Scientists have identified an alternative amplification technique to detect the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2, that causes COVID-19, which could offer a way to rapidly test large number of people for the disease.
However, the researchers from Heidelberg University in Germany noted that the technique is not as sensitive as quantitative RT-PCR, the current standard method for COVID-19 testing.
Faster and less complicated testing could aid in the rapid isolation of infected people and help to identify and prevent new outbreaks of the disease until a vaccine becomes available, they said.
The researchers noted that quantitative RT-PCR can successfully detect viral RNA but requires expensive machinery and chemical reagents that can sometimes be in short supply.
The standard method also depends on time-consuming temperature cycling steps to amplify enough RNA from a patient sample for detection, resulting in a processing time between three and 24 hours in most clinical laboratories, they said.
In the journal Science Translational Medicine, the researchers propose using a technique called reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP), which can be carried out at a constant temperature using simple equipment and a different set of reagents.
https://www.financia...ntists/2037574/
https://www.eurekale...t-aat072720.php
By reconstructing the evolutionary history of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, an international research team of Chinese, European, and U.S. scientists has discovered that the lineage that gave rise to the virus has been circulating in bats for decades and likely includes other viruses with the ability to infect humans. The findings, which University of Glasgow scientists contributed to, have implications for the prevention of future pandemics stemming from this lineage.
"Coronaviruses have genetic material that is highly recombinant, meaning different regions of the virus's genome can be derived from multiple sources," said Maciej Boni, associate professor of biology, Penn State. "This has made it difficult to reconstruct SARS-CoV-2's origins. You have to identify all the regions that have been recombining and trace their histories. To do that, we put together a diverse team with expertise in recombination, phylogenetic dating, virus sampling, and molecular and viral evolution."
The team used three different bioinformatic approaches to identify and remove the recombinant regions within the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Next, they reconstructed phylogenetic histories for the non-recombinant regions and compared them to each other to see which specific viruses have been involved in recombination events in the past. They were able to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships between SARS-CoV-2 and its closest known bat and pangolin viruses. Their findings appear today in Nature Microbiology.
The researchers found that the lineage of viruses to which SARS-CoV-2 belongs diverged from other bat viruses about 40-70 years ago. Importantly, although SARS-CoV-2 is genetically similar (about 96%) to the RaTG13 coronavirus, which was sampled from a Rhinolophus affinis horseshoe bat in 2013 in Yunnan province, China, the team found that it diverged from RaTG13 a relatively long time ago, in 1969.
https://phys.org/new...-sars-cov-.html
https://www.nature.c...1564-020-0771-4
MONDAY, July 27, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a massive scientific response to the crisis, with more than 1,500 coronavirus studies kicking off between March and mid-May of this year, a new study reports.
Unfortunately, much of this research has sown only confusion, producing precious little scientific evidence of sufficient quality to dramatically improve any understanding of COVID-19, researchers argue.
Only about three in 10 COVID-19 studies have been designed with enough rigor to produce valuable evidence about the coronavirus, said lead researcher Dr. Mintu Turakhia, director of the Center for Digital Health at Stanford University in California.
"There's been an extraordinary activation of clinical research around COVID, and that's great," Turakhia said. "The problem is, the majority of these studies are not likely to yield really strong evidence."
Only 75 out of 664 clinical trials for COVID-19 -- about 11% -- have all the hallmarks of a scientific study that could be expected to produce solid results, according to the study published online July 27 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
https://www.webmd.co...ble-experts-say
One Third of Outpatients With COVID-19 Are Unwell Weeks Later
https://www.webmd.co...ell-weeks-later
In a new study in Cell Discovery, Chen-Yu Zhang's group at Nanjing University and two other groups from Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Second Hospital of Nanjing present a novel finding that absorbed miRNA MIR2911 in honeysuckle decoction (HD) can directly target SARS-CoV-2 genes and inhibit viral replication. Drinking of HD accelerate the negative conversion of COVID-19 patients.
https://www.eurekale...o-apa072720.php
Reversing a three-year decline, the number of people covered by Medicaid nationwide rose markedly this spring as the impact of the recession caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 began to take hold.
Yet, the growth in participation in the state-federal health insurance program for low-income people was less than many analysts predicted. One possible factor tempering enrollment: People with concerns about catching the coronavirus avoided seeking care and figured they didn’t need the coverage.
Program sign-ups are widely expected to accelerate through the summer, reflecting the higher number of unemployed. As people lose their jobs, many often are left without workplace coverage or the money to buy insurance on their own.
https://khn.org/news...aid-enrollment/
In Texas, More People Are Losing Their Health Insurance as COVID Cases Climb
https://khn.org/news...id-cases-climb/
In spite of Vietnam’s widely acclaimed success in containing the COVID-19 without a single death, NGOs are warning that the country’s huge wildlife trade, estimated to be worth $1 billion, leaves the door wide open to new viruses and pandemics that could emerge from a nexus of trafficking, wet markets, and wildlife farms.
Huong is calling for strong measures to be taken. “We must expand efforts to stop the illegal wildlife trade that poses a health risk, as well as to close wildlife markets when they threaten human and animal health. We have to prevent this kaleidoscope of pathogens from entering the country.”
The executive order signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on July 23 is designed to remedy the poor enforcement of existing wildlife trafficking laws. The directive calls on ministries to revise and update laws to “Stop the import of living or dead wild animals, eggs, larvae, parts and derivatives of wild animals and resolutely eliminate markets and places linked to illegal wildlife trading.”
This far-reaching directive seeks to enlist national security agencies to investigate and stop transnational wildlife syndicates that use Vietnam as a transit hub to traffic wildlife and animal parts, including rhino horns and ivory from Africa, to their final destination in China. The directive orders ministries to revise old legislation but does not replace existing laws.
etc
https://thediplomat....-next-pandemic/
The experience of dealing with two previous waves may also be helpful for Vietnam in tackling the newest cases in Da Nang. On the night of March 6, when the 17th case was reported in Hanoi, the city held an urgent meeting, then coordinated with related ministries — including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Public Security, and Ministry of Transportation — to prevent the virus from spreading to the community. Thanks to this effective coordination, public health measures such as aggressive contact tracing, mandatory quarantine, and sterilization of surfaces were taken immediately, which enabled the government to stop community transmission and lift the large-scale lockdown still common in many Southeast Asian nations at that time.
Recently, when the 416th case was reported — the first case of community spread after 99 days without a local infection – Da Nang’s local government followed the same patterns as Hanoi did before. Directive 16 on social distancing was issued, banning the gathering of more than two people in public places; mass screening and sterilization campaigns were conducted, and the number of people coming in and out of Da Nang was highly restricted. With these stringent actions, Da Nang may be well able to control COVID-19’s community spread, and Vietnam may be able to handle this wave through a local lockdown on vulnerable places like Da Nang and its neighboring provinces, instead of returning to the national scale lockdown of several months ago.
etc
https://thediplomat....19-has-arrived/
Like Vietnam and Laos, Cambodia has emerged relatively unscathed from the pandemic when compared with elsewhere. There have been 226 confirmed cases and no deaths from a pandemic that has reached 13 out of 25 provinces and the capital Phnom Penh.
Of those confirmed to have COVID-19, 147 patients have recovered.
Land borders with Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand remain closed. But between June 20 and July 25, 108 cases were detected out of 23,567 passengers arriving from Indonesia and Malaysia, prompting Hun Sen to suspend all flights with both countries.
The suspension was expected to strengthen “health safety for people across the country because from August and September, Cambodia will have many holidays, and people will travel to different tourism destinations,” the government said.
While the numbers are small, the spike is worrying and on paper at least correlates with a nasty increase in COVID-19 cases recorded everywhere from the United States to Australia.
“People should not underestimate Covid-19. This respiratory disease is very serious, highly infectious and there is no cure yet,” the prime minister wrote on his Facebook page.
He has also agreed in principle to eliminate the $3,000 deposit and $50,000 COVID-19 insurance for investors, business people, and experts that is required when entering the country.
etc
https://thediplomat....n-covid-course/
TAIPEI: Taiwan on Tuesday (Jul 28) was investigating its first possible local coronavirus infection in more than a month, a Thai man who tested positive last week, as the island also faces a rise in cases brought from overseas.
Taiwan's early response was effective in keeping the pandemic at bay, with just 467 infections and seven deaths. Most of the cases have been imported and have recovered.
Until the Thai man's positive test, the island had not seen a local case of coronavirus infection since Jun 24.
https://www.channeln...-month-12969962
Covid-19 news: This is the "most severe" health crisis ever, says WHO
https://www.newscien...-ever-says-who/
Israel’s top court has rejected a petition demanding protection for Palestinian prisoners at Gilboa prison from the threat of the coronavirus - such as social distancing - despite an outbreak of the disease at the detention centre.
Currently, 30 prison guards and seven prisoners are infected with the potentially deadly disease, while 489 guards and 58 prisoners are in quarantine in the northern Israeli prison.
Last Thursday, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that Palestinian prisoners do not have the right to social distancing as protection against the deadly coronavirus.
https://english.alar...istancing-court
U.S. Senate Republicans released their 1-trillion-dollar COVID-19 relief proposal Monday afternoon, which includes a reduction in federal unemployment benefits, another round of 1,200-dollar direct payments to individuals, and liability protection for businesses and schools.
As part of the 2.2-trillion-dollar coronavirus relief bill passed in late March, Congress agreed to provide extra 600-dollar unemployment benefits per week, which are set to expire at the end of this month.
The Senate Republicans' plan would slash extra weekly unemployment benefits from 600 dollars to 200 dollars, which could be a key sticking point in negotiations with Democrats, who have wanted to maintain the level of benefits through January.
The White House and Republicans have contended that the 600-dollar benefits have created a financial disincentive for people to return to work, an argument refuted by some economists, who believe employers were not hiring because businesses were closed by stay-at-home orders or because they lacked demand from customers, and many people are ready to work regardless of how generous unemployment insurance is.
http://www.ecns.cn/n...ei9790206.shtml
Herman Cain Remains Hospitalized For COVID-19 Weeks After Infection
https://talkingpoint...zation-covid-19
Twitter Suspends Donald Trump Jr. for Tweeting COVID-19 Misinformation
https://www.vice.com...-misinformation
As COVID-19 Drives NYers To Drink Outside, The NYPD Is Still Overwhelmingly Ticketing People Of Color
https://gothamist.co...ng-people-color
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