Dr. Boarhead’s Summary of Global Updates on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus: 8th November 2020
1.
Washington Post
:
The US CDC had previously defined a close contact as someone who spent at least 15 consecutive minutes within six feet of a confirmed coronavirus case. An updated guidance defined a close contact as someone who was within six feet of an infected individual for a total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.
<21 Oct.>
[key info]
The US CDC expan
ds its definition of
“
close contact.
”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/10/21/coronavirus-close-contact-cdc/
2.
Stroke
:
Apical lung assessment yielded a sensitivity of 0.67, specificity of 0.93, positive predictive value of 0.19, negative predictive value of 0.99, and accuracy of 0.92 for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in patients hospitalized for acute ischemic stroke. When combined with self-reported clinical symptoms of cough or shortness of breath, sensitivity of apical lung assessment increased to 0.83.
<29 Oct.>
[key info]
Apical lung assessment speeds COVID-19 diagnosis in stroke patients.
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.030959
3.
Nature
:
It was estimated that by the beginning of Sep., some 5% of the 3.4 billion people in the 45 countries studied had been infected with SARS-CoV-2. South Korea had the lowest infection rate (0.06%), and Peru had the highest (62%). Among people younger than 65, the risk of COVID-19 death increased with age in a pattern that was consistent across all countries.
<2 Nov.>
[key info]
COVID-19 death rates may correlate with aging in a similar way among all countries that vary in infection rates.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2918-0
4.
Lancet
:
Although there is high likelihood that new-onset and sudden-onset anosmia can predict a positive test for COVID-19 when the prevalence of disease is high, population estimates suggest that 19.1% of adults suffer from pre-existing diminished sense of smell, a figure that rises to 80% in patients older than 75.5.
<3 Nov.>
[key info]
Widespread smell testing for COVID-19 has limited applications.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32317-5/fulltext
5. CNBC:
Denmark will cull its mink population of up to 17 million after a mutation of SARS-CoV-2 found in the animals spread to humans. Health authorities found virus strains in humans and in mink which showed decreased sensitivity against antibodies, potentially lowering the efficacy of future vaccines. In addition, Denmark’s State Serum Institute found mink-related versions of coronavirus in 214 people since Jun.
<4 Nov.>
[key info]
Denmark is to cull the entire mink population after finding in it a SARS-CoV-2 mutation that spread to humans.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/04/denmark-to-cull-entire-mink-population-after-coronavirus-mutation-spreads-to-humans.html
6. medRxiv:
A study sampled 33 surfaces in public places in Somerville, Massachusetts. Swabbing of bank machines, shop-door handles, and other frequently touched surfaces revealed that 8% of samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2 genetic material, but that material was present in small amounts. The handles of a rubbish bin and a liquor store were most frequently riddled with coronavirus RNA. It also found that the percentage of positive samples in one postal district peaked roughly 7 days before a spike in COVID-19 cases in the same district. Sampling of frequently touched surfaces might give a warning of infection surge.
<4 Nov.>
[key info]
An increase in positive samples from frequently touched surfaces may predict a surge of infections.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.27.20220905v1
7.
New England Journal of Medicine
:
In the final report of remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19, a total of 1,062 patients underwent randomization (with 541 assigned to remdesivir and 521 to the placebo). Those who received remdesivir had a median recovery time of 10 days, as compared with 15 days among those who received the placebo. Patients who received remdesivir were found to be more likely to have clinical improvement by day 15.
<5 Nov.>
[key info]
Remdesivir was superior to the placebo in shortening the recovery period.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2007764?query-featured_coronavirus=
8.
Lancet
:
Between 1 Sep., 2019 and 1 Mar., 2020, 30,569 of 194,637 people (15.7%) with rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus received two or more prescriptions of hydroxychloroquine. Between Mar. 1 and 13 Jul., 2020, there were 547 COVID-19 deaths, 70 among hydroxychloroquine users. Estimated standardized cumulative COVID-19 mortality was 0.23% among users and 0.22% among non-users.
<5 Nov.>
[key info]
Use of hydroxychloroquine was not associated with lower COVID-19 mortality.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanrhe/article/PIIS2665-9913(20)30378-7/fulltext#seccestitle70
9.
Lancet
:
In a study conducted among London care homes, 186 of 241 surviving residents
(77.2%)
and 208 of 254 staff members
(81.9%)
underwent serological testing. Almost all SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR positive residents and staff members were seropositive five weeks later, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic. Symptomatic but SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR negative residents and staff members also had high seropositivity rates, as did asymptomatic RT-PCR negative individuals.
<5 Nov.>
[key info]
High rates of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity among residents and staff were found in London care homes.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30341-2/fulltext
10.
Cell
:
A COVID-19 vaccine candidate was made of tiny artificial particles designed to mimic the structure of the virus. When mice were injected with this nanoparticle vaccine, they produced virus-blocking antibodies at levels comparable to or greater than those produced by people who had recovered from COVID-19. Mice that received the vaccine produced about ten times more of these antibodies than did rodents vaccinated only with the spike protein, on which many COVID-19 vaccine candidates rely. The vaccine also appeared to produce a strong response from special immune cells that helped to mount a fast defense after infection with SARS-CoV-2.
<6 Nov.>
[key info]
A nanoparticle vaccine candidate was found more powerful in triggering a protective immune response than other leading varieties.
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(20)31450-1?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867420314501%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
This is issue forty-five
, edited on the basis of information from the official websites including but not limited to those of
The World Health Organization,
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control,
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States of America, &
The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy of the University of Minnesota
and from the forums of FluTrackers.com.
This issue is edited by Alex Sun, Fred Wong, Dorothy Fang, and Dora Zhang under the supervision of Dr. Jason Chu and Conch Zhang.
2020 © The Chung Kwong Wui
