Name: 24th April - the coronavirus COVID-19 compendium
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24th April - the coronavirus COVID-19 compendium

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A fromAll the latest research on coronaviruses and COVID-19Magazine Editor, Nature Medicine, Springer NatureThis week there were 846 manuscript titles to scan through, of which 85 were original research. As the volume gets bigger, I&nbsp;have become slightly more selective in what I&nbsp;highlight and will no longer highlight case reports, or CT scans, unless they show new findings. Although reproducibility is absolutely key to good science, these observational studies are too numerous to cover here.This week we learnt that SARS-CoV-2 may have originated from recombination between a bat coronavirus and another from pangolins, that treatment with hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin may increase the risk of cardiac death, and that Hong Kong has managed to keep its reproductive number below 1 for 8 weeks through effective social distancing.None of the bat or pangolin coronaviruses so far sequenced represent the immediate ancestor for SARS-CoV-2. Most of its genome resembles that of a bat coronavirus, whereas the receptor binding domain is closest to a pangolin coronavirus, suggesting that . The authors, from the University of Hong Kong, add that there is no evidence that the virus was artificially created.that cause COVID-19, SARS, and MERS, and so provide a useful animal model to test new drugs and vaccines. For SARS-CoV-2, the virus was excreted from the nose and throat, with no signs of disease.The reproductive number of SARS-CoV-2 has remained at less than 1 for more than 8 weeks in Hong Kong.&nbsp;&nbsp;there by 44%, an added benefit of these measures.In contrast, the&nbsp;&nbsp;was estimated to be between 3.5 and 4.4 before social distancing, and 1.6 afterwards, using cases as reported in Wikipedia and official press releases. As the reproductive number is still above 1, the outbreak will continue to grow.A new model of virus transmission includes the important role of&nbsp;&nbsp;as well as those who are not diagnosed. The study shows that 70,000 people in Italy may die from COVID-19 if testing continues to be limited, and only for those with symptoms, as is the case now. However, with mass testing, including of all asymptomatic contacts, this can be reduced to 25,000 deaths. There have been 15,000 deaths so far., according to a study of 105 index cases in China, although children were much less likely to be infected. Quarantine within a household was 100% effective at preventing household transmission.&nbsp;35% of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia were linked to the&nbsp;, attended by more than 19,000 people of different nationalities. This likely explains why Malaysia has the highest number of cases in South East Asia. 16 cases of COVID-19 in Chicago, including three deaths, were linked to a&nbsp;.&nbsp;, according to new study which should help with resource allocation.Another case of&nbsp;&nbsp;in China is described, as is the first case of&nbsp;&nbsp;in an immunocompromised man who visited from the United States. The&nbsp;&nbsp;occurred in mid-February, in a patient who travelled to and from Italy.&nbsp;in plasma and platelet products, allowing prevention of theoretical transfusion transmission of the virus.&nbsp;for SARS-CoV-2, despite infectious patients there. Sewage tested positive for viral RNA, but not for live virus. A similar study found the same that housed a patient from the Diamond Princess cruise ship outbreak.&nbsp;in vitro, by inhibiting TMPRSS2, and so should be tested in clinical trials as a potential anti-viral against COVID-19, as it has already been FDA approved for unrelated conditions.Treatment with&nbsp; by increasing the QT interval. It's effectiveness against COVID-19 is still not proven, and so its use should be accompanied by QT monitoring, although there were no cardiac deaths in the study. &nbsp;in a patient, cautioning against its widespread use., led to an increase in circulating lymphocytes in this study of 54 COVID-19 patients, 28 of whom had severe respiratory failure. Severe COVID-19 disease is associated immune dysregulation or macrophage activation syndrome, with a reduction of T lymphocytes and NK cells, as well as an increase in IL-6 and TNF-alpha.&nbsp;An , was identified as a potential treatment for COVID-19 associated&nbsp;hypercoagulability, which is seen in some patients. 8 patients treated with the drug showed improvement.&nbsp;during COVID-19 disease, according to a study of Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia&nbsp;patients, who take this drug daily.&nbsp;, although its effectiveness is not known., but this study of 32 patients found that it can be beneficial, although they caution that more research is needed.&nbsp;of the SARS-CoV-2&nbsp;Nsp15 endoribonuclease NendoU are presented and discussed.Potential&nbsp;&nbsp;were designed using structure-based ligand design and molecular modelling., suggesting that this genetic variation may predict severe disease., showing strong immunity, and one patient was treated with convalescent plasma. Indeed, .Two , who cannot produce any antibody due to a lack of B cells, developed COVID-19 pneumonia. Neither required ventilation and both survived, an intriguing finding that antibodies are not necessary to overcome the infection.Another study from Wuhan confirmed that&nbsp;&nbsp;during severe infection, as did one from&nbsp;, and another from&nbsp;.Evidence of some&nbsp;&nbsp;were found in Hubei province, China.Clinical characteristics of more than 5000 patients admitted to hospital in New York City found that&nbsp; for severe COVID-19 disease. Two thirds of those treated in the intensive care unit were men. A similar study from a found that of 393 patients, 61% were men, and 36% were obese. Unlike in China, gastrointestinal symptoms were uncommon.&nbsp;Use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers , in a large study of 1100 patients. Fears that this treatment would increase mortality, due to effects on the coronavirus receptor ACE-2, proved unfounded.More evidence for coagulation disorders in COVID-19 came from a studies showing that&nbsp;&nbsp;and are&nbsp;. Elevated D-dimer levels were also seen in with ST-segment elevation. A case study described three patients with , antiphospholipid antibodