Article Summary
June 1, 2020
Performance of Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 Rapid Nucleic Acid Amplification Test in Nasopharyngeal Swabs Transported in Viral Media and Dry Nasal Swabs, in a New York City Academic Institution
Basu et al. evaluated the performance of the recently–released Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 assay for SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection with the Cepheid Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2. They found that the ID NOW assay has utility as a rapid rule-in test for COVID-19 with samples at high viral load; however, an overall low positive percent agreement (55%-67%) of ID NOW with Xpert Xpress raises concerns regarding…
Introductions and Early Spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the New York City Area
Gonzalex-Reiche et al. report phylogenetic analysis of patients seeking care at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City revealed 84 distinct SARS-CoV2 genomes, corresponding to multiple independent introductions, mainly from Europe and other parts of the United States. There was also evidence for community transmission of SARS-CoV-2, as suggested by clusters of related viruses found in patients living in different neighborhoods of…
The Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2: From a Zoonotic Infection to Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID19)
A phylogenetic analysis reconstructed from CoV strains demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2, bat RaTG13 and pangolin CoV genomes formed a cluster, suggesting a close relationship between SARS-CoV-2 and bat SARS-like strains, and that pangolins may serve as SARS-CoV-2 intermediate hosts. Some of the observed variations in protein may serve as possible adaptation mutations in humans, but more studies are needed to better understand their function. Bezerra et al. (May…
Asymptomatic Transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 and Implications for Mass Gatherings
Wong et al. report two further generations of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from attendees at a 16,000-person event who remained asymptomatic. The investigation confirmed 19 cases of SARS-CoV-2 among attendees and 52 cases among their secondary contacts. The authors argue for widespread testing at mass gatherings in areas of known community transmission. Wong et al. (May 30, 2020). Asymptomatic Transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 and Implications for Mass Gatherings. Influenza and Other…
Detectable Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Human Breast Milk of a Mildly Symptomatic Patient with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Tam et al. reported a first case of detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA from human milk in a forty-year old woman with COVID-19. Despite mild clinical symptoms, this patient had detectable viral RNA in two separate samples of human milk taken ten days apart, which were interspersed with a several negative results. The significance of this finding is uncertain as detectable RNA in these samples has not been shown to indicate…
Small Droplet Aerosols in Poorly Ventilated Spaces and SARS-CoV-2 Transmission
Somsen et al. use an experimental system with healthy volunteers to examine the number, size, and persistence of respiratory droplets produced during a cough, sneeze, and normal talking. Small droplets of the size potentially associated with aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 persisted up to 9 minutes. Increasing ventilation through mechanical systems and opening a door or a window substantially decreased the persistence…
Estimation of the Basic Reproduction Number, Average Incubation Time, Asymptomatic Infection Rate, and Case Fatality Rate for COVID-19: Meta-Analysis and Sensitivity Analysis
He et al. performed a meta-analysis of 22 studies that evaluate measures of COVID-19 dynamics and estimated the basic reproduction number (R0) to be 3.15 (95% CI 2.41, 3.90), the average incubation time to be 5.08 days (4.77, 5.39), the asymptomatic infection rate to be 46% (18.48%, 73.60%), and the case fatality rate to be 2.72% (1.29%, 4.16%) when asymptomatic infections are included. He et…
Surgical Mask Partition Reduces the Risk of Non-Contact Transmission in a Golden Syrian Hamster Model for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
A hamster SARS-CoV-2 model experiment reported the effect of adding a partition that simulates a surgical mask on transmission between hamsters in separate cages with unidirectional airflow. In the absence of a mask partition, 67% (10 of 15) of exposed hamsters became infected. Adding the surgical mask partition reduced transmission to between 17 and 25%, depending on configuration. Chan et al. (May 30, 2020). Surgical Mask Partition Reduces…
Wastewater Surveillance for Population-Wide Covid-19: The Present and Future
Daughton described the Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE) method as a potential tool for containing and mitigating COVID-19 outbreaks. WBE measures chemical signatures in sewage, such as fragment biomarkers from the SARS-CoV-2, by applying clinical diagnostic testing to the collective signature of entire communities. Daughton. (May 20, 2020). Wastewater Surveillance for Population-Wide Covid-19: The Present and Future. The Science of the Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139631
May 29, 2020
Causal Impact of Masks Policies Behavior on Early Covid-19 Pandemic in the U.S.
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Chernozhukov et al. constructed counterfactual causal models to evaluate the dynamic impact of various policies on behavioral responses relevant to COVID-19 control. They concluded that these policies (e.g., school, business, and restaurant closures) explain a large fraction of observed changes in social distancing behavior. They estimate that if all policies had been removed on April 1, it would have led to an additional 30– to 200-fold more cases and that nationally mandating face masks would have…
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