906 of them from the US.
The case study documents the effects of drinking alcohol-based hand disinfectant
This week, the journal Histopathology published the case study of a female who consumed alcohol-based hand disinfectant to protect herself from SARS-CoV-2.
The 41-years female consumed 10 milliliters of alcohol-based hand disinfectant every day for 3 weeks. She presented to the emergency department with vomiting and abdominal pain that had persisted for 2 days.
Coronavirus bowel imaging study implicates blood clots
The recent imaging study concludes that, in people with severe cases of COVID-19, blood clots in small arteries may starve bowel tissue of oxygen. This might help explain why people with COVID-19 often experience gastrointestinal symptoms.
The virus that causes COVID-19, called SARS-CoV-2, uses a cell surface receptor protein called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to gain entry to cells. ACE2 is present in high concentrations on cells that line the small intestine and blood vessels.
The researchers carried out CT scans on people with COVID-19 who reported symptoms. First Dr. Rajesh Bhayana explains:
“Some findings were typical of bowel ischemia, or dying bowel, and in those who had surgery, we saw small vessel clots beside areas of dead bowel. Patients in [intensive care] can have bowel ischemia for other reasons, but we know COVID-19 can lead to clotting and small vessel injury, so [the] bowel might also be affected by this.”
The authors of the study call for more search to determine the virus plays a direct role in damage to the bowel as a result of blood clots.
Cats can pass on the new coronavirus to other cats
the editor published in The New England Journal of Medicine, a group of searchers from the U.S. and Japan present data indicating that cats are able to pass on the new coronavirus to others. None of the cats showed any symptoms.
The researchers inoculated three cats with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and housed them separately. Then, they introduced a cat that did not have the virus into each of the three cages.
Within 3 days, the team could detect the virus. All three of the uninfected cats had positive nasal swabs within 6 days.
“Given the need to stop the [COVID-19] pandemic through various mechanisms, including breaking transmission chains, a better understanding of the role cats may play in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to humans is needed,”
‘This virus may never go away’
World Health Organization (WHO) representatives explained that COVID-19 “may never go away,” and may become endemic. They explained that there is still no way to determine how long the virus might circulate and that a “massive effort” is required to tackle it.
At the online briefing, WHO expert Mike Ryan said, “I think it is important we are realistic, and I don’t think anyone can predict when this disease will disappear. I think there are no promises in this, and there are no dates. This disease may settle into a long problem, or it may not be.”
Currently, there are more than 100 vaccine candidates, which provides hope. However, Ryan reminds us that other diseases, such as measles, already have a vaccine, but they have not disappeared.
As WHO epidemiologist Maria van Kerkhove says, “We need to get into the mindset that it is going to take some time to come out of this pandemic.”
Antibody test approved for use in the United Kingdom
Public Health England announced that it had approved an antibody test for use in the U.K. Antibody tests can identify whether an individual has ever had COVID-19. The test was designed by the pharmaceutical company Roche.
According to Roche, the test has a “specificity greater than 99.8%“, which means that it won’t mistake similar coronaviruses for SARS-CoV-2, and a “sensitivity of 100%“, meaning that it will detect any antibodies that are present.
Roche explains that the test can produce results in around 18 minutes and that 300 tests could be processed per hour.
Prof. John Newton, a national coordinator of the coronavirus testing program, explains: “This is a very positive development because such a highly specific antibody test is a very reliable marker of past infection. This, in turn, may indicate some immunity to future infection, although the extent to which the presence of antibodies indicates immunity remains unclear.”
Protein may help predict severity of COVID-19
A new study concludes high levels of a particular protein in the blood of a person with COVID-19 may predict disease severity. The findings, which appear in the journal Critical Care, might help doctors identify people who are more likely to need intensive care support.
Currently, there is no way to reliably estimate how any given case of COVID-19 will progress. Finding ways to predict severity could help identify those who can safely manage the disease at home, thereby freeing up much-needed hospital beds.
The protein in question is called soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR). The researchers found that COVID-19 patients who had higher levels of suPAR in their blood needed intubation more quickly than those with lower levels.
However, the study only included data from 72 patients, so scientists will need to confirm the research in larger trials.
Who is most at risk of death from COVID-19?
There is already evidence supporting age and certain underlying health conditions as risk factors. A new study shows an ethnic minority or a poorer socioeconomic background can also increase a person’s risk.
The research of a team from the University of Oxford, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and other institutions in the United Kingdom led, has not yet undergone peer review.
the investigators looked at the medical records of 17,425,445 people in the U.K., of whom 5,683 died from COVID-19 between February 1 and April 21.
The results indicated that being male, being older, or having uncontrolled diabetes or severe asthma puts a person at greater risk of COVID-19 death than the rest of the population.
Asian and black people, as well as those from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds, also had a significant risk, which the team could not link to underlying health conditions.
The study concludes that ‘Summer is not going to make this go away’
A study investigates various factors influence the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors found that public health measures significantly slow progress but that increased temperatures do not have an impact.
The scientists took information from 144 geopolitical locations, which included 375,609 cases of COVID-19. They found that restrictions on mass gatherings, school closures, and physical distancing measures slowed the pandemic. Temperature and humidity, however, didn't appear to make a significant difference.
Prof. Dionne Gesink, says: “Summer is not going to make this go away. Its important people know that. On the other hand, the more public health interventions an area had in place, the bigger the impact on slowing the epidemic growth. These public health interventions are really important because they’re the only thing working right now to slow the epidemic.”
CRISPR test for SARS-CoV-2 approved for use
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have approved the use of a test for SARS-CoV-2 based on CRISPR technology. The FDA hope that the new kit will boost testing numbers and help reduce the backlog.
The CRISPR-based diagnostic kit can detect genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in swabs from the mouth, throat, or nose. Once detected, a CRISPR enzyme produces a fluorescent glow.
According to the company that developed it — Sherlock Biosciences — the test can return a result within 1 hour.
What MNT’s experts want you to know
At the end of March, we asked our medical experts what they wished the public knew about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. The answers were insightful. Now, as we move into May and the pandemic evolves, we ask them again.
Cynthia Taylor Chavoustie, an experienced physician assistant, explained that the majority of people who have a SARS-CoV-2 infection have a mild case of COVID-19 or no symptoms at all. Yet she urged against complacency. “Now is not the time to let your guard down. Don’t be afraid, but be smart and be vigilant,” she says.
Dr. Alex Klein, a specialist in psychiatry, suggested that we shift our expectations and go easy on ourselves. He expressed worries about the long-term consequences for mental health.
“I’m concerned there will be a lot of delayed-onset [post-traumatic stress disorder] or PTSD-like symptoms, increased anxiety,
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