Tulane Outbreak Daily | May 27, 2020

Featured Headlines

Merck, one of Big Pharma’s biggest players, reveals its COVID-19 vaccine and therapy plans – Science

Merck, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, has been conspicuously absent from the race to develop COVID-19 vaccines and drugs. No longer. The company this morning announced it has cut deals to develop and manufacture two different COVID-19 vaccines and a much-discussed experimental antiviral compound that is already in early clinical trials.

France, Italy, Belgium act to stop use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 on safety fears – Reuters

France, Italy and Belgium acted to halt the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat patients suffering from COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, amid questions about the safety of the generic anti-malaria drug.

The long-awaited awaited remdesivir trial – FLARE

Antibody testing holds promise as a method by which to identify the true past incidence or current prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection (Sood et al. 2020; NIAID n.d.). Antibody testing may also be helpful for determining infection status in a patient with a high clinical suspicion for disease but with negative viral testing, for identifying potential donors for convalescent plasma, and for assessing immunologic response to vaccine candidates. Additionally, many patients who have had viral syndromes and either tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 or were unable to receive testing may be interested in antibody testing to determine if they may have had a prior infection. Lastly, if antibodies are shown to be protective against future infection, knowing an individual’s antibody status may help with risk assessment for particular activities.

Tough weeks ahead for South America’s COVID-19 hot spots – CIDRAP

As the global COVID-19 total passed 5 million last week, cases in Latin America—the current epicenter—passed the United States and Europe in number of cases, and though Brazil’s total is highest in the region, health officials are worried about an even higher incidence in Chile and Peru, where outbreaks are accelerating.

How to avoid a second wave of infections – Washington Post/John Barry

All 50 states have now started to come out of lockdown, in many cases without meeting White House guidelines and without adequate testing and contact tracing capacity. So how can we minimize deaths in this new reality — and prevent a potentially explosive new wave? Lessons of the past — and what we have learned from our present condition — provide some guidance.

America’s response to coronavirus pandemic is ‘incomprehensibly incoherent,’ says historian who studied the 1918 flu – Washington Post/John Barry

Well, until a couple of decades ago, historians wrote only about what people did to people. It was very unusual for historians to write about what nature did to people. Another thing is because of the war and the infrastructure of propaganda that [President] Wilson had created, newspapers didn’t write about it. And if they did, it was some relatively inconsequential article.

Is Alzheimer’s Gene Tied to Higher COVID Risk? – Med Page Today

U.K. Biobank data assesses coronavirus test data by genotype. Britons who had two copies of the APOE4 allele — the most prevalent genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease — were at markedly higher risk of testing positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, an analysis of U.K. Biobank data suggested. [Related Study]

Beware of false negatives in diagnostic testing of COVID-19 – Science Daily

Researchers have found that the chance of a false negative result — when a virus is not detected in a person who actually is, or recently has been, infected — is greater than 1 in 5 and, at times, far higher. [Related Study]

Nearing 100,000 COVID-19 Deaths, U.S. Is Still ‘Early In This Outbreak’ – NPR

[5 min audio at link] The bleak milestone the U.S. is about to hit — 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 — is far above the number of deaths seen from the pandemic in any other country. So far, the impact of the coronavirus has been felt unevenly, striking certain cities and regions and particular segments of society much harder than others.

Virus Hunters Seek To Solve The Mystery Of Coronavirus Origins – NPR

[Video at link] Scientists have learned a great deal about how the novel coronavirus spreads. But one of the mysteries they’re still trying to untangle is where the virus, known as SARS-CoV-2, came from in the first place. Scientific evidence points overwhelmingly to wildlife — and to bats as the most likely origin point.

The Toughest Triage — Allocating Ventilators in a Pandemic – NEJM

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to severe shortages of many essential goods and services, from hand sanitizers and N95 masks to ICU beds and ventilators. Although rationing is not unprecedented, never before has the American public been faced with the prospect of having to ration medical goods and services on this scale.

Placental Injury Seen in Pregnant Women With SARS-CoV-2 – Physicians Weekly

Higher rates of decidual arteriopathy and other maternal vascular malperfusion features are seen in placentas of women with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), according to a study published online May 22 in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology. [Related Study]

The impacts of COVID-19 around the world, as told by statistics – World Economic Forum

We are living through unprecedented times. The impact of the novel coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, has reverberated through every corner of the globe — taking lives, destroying livelihoods, and changing everything about how we interact with each other and the world.

Official Reporting for May 27, 2020

WHO SITREP #127 ECDC Johns Hopkins
Confirmed Cases 5,404,512 5,555,708 5,635,943
Deaths 343,514 350,212 352,674

 

NEW:
Total cases: 1,678,843
Total deaths: 98,261
(Numbers close out at 4 p.m. the day before reporting.)

