Article Summary
June 17, 2020
A Combined Oropharyngeal/Nares Swab Is a Suitable Alternative to Nasopharyngeal Swabs for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2
Paired oropharyngeal/nares (OP/Na) and nasopharyngeal (NP) samples were collected from 190 individuals with suspected COVID-19, of whom 36 were positive by at least one molecular method. There was high concordance of results between OP/Na and NP samples, with the greatest discordance observed in those individuals with low viral concentrations. LeBlanc et al. (July 2020). A Combined Oropharyngeal/Nares Swab Is a Suitable Alternative…
Potent Neutralizing Antibodies from COVID-19 Patients Define Multiple Targets of Vulnerability
Antibodies isolated from three convalescent COVID-19 patients were found to have strong neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2. Further analysis revealed several sites on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that could be targeted for vaccine development. Brouwer et al. (June 2020). Potent Neutralizing Antibodies from COVID-19 Patients Define Multiple Targets of Vulnerability. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abc5902
Environmental Surface Testing for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during Prolonged Isolation of an Asymptomatic Carrier
Testing of high-touch surfaces (e.g. mobile phone, door handle) in an isolation room of an asymptomatic pediatric patient positive for SARS-CoV-2 found no evidence of environmental contamination. The patient had been diagnosed 41 days prior to sampling, but remained PCR positive without decrease in viral titer. The most recent cleaning of the environment was 4 days prior. These results give some indication…
The Assessment of Transmission Efficiency and Latent Infection Period on Asymptomatic Carriers of SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Of 147 initially asymptomatic individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection in Anhui Province, China, 11% developed illness during a 14 day isolation period. The secondary attack rate was 10% for the pre-symptomatic carriers, versus 3% for the asymptomatic carriers. Liu et al. (June 2020). The Assessment of Transmission Efficiency and Latent Infection Period on Asymptomatic Carriers of SARS-CoV-2 Infection. International Journal of Infectious Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.06.036
Epidemiological Features and Viral Shedding in Children with SARS-CoV-2 Infection
An analysis of all children (n=314) from families with SARS-CoV-2 infected members in Zhejiang Province, China found incidence in children who were close contacts was significantly lower than in adults who were close contacts (13% vs 21%). Among 43 pediatric cases, the mean age was 8.2 years and mean incubation was 9.1 days, 77% had mild pneumonia and the remainder were asymptomatic. While SARS-CoV-2 RNA could…
SARS-CoV-2 Community Transmission During Shelter-in-Place in San Francisco
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] All residents and non-residents who work in a densely-populated, majority Latinx San Francisco community were offered SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing (2,598 of 5,174 residents and 1,355 non-resident workers were tested). The estimated SARS-CoV-2 prevalence among residents was 4% among Latinx vs 0.2% among non-Latinx, while estimated prevalence among workers was 10% for Latinx and 0% for non-Latinx workers. Twenty-nine percent of PCR–positive participants remained asymptomatic after two weeks of follow-up. The estimated seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was…
Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 in Breastmilk from 18 Infected Women
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] One out of 64 (2%) serial breastmilk samples from 18 SARS-CoV-2 infected women (1 asymptomatic) in the US was positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR. The positive sample was collected on the day of symptom onset. Samples 2 days prior and 12 and 14 days later were negative and viral culture of the positive sample was negative. In a separate analysis, replication-competent…
Community Use Of Face Masks And COVID-19: Evidence From A Natural Experiment Of State Mandates In The US
A comparison of COVID-19 case trends between US counties (n=2,930) found small differences in case trends comparing between counties with and without face mask mandates before the implementation of the mandate and larger and statistically significant differences in counties after they implemented face mask mandates. Compared to counties that did not implement a face mask mandate, daily case rates declined by 0.9% within…
Geospatial Digital Monitoring of COVID-19 Cases at High Spatiotemporal Resolution
De Ridder et al. analyzed the daily geographical clustering dynamics of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Geneva, Switzerland and found no clusters form within the first 8 days of detection of the first positive patient—indicating a window in which transmission to neighbors can be curbed—and that the first clusters emerged in areas of high population density. The authors propose use…
June 16, 2020
Age-Dependent Effects in the Transmission and Control of COVID-19 Epidemics
Davies et al. used mathematical modeling to estimate the age-specific susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the age-specific fraction of infections that are symptomatic. After fitting their model to data from 6 countries, they estimated that people under the age of 20 years are half as susceptible to infection as those over 20 years of age, 79%…
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