Article Summary
May 20, 2020
Detection of Nucleocapsid Antibody to SARS-CoV-2 Is More Sensitive than Antibody to Spike Protein in COVID-19 Patients
Luciferase immunopreciptation assay systems (LIPS) were found to be more sensitive to SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies to the nucleocapsid than antibodies to the spike protein at 15 or more days after symptom onset. Sampling daily from patients showed that immunocompromised patients generally had a delayed antibody response. Though this study only included symptomatic patients, among whom antibody levels are likely…
Emerging Phylogenetic Structure of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic
Fountain-Jones et al. studied the phylogenetic structures underlying the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and find support for three distinct lineages, each having different demographic trajectories. While the majority of sequences classified in Lineage A and B originated in China and have been subsequently found in Washington State and throughout the US, Lineage C was predominantly European with no evidence that it circulated in China. Demographic dynamics of the lineages are also concordant…
Influence of Wind and Relative Humidity on the Social Distancing Effectiveness to Prevent COVID-19 Airborne Transmission: A Numerical Study
Feng et al use a validated computational fluid particle dynamics model to simulate the behavior of SARS-CoV-2 laden droplets emitted by coughs. They find that under various wind and relative humidity conditions, microdroplets can be transported much farther than the recommended social distancing policy of 6 feet. The simulations also support previous studies that even wearing facial masks in an unrealistically loose condition…
Medical Mask versus Cotton Mask for Preventing Respiratory Droplet Transmission in Micro Environments
Ho et al. compared performance of medical masks and cotton masks in suppressing respiratory droplets from a coughing infectious person. Particles with size ranging 20-1000 nm (NC0.02-1) were measured for each participant while they were in a bedroom and a car wearing a medical mask and 100% cotton mask. There were no significant differences in NC0.02-1 between participants with medical masks and cotton…
May 19, 2020
Agent-Based Simulation for Evaluation of Contact-Tracing Policies Against the Spread of SARS-CoV-2
Bicher et al. developed an agent-base model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Austria that incorporates information about the disease course, contact networks(households, workplaces, schools), and infection control policies (lock down, contact tracing). The authors found that individual contact tracing (compared to household-level or workplace-level contact tracing) was the most effective policy, and could result in an81%…
Empirical Model of Spring 2020 Decrease in Daily Confirmed COVID-19 Cases in King County Washington
The author estimates that the number of daily confirmed COVID-19 cases in King County will decrease by 50% every 24.5 days (95% CI: 21.2 -28.8). Using this empirical model, the predicted number of daily incidentCOVID-19 cases in King County will be40 cases by May 24,and 20 cases by June 18, 2020. Roach. (May18,2020). Empirical Model…
Acute Heart Failure in Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) in the Context of Global SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic
A retrospective analysis of children in France and Switzerland suggests that children may experience acute heart failure and multisystem inflammatory syndrome following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Among 35 children admitted to pediatric intensive care for cardiogenic shock, left ventricular dysfunction, or a severe inflammatory state, 88% (31/35) of patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Belhadjer et al….
Distinct Systems Serology Features in Children Elderly and COVID Patients
Selva et al. investigated the cross-reactivity of SARS-CoV-2 and other circulating human coronavirus antibody responses in healthy children (n=89), adults (n=98), elderly (n=57), and COVID-19 patients (n=19). Their results suggest that less-experienced humoral immunity that is observed in children, associated with higher IgM, may have the potential to induce more potent antibodies upon SARS-CoV-2 infection,…
“Off-Label” Use of Hydroxychloroquine, Azithromycin, Lopinavir-Ritonavir and Chloroquine in COVID-19: A Survey of Cardiac Adverse Drug Reactions by the French Network of Pharmacovigilance Centers
Gerard et al. investigated the cardiac safety of hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, lopinavir-ritonavir and chloroquine for “off-label” use among COVID-19 patients. Over a one month period, 120 cardiac adverse drug reactions among COVID-19 patients were reported to the Nice Regional Center of Pharmacovigilance in France. 86% of these adverse events were associated with hydroxychloroquine, alone or in…
Clinical Characteristics and Early Outcomes in Patients with COVID-19 Treated with Tocilizumab at a United States Academic Center
The authors describe clinical outcomes for the first tocilizumab-treated cohort of 11 critically-ill patients with COVID-19 in the United States. Patients experienced mixed outcomes, highlighting the need for randomized trial data. Although C-reactive protein levels decreased in all patients following treatment (median211.6 mg/L pre-treatment vs. 19.7 mg/L at 5 days post-treatment), patients had higher IL-6…
Previous page Next page