Surveillance Headlines

USA

Wisconsin: COVID-19 Hospitalizations Hit 30-Day High in Wisconsin – Urban Milwakee

Texas: Confirmed COVID-19 cases increased 540% at Texas prison – Houston Chronicle

Washington (State): 84 Positive COVID-19 Cases Linked to Vancouver Fruit Processor – Local News

CANADA

MEXICO

Mexico: New virus record of over 500 deaths per day – ABC News

 

SOUTH AMERICA

Brazil: Americans try to leave Brazil ahead of coronavirus travel ban – Washington Post

EUROPE

Italy: Says 96% of Virus Fatalities Suffered From Other Illnesses – Bloomberg

ASIA

 


Science and Tech

How SARS-CoV-2 interact with a host cell? – The Explorist

Using single-cell RNA sequencing, scientists at the Yale School of Medicine (YSM) are learning single-cell RNA sequencing of infected human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) to determine how the virus infects and alters healthy cells.

Therapeutics

About That Big HCQ Study… – Med Page Today

Questions arise over inconsistencies in data; confounders may impact future COVID-19 treatments

Anivive Repurposes Veterinary Drug GC376 for COVID-19 And Submits Pre-IND to FDA – OAOA.com

Anivive Lifesciences, a biotechnology company focused on developing first-in-class therapeutics for veterinary patients, has filed a pre-Investigational New Drug (pIND) request with the Food and Drug Administration for GC376, a candidate for the treatment of COVID-19 in humans.

Vaccine

MV-SARS-COV-2 Vaccine Candidate: A New Partnership Between Institute Pasteur, CEPI, Themis, and MSD – Pasteur

With over 100 vaccine projects in development worldwide, the development of a vaccine against SARS CoV-2 infection remains a challenge, with many scientific uncertainties ahead. The timeline and type of candidate vaccine are still unknown at this time. Therefore, every effort must be made to develop different vaccine approaches so that one can be developed as soon as possible. [Related Study]

 


Infection Prevention

Gamma Irradiation for N95 Reuse: Not That Great – Med Page Today

Masks still fit OK, but other vital parameters negatively affected in small study [Related Study]

Mouthwash may reduce spread of the new coronavirus – Medical News Today

A new research review suggests that publicly available mouthwashes could, in theory, inhibit SARS-CoV-2. The team behind the review call for further research to be done to confirm their speculative findings. [Related Study]

3 Ways Scientists Think We Could De-Germ a Covid-19 World – Wired

With COVID-19 restrictions easing and people returning to restaurants, bars, and shopping malls, a new strategy is emerging to protect us: creating an antiviral infrastructure. While we can’t completely de-germ our indoor environment—everyone should still wear masks and practice social distancing—some researchers are proposing that antimicrobial materials and techniques could add a layer of safety. Scientists are exploring germ-killing coatings that could be applied to handrails and doorknobs, doing viral swabs in workplaces and public spaces to detect germs, and installing UV lighting, which already is disinfecting air and surfaces in subway cars and buses, airport security checkpoints, and office buildings.


Published Research

Assessment of the Qualitative Fit Test and Quantitative Single-Pass Filtration Efficiency of Disposable N95 Masks Following Gamma Irradiation – JAMA

APOE e4 genotype predicts severe COVID-19 in the UK Biobank community cohort – Gerontology

Variation in False-Negative Rate of Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction–Based SARS-CoV-2 Tests by Time Since Exposure – Annals of Internal Medicine

Potential role of oral rinses targeting the viral lipid envelope in SARS-CoV-2 infection – Function

More on Neurologic Features in Severe SARS-CoV-2 Infection – NEJM

Placental Pathology in COVID-19 – American Journal of Clinical Pathology

How can airborne transmission of COVID-19 indoors be minimised? – University of Colorado

Pre-Pub (not yet peer reviewed, should not be regarded as conclusive)

Single-cell longitudinal analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infection in human bronchial epithelial cells – Bio RxIV


Coping in Quarantine

TED Talk: A COVID-19 “exit” strategy to end lockdown and reopen the economy

How can we return to work without spurring a second surge of coronavirus infection? Biologist Uri Alon shares a thought-provoking strategy: four days at work followed by 10 days of lockdown, a cycle that would exploit a weakness in the virus’s biology and potentially cut its reproductive rate to a manageable level. Learn more about this approach — which has already been adopted by both companies and countries — and how it could be a key to reopening the economy responsibly. (This virtual conversation, hosted by head of TED Chris Anderson and science curator David Biello, was recorded on May 20, 2020.)