Articles: pandemics.
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Wellcome open research · Jan 2020
Seasonality and immunity to laboratory-confirmed seasonal coronaviruses (HCoV-NL63, HCoV-OC43, and HCoV-229E): results from the Flu Watch cohort study.
Background: There is currently a pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The intensity and duration of this first and second waves in the UK may be dependent on whether SARS-CoV-2 transmits more effectively in the winter than the summer and the UK Government response is partially built upon the assumption that those infected will develop immunity to reinfection in the short term. In this paper we examine evidence for seasonality and immunity to laboratory-confirmed seasonal coronavirus (HCoV) from a prospective cohort study in England. ⋯ Eight participants had two confirmed infections, of which none had the same strain twice. Conclusion: Our results provide evidence that HCoV infection in England is most intense in winter, but that there is a small amount of ongoing transmission during summer periods. We found some evidence of immunity against homologous reinfection.
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J Educ Eval Health Prof · Jan 2020
Rules and guidelines for distancing in daily life to control coronavirus disease 2019 in Korea: 3rd version, announced on July 3, 2020
In Korea, the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was reported on January 21, 2020, after which the number of infected people began to increase. Intensive control measures stabilized the spread of COVID-19 in Korea. Therefore, the Korean government introduced the policy of “distancing in daily life” to support the maintenance of normal life starting on March 22, 2020. ⋯ Five key rules govern personal distancing in daily life: stay home for 3–4 days if you feel unwell; keep a distance of 2 arms’ length from others; wash your hands for 30 seconds and cough or sneeze into your sleeve; ventilate spaces at least twice a day and disinfect regularly; and stay connected while physically distancing. Collective distancing in daily life for communities and organizations is supported by these 5 key rules, and detailed guidelines are set out for different types of facilities. All individuals and communities are obliged to abide by these rules and guidelines for distancing as part of daily life.
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Severe or critical patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are at increased risk for developing acute kidney injury (AKI). However, the rate of AKI in patients of different severities and independent predictive factors associated with AKI are not well understood. ⋯ AKI is common among COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU and is recognized as a marker of disease severity. The proposed nomogram accurately predicted AKI development in ICU patients with COVID-19 based on individual characteristics. Therefore, the strategy for kidney protection against severe or critical pneumonia is appropriate.
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Coronovirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, which originated from Wuhan, China, has seized the whole world in its grasp and created a huge pandemic situation before humanity. Since December 2019, genomes of numerous isolates have been sequenced and analyzed for testing confirmation, epidemiology, and evolutionary studies. In the first half of this article, we provide a detailed review of the history and origin of COVID-19, followed by the taxonomy, nomenclature and genome organization of its causative agent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-related Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). ⋯ A total of 100-nucleotide segment-based homology studies revealed that the majority of the SARS-CoV-2 genome segments are close to Bat CoV, followed by some to Pangolin CoV, and some are unique ones. Open pan-genome of genus Betacoronavirus members indicates the diversity contributed by the novel viruses emerging in this group. Overall, the exploration of the diversity of these isolates, mutational hotspots and pan-genome will shed light on the evolution and pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 and help in developing putative methods of diagnosis and treatment.
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To identify investigated interventions for COVID-19 prevention or treatment via trial registry entries on planned or ongoing randomised clinical trials. To assess these registry entries for recruitment status, planned trial size, blinding and reporting of mortality. ⋯ An extraordinary number of randomized clinical trials investigating COVID-19 management have been initiated with a multitude of medical preventive, adjunctive and treatment modalities. Blinding will be used in only 47% of trials, which may have influence on future reported treatment effects. Fifty-seven percent of all trials will assess mortality as an outcome facilitating future meta-analyses.