Tulane Outbreak

Featured Headlines

Some parts of the U.S. are ‘on the cusp of losing control’ – CNBC

As new coronavirus cases surge in several states across the American South and West, the hardest-hit areas are now “on the cusp of losing control,” former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Thursday.

10 Percent of Wuhan Study Patients Lose Coronavirus Antibodies Within Weeks – Newsweek

Chinese scientists have cast doubt over whether we have long-lasting immunity to the coronavirus in two studies released this week, prompting them to question the use of immunity certificates. [Related pre-pub study]

We Will Be Living With the Coronavirus Pandemic Well Into 2021 – Bloomberg

Most experts believe a vaccine won’t be ready until next year. It’s time to reset our expectations and change our behavior.

Dr. Fauci is frustrated Americans aren’t taking virus seriously; global cases top 8.5 million – CNBC

Global coronavirus cases now top 8.5 million, having added another 1 million cases in just over a week. Hot spots in Latin America and the Middle East have contributed to the rise, with cases still ticking higher in the U.S. and cases in Europe hitting a relative plateau.

Wildlife Trade Spreads Coronaviruses as Animals Get to Market – New York Times

DNA tests show an increase in the number of animals with positive tests for some coronaviruses from the time they are trapped until they arrive on someone’s dinner plate. (Dr. W., I’m always on the lookout for zoonotic headlines)

People probably caught coronavirus from minks. That’s a wake-up call to study infections in animals, researchers say. – Washington Post

The minks on Dutch fur farms first got sick in mid-April, showing symptoms ranging from runny noses to severe respiratory distress. They had caught the novel coronavirus from human handlers, the government later said, and soon farmed minks appeared to have passed it back to two other people, in the world’s first reports of animal-to-human transmission since the pandemic began.

Clinical Considerations

Chloroquine-induced torsades de pointes in a patient Q1 with coronavirus disease 2019 – Heart Rhythm Journal

The case for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, as treatment of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, has been voiced not only in medical journals1 but also in the popular press.2 Not only is the efficacy of these antimalarial and anti-inflammatory compounds as antiviral drugs uncertain, but there is also an ongoing debate about their safety.

What Does Asymptomatic COVID-19 Look Like Under the Surface? – MedPageToday

Asymptomatic individuals carrying SARS-CoV-2 shed the virus longer than those with COVID-19 symptoms, with other lab findings suggesting the symptomatic patients mounted more robust immune responses. [Related Nature Study]

Asymptomatic COVID-19 Cases May Have Weaker Immune Responses – Genetic Engineering and Biotech News

A SARS-CoV-2 infection can result in a wide spectrum of symptoms, from asymptomatic to gravely ill. The majority of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 experience a mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms that include fever, cough, and shortness of breath—appearing 2–14 days after exposure. However, other infections remain asymptomatic. Neither the clinical features nor the immune responses of asymptomatic cases have been well described.

COVID-19 patients can ‘shed high load of virus’ in first week, irrespective of symptoms: Singapore study – CNA

COVID-19 patients can shed high loads of the novel coronavirus into the air and onto surfaces in their first week of illness, irrespective of their symptoms, according to a recent Singapore study published by the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

Hypertension Ups Risk of Dying From COVID-19, But What About BP Meds? – MedPageToday

According to the CDC, 45% of Americans have hypertension or are taking medications for this condition. Concerns that angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), also known as RAAS inhibitors, increase susceptibility to COVID-19 and the likelihood of severe disease are based on considerations of biological plausibility and the observation that there is an overrepresentation of patients with hypertension and other cardiovascular comorbidities among patients with COVID-19 who have poor outcomes.