Learning from the pandemic to improve healthcare
(University of Southern California) The USC Viterbi School of Engineering, The Gehr Family Center at the Keck School of Medicine at USC, and the USC Price School of Public Policy are jointly hosting four 2-hour online sessions on learning from the pandemic to improve healthcare. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 20, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Children's National Hospital and NIAID launch study on long-term impacts of COVID-19 and MIS-C
(Children's National Hospital) Up to 2,000 children and young adults will be enrolled in a study from Children's National Hospital in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) that will examine the long-term effects of COVID-19 and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) after these patients have recovered from a COVID-19 infection. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 20, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Take your best shot: Which SARS-CoV-2 vaccine should I get, if any?
(University of Cincinnati) Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have developed a computerized decision analytic model to compare projected outcomes of three vaccine strategies: a patient opts for a messenger RNA vaccine, a patient decides to get an adenovirus vector vaccine or the patient simply forgoes a vaccine altogether. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 20, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

SARS-CoV-2: Achilles' heel of viral RNA
(Goethe University Frankfurt) Certain regions of the SARS-CoV-2 genome might be a suitable target for future drugs. This is what researchers at Goethe University, together with their collaborators in the international COVID-19-NMR consortium, have now discovered. With the help of dedicated substance libraries, they have identified several small molecules that bind to certain areas of the SARS-CoV-2 genome that are almost never altered by mutations. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 20, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

The environmental toll of disposable masks
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology) The high monetary cost and environmental toll of disposable N95 masks could be dramatically cut by adopting reusable masks, according to an MIT study that calculated the financial and environmental cost of several different mask usage scenarios. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 20, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

WVU-led team, through NIH grant, ramps up COVID-19 testing in rural West Virginia
(West Virginia University) With help from grant funding, the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute based at West Virginia University has expanded COVID-19 testing in partnership with the state's Department of Health and Human Resources and the National Guard and primary care clinics in the West Virginia Practice-Based Research Network. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 20, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Study refutes suspicion that dengue increases risk of microcephaly associated with zika
(Funda ç ã o de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de S ã o Paulo) Researchers compared data for pregnant women in two cities who were infected by zika virus in 2015-16. Factors that influenced the risk of fetal malformation were the high zika attack rate in the area and being infected in the first trimester of pregnancy. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 20, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Public trust in CDC, FDA, and Fauci holds steady, survey shows
(Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania) Top U.S. health agencies retain the trust of the vast majority of the American public, as does Dr. Anthony Fauci, according to a new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center. Public confidence has grown in the safety and effectiveness of vaccines to prevent Covid-19. But people who say they rely on conservative media have less confidence in Fauci and are more likely to accept misinformation and conspiracy theories. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 20, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Strong immune response underlies acute kidney injury related to COVID-19
(Mayo Clinic) Mayo Clinic researchers have found that acute kidney injury associated with COVID-19 resembles sepsis-caused kidney injury, and the immune response triggered by the infection plays a pivotal role.The findings, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, also suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction -- a loss of function in cellular energy production -- is commonly found in kidney injury related to COVID-19. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 20, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Antibiotic prescriptions for kids plummet during pandemic
(Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan) Study finds medications prescribed for children dropped by more than a quarter during the first eight months of the pandemic compared to the previous year, with the steepest declines in infection-related medicines like antibiotics and cough-and-cold drugs. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 20, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Public health summer program increases STEM career interests in high schoolers
(Rutgers University) High school students who participated in summer programs about public health increased their interest in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), according to a Rutgers study. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 19, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Mayo research provides insights into high-risk younger demographics for severe COVID-19
(Mayo Clinic) Using data from 9,859 COVID-19 infections, Mayo Clinic researchers have new insights into risk factors for younger populations, some of which differ significantly from their older counterparts. People younger than 45 had a greater than threefold increased risk of severe infection if they had cancer or heart disease, or blood, neurologic or endocrine disorders, the research found. These associations were weaker in older age groups. The study was published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 19, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

SARS-CoV-2 spike mutation L452R evades human immune response and enhances infectivity
(Kumamoto University) An international team of researchers led by Kumamoto and Tokyo Universities (Japan) have shown that the L452R mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which is common to two variants (Epsilon and Delta), is involved in cellular immunity evasion via the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) A24, and enhances viral infectivity. HLA-A24 is one of the most prominent HLA-class I alleles, especially in East/Southeast Asian populations, which might make them particularly vulnerable to variants with the mutation. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 19, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Rapid screening, face masks may prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission at indoor mass-gathering events
(American College of Physicians) An observational study in Barcelona, Spain found that implementation of same-day rapid screening, use of face masks, and improved ventilation was associated with very low rates of SARS-CoV-2 transmission at an indoor mass-gathering live concert without physical distancing. The brief research report is published in Annals of Internal Medicine. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 19, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

COVID-19-related immigration concerns among Latinx immigrants in US
(JAMA Network)What The Study Did:These results suggest that substantial proportions of Latinximmigrants have immigration concernsabout engaging in COVID-19-relatedtesting, treatment and contact tracing. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 19, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news