Article Summary
January 21, 2021
Self-Collection of Saliva Specimens as a Suitable Alternative to Nasopharyngeal Swabs for the Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-QPCR
Comparison of paired nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) and saliva samples from 674 patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection show that compared to NPS, saliva has a sensitivity of 52% and specificity of 92%. Saliva sensitivity and specificity increased to 92% and 99%, respectively, when the cycle threshold (Ct) was ≤ 30. Ct values were significantly higher in…
Saliva Viral Load Better Correlates with Clinical and Immunological Profiles in Children with Coronavirus Disease 2019
Among 91 pediatric COVID-19 patients (<18 years) admitted to a hospital in Hong Kong, SARS-CoV-2 viral loads from saliva correlated better with clinical and immunological profiles than viral loads from nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS). Patients with cough, sputum production, and headache had significantly higher saliva, but not NPS, viral loads. Higher saliva, but not NPS, viral…
Factors Associated With US Public Motivation to Use and Distribute COVID-19 Self-Tests
A study among US adults (n=586) found high motivation for secondary distribution of COVID-19 self-testing kits, where at-risk/infected individuals distribute test kits to contacts in their social network. 90% of participants were motivated to distribute self-testing kits to contacts, 86% were motivated to self-test if given a kit from a potentially infected contact, and 83%…
Emergence of a Novel SARS-CoV-2 Strain in Southern California USA
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] A novel SARS-CoV-2 strain, CAL.20C, emerging from Southern California, was detected through genome sequence analysis. The strain’s increasing dominance has coincided with an increased positivity rate in that region. While first observed in July, CAL.20C accounted for 24% of cases by December 2020. CAL.20C is characterized by multiple mutations in the…
Genomic Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 Reveals Multiple Lineages and Early Spread of SARS-CoV-2 Infections in Lombardy, Italy
Sequence analysis of 346 whole SARS-CoV-2 genomes collected from Italy suggest that up to 7 viral lineages were circulating in the country between February and April 2020. Two lineages likely originated from Italy, including the B.1 lineage that is hypothesized to have given rise to variants emerging from the UK and South Africa. Local transmission…
The Association of COVID-19 Incidence with Sport and Face Mask Use in United States High School Athletes
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] A nationwide survey of 152,484 high school athletes found cumulative incidence of 1,682 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 athletes, corresponding to an incidence rate of 24.6 cases per 100,000 player-days between August and October 2020. Incidence was lower when sports were outdoors and non-contact but no differences were detected between team versus…
Estimating the Effects of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions on the Number of New Infections with COVID-19 during the First Epidemic Wave
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Using a Bayesian model and data from the first epidemic wave of 20 countries (including the US) to examine the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions, event bans (canceling mass gatherings of >50 people) were associated with the highest reduction in the number of new SARS-CoV-2 infections. Event bans reduced new infections by…
January 20, 2021
COVID-19 within a Large Prison with High Number of Vulnerable Adults in the UK, March to June 2020: An Outbreak Investigation and Screening Event
A SARS-CoV-2 outbreak investigation in a large prison with a vulnerable population was quickly contained, with only 58 out of 1,156 residents (5%) and 129 out of 510 staff (25%) developing COVID-19 symptoms. 62% of symptomatic residents were 50 years or older, and frequently reported symptoms were cough with no fever (29%), followed by a…
Epidemiology of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Facilities
COVID-19 incidence among people detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was higher than the incidence in the US general population, with an overall incidence of 214 per 1,000 people (5,810 cases among 27,189 people), with 6 deaths reported. The incidence was higher than in the general population in the surrounding county in 20…
Psychological Distress in North America during COVID-19: The Role of Pandemic-Related Stressors
US and Canadian participants who reported higher baseline (early in the COVID-19 pandemic) levels of personal threat to health and to the well-being of family members reported higher levels of depressive symptoms during subsequent surveys later in the pandemic, even after controlling for baseline depressive symptoms. Secondary stressors (social isolation, financial insecurity, occupational difficulty, and…
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