Article Summary
June 16, 2020
COVID-19 Outbreak Associated with Air Conditioning in Restaurant, Guangzhou, China, 2020
An outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 among 10 people from 3 family units was linked to an indoor air-conditioned restaurant in Guangzhou, China. Examination of the potential routes of transmission suggest that the most likely cause of this outbreak was droplet transmission from one asymptomatic index patient. The authors recommend increasing the distance between tables and improving…
Differential Occupational Risk for COVID-19 and Other Infection Exposure According to Race and Ethnicity
Using disaggregated employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Hawkins found that occupational segregation by race may contribute to racial disparities in SARS-CoV-2 infection. The author found that black Americans were more likely to be employed in essential industries (e.g. healthcare, animal slaughtering), occupations with higher exposure to infections (e.g. nursing), and occupations with close proximity to others (e.g. bus drivers, flight attendants). …
June 15, 2020
Clinical Characteristics of COVID-19 in 104 People with SARS-CoV-2 Infection on the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship: A Retrospective Analysis
Tabata et al. described the clinical features of 104 people with SARS-CoV-2 infection on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Tokyo, Japan. On admission to hospital, 43 (41%) were asymptomatic, 41 (39%) had mild COVID-19, and 20 (19%) had severe disease. Patients who progressed to sever disease were older age (median age 73 years vs. 60; p=0.028), were more likely to have consolidation on chest CT images (46% vs. 21%; p=0.035), and were more…
Clinical Manifestations and Evidence of Neurological Involvement in 2019 Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
A meta-analysis of 41 articles reported a wide spectrum of neurological involvement in COVID-19.The most common neurological symptoms included olfactory (smell) and gustatory (taste) disorders. Guillain-Barre syndrome and inflammation of the brain, spinal cord, and meninges were reported in multiple case series. Wang et al. (June 4, 2020). Clinical Manifestations and Evidence of Neurological Involvement in 2019 Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic…
SARS-CoV-2 Shedding and Seroconversion among Passengers Quarantined after Disembarking a Cruise Ship: A Case Series
Hung et al. reported a case series of 9 adult passengers with COVID-19 who had been on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. By day 8 of the 14-day quarantine period, eight (89%) were simultaneously positive for nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR and anti-RBD IgG. Six (67%) remained asymptomatic throughout the quarantine period. A combination of…
Presenting Symptoms of COVID-19 in Children: A Meta-Analysis of Published Studies
Assaker et al. performed a meta-analysis of 28 articles including 1,614 individuals to describe COVID-19 symptoms in children. Of 23 studies (n=1,543 patients) describing the distribution of COVID-19 severity, they found that children typically presented with mild (37%) or moderate (45%) upper respiratory tract infection, and cases were rarely severe (3%) or critical (0.6%). Fever (48% prevalence) and cough (40% prevalence) were the most common symptoms. Assaker et al. (May 31, 2020). Presenting…
First Clinical Use of Lenzilumab to Neutralize GM-CSF in Patients with Severe and Critical COVID-19 Pneumonia
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Temesgen et al. reported the use of lenzilumab, an anti- GM-CSF monoclonal antibody, in 12 patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Of the 12 treated patients, 11 (92%) patients had significantly improved clinical outcomes. There were no treatment-related adverse events and no deaths. Temesgen et al. (June 12, 2020). First Clinical Use of Lenzilumab to Neutralize GM-CSF in Patients with Severe…
Multiple Assays in a Real-Time RT-PCR SARS-CoV-2 Panel Can Mitigate the Risk of Loss of Sensitivity by New Genomic Variants during the COVID-19 Outbreak
Penarrubia et al. assessed the effect of accumulated genetic variability of SARS-CoV-2 on sensitivity of five SARS-CoV-2 PCR assays. A total of 11,627 (34%) genomes included single mutations that affected annealing of a PCR assay. Variations in 8,773 (26%) genomes were considered high risk, whereas an additional 2,854 (8.43%) genomes had single mutations that were not predicted affect sensitivity. Targeting more than one region in the viral genome…
Persistent Viral RNA Shedding after COVID‐19 Symptom Resolution in Older Convalescent Plasma Donors
Hartman et al. re-tested 86 patients within 28 days after self-reported symptom resolution to investigate SARS-CoV-2 clearance. They found persistent viral shedding in 11/86 (13%) participants at a median of 19 days (range 12-24 days) after symptom resolution. Participants with persistent shedding were significantly older (mean age 54 years vs. 42 years) and older people were more likely to have higher viral concentrations. These results may have…
Nasal-Swab Testing Misses Patients with Low SARS-CoV-2 Viral Loads
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Callahan et al. compared results of nasal specimens under 3 transport conditions, traditional viral transport media (VTM), GITC transport medium, and dry swabs, to those of standard nasopharynx swabs collected at the same time among 308 individuals. They observed high concordance (Cohen’s kappa >0.8) only for patients with viral loads (VL) from the nasal samples >1000 copies/mL. There…
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