COVID19 Roundup 29 March 2020

*COVID19 Roundup 29 March 2020* Bismillah, alhamdulillah: everyday I learn something new, may Allah increase us in knowledge and benefit to our fellow human beings, thank you to all those who triggered by learning: *1/ Aerosol v airborne:* *Size reminder:* 1 micron = 1μm = 0.000001 metres (m) = 1000 nanometres (nm) = 1/1000000 m.  The

COVID19 Roundup from March 28

*COVID19 Roundup from March 28* _Bismillah, alhamdulillah:_ 1. WHO Research database site is down, no update for March 28. Usually gets published around 3pm (UTC) 2. PATIENT & PATHOLOGY: *Who is the patient?* Interview with Prof Ian Lipkin (Director, Center for Infection and Immunity) by Prof Vincent Racaniello (Dept of Micro and Immunology at Columbia

COVID19 Research Roundup 27 March 2020

*COVID19 Research Roundup 27 March 2020* _Bismillah, alhamdulillah:_ 1. EPIDEMIOLOGY Higher meteorological temperature is associated with increased dath rate but a small effect 2.92% increase in deaths for a one unit increase in temp. If both temperature and humidity increase it was associated with a decrease in deaths. CHINA 2. MEDS ACE2 receptor increase with

COVID19 Tracking the mutations and its spread

Bismillah, alhamdulillah: There are 1543 genomes of hCov-19 (SARS-CoV-2) and a real time display of how the genome has changed (Fig 1) and its spread across the world by mutation (Fig 2).  There is an excellent visualising tool at https://www.gisaid.org/epiflu-applications/next-hcov-19-app/. As per the TWiV 594 podcast the data shows that no major mutation has occurred

COVID19 Research Roundup 26 March 2020

_Bismillah, alhamdulilah:_ 1. PROGNOSIS Coagulopathy is one of the most significant poor prognostic features 2. EPIDEMIOLOGY: Gender differences by age: >60y women more than men; <60y men more than women “There was a significantly higher frequency of women in the older patients compared with the younger patients (57.35% vs 46.47%, P=0.021)” 3. MEDS: CQ (Chloroquine)

COVID19 Research Roundup 25 March 2020

*COVID19 Research Roundup 25 March 2020* _Bismillah, alhamdulillah_: _141 Studies published today on the WHO COVID19 25th March database, here are some notables. My filtered key studies version is here and has all refs:_ SAFETY: Posterior oropharyngeal saliva specimens are non-invasive and acceptable to patients and can be used for initial diagnosis and subsequent viral

COVID19 Remote consultation guide from the BMJ

COVID19 – False positive rates

Key Points 1. In the close contacts of COVID-19 patients, nearly half or even more of the asymptomatic infected individuals reported in the active nucleic acid test screening might be false positives. Abstract Potential false-positive rate among the &apos;asymptomatic infected individuals’ in close contacts of COVID-19 patients As the prevention and control of COVID-19continues to

COVID19 Post-recovery PCR positive – passive or infective viral shedding?

Key points 1. SARS-CoV-2 patient treated with HXQ & Arbidol hydrochloride 2. TIMELINE: Gets COVID> Treated > Recovers > PCR negative x2 > then become positive but seems to have been asymptomatic when held in additional quarantine. > no final follow up mentioned in study 3. Infectivity of such patients is unclear. Abstract SARS-CoV-2 turned

COVID19 – lower mortality in patients with respiratory disease v cardiovascular disease – counterintuitive

Point of Note 1. Risk of mortality lower for those with underlying respiratory disease than with pre-existing cardiac pathology. Abstract COVID-19: social distancing, ACE 2 receptors, protease inhibitors and beyond? The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) emergency and the role of timely and effective national health surveillance I am most grateful to Dr Stein for his thoughtful