Tulane Outbreak Daily | May 7, 2020

Upcoming Virtual Events:

1. SARS-CoV-2 serological testing: What is it and what does it mean?
   May 13 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm EDT
2. TARGETED NGS OF SARS-COV-2
   May 13 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT
3. EPA Expands Research on SARS-CoV-2 in the Environment
   May 27 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CDT

Details for registration on our website

Featured Headlines

Readers, a series of articles on SARS-CoV-2 mutation and links to papers below. It would be great to hear your opinions in the comments. If you would prefer to comment without attribution, send me an email.

• 14 mutations found in SARS-CoV-2: One strain may be more easily spread – Medical Express

A team of researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS and the Duke Human Vaccine Institute and Department of Surgery has found 14 mutations to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, one of which they suspect might be more easily spread. In the interest of speedy dissemination of findings, the group has uploaded their paper to the bioRxiv preprint server rather than waiting for peer review at another journal. [Related pre-print study]

• Expert reaction to paper looking at evolution of Sars-CoV-2, reporting there are not distinct types of the virus – Science Media Center

A study, published in the journal Virus Evolution, reports on the volution of Sars-CoV-2, reporting there are not distinct types of the virus. Dr Jonathan Stoye, Head of Division of Virology, The Francis Crick Institute, said: “In this rapidly moving pandemic, the dataset examined in this paper closed on the March 12 with 396 sequences compared to some newer, although unpublished, work which assess April 12 (6331 sequences) and April 19 (7666 sequences) for the Los Alamos± and UCL¥ studies. This means there will be additional genetic changes that have happened since the Glasgow analysis took place.”

• A Highly Transmissible Mutant Form Of SARS-CoV-2 Hit Europe And North America, New Paper Suggests – IFL Science

The form of SARS-CoV-2 that spread like wildfire across Europe before taking over North America features a mutation that makes the virus more transmissible than the form that spread in the early days of the pandemic, according to new research.

• Research shows SARS-CoV-2 has not mutated – ScienceFocus

Recent research had suggested more than one type of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is now circulating, with one strain being more aggressive and causing more serious illness than the other.

• The Problem With Stories About Dangerous Coronavirus Mutations – The Atlantic

As if the pandemic weren’t bad enough, on April 30, a team led by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory released a paper that purportedly described “the emergence of a more transmissible form” of the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. This new form, the team wrote, “began spreading in Europe in early February.” Whenever it appeared in a new place, including the U.S., it rapidly rose to dominance. Its success, the team suggested, is likely due to a single mutation, which is now “of urgent concern.”

What’s Up with the Elevated Liver Biochemistries (LFT’s) in COVID-19? – FLARE

Elevated liver biochemistries (often called LFTs and generally encompassing AST, ALT, alkaline phosphatase, and total and direct bilirubin, +/- GGT) are common in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Occasionally these elevations reach a threshold that triggers clinical concern. In tonight’s FLARE, we describe what is known about LFTs in COVID-19 as well as the clinical implications of elevated LFTs in this disease.

Black people in UK ‘nearly twice as likely to die’ – BBC

UK government data suggests black people twice as likely as whites to die, while other ethnic minority groups also worse affected

Sewage poses potential COVID-19 transmission risk, experts warn – Science Daily

Environmental biologists have warned that the potential spread of COVID-19 via sewage ‘must not be neglected’ in the battle to protect human health.

U.S. Coronavirus Testing Still Falls Short. How’s Your State Doing? – NPR

[4 minute audio at the link] To safely phase out social distancing measures, the U.S. needs more diagnostic testing for the coronavirus, experts say. But how much more?

2nd COVID-19 Wave: Most Americans Are Still Susceptible

Dr. Ali Khan, former director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says he is confident that a second wave will happen. That’s because, he says in an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition, the vast majority of people in the U.S. are likely still at risk of contracting the virus.

Hoping Llamas Will Become Coronavirus Heroes – NYT

Antibodies from Winter, a 4-year-old llama with great eyelashes, have neutralized coronavirus and other infections in lab experiments.

[Editor’s note: I was waiting for a published paper to post this story, and it turns out there is one] .[Related Study in Cell]

WHO says ‘there can be no going back to business as usual’ after coronavirus pandemic – CNBC

The World Health Organization warned world leaders Wednesday that there can be “no going back to business as usual” following the coronavirus pandemic, which has upended economies and wreaked havoc on nearly every country across the globe.

Structure of COVID-19 virus hints at key to high infection rate – Cornell University

A Cornell study of the structure of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, reveals a unique feature that could explain why it is so transmissible between people. The Cornell group also notes that – aside from primates – cats, ferrets and mink are the animal species apparently most susceptible to the human virus. [Related Study]

Anticoagulation Associated With Improved Outcomes in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients – American College of Cardiology

Of 2,773 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, 786 (28%) received systemic anticoagulation during their hospital stay. The median length of stay was five days, while the median time from admission to anticoagulation initiation was two days and the median anticoagulation treatment was three days. Among patients who received anticoagulation, in-hospital mortality was 22.5% with a median survival of 21 days, compared with 22.8% and a median survival of 14 days among patients who did not receive anticoagulation. [Related Pre-Print Study]

SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and rivers – Medical news.net

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 shows that while the virus causing COVID-19 may be present in wastewater and rivers, the biological agent is typically devoid of vitality and unable to cause active infection. This should provide some relief to public health authorities in their quest to contain the virus.[Related pre-print study]

COVID-19 could further destabilize Haiti, other fragile nations – CIDRAP

With different parts of the world at different stages of the pandemic, with variations even within countries, World Health Organization (WHO) officials today urged nations to take extra care in relaxing their distancing measures, and they raised concerns about COVID-19 spreading in countries like Haiti that are already struggling with humanitarian issues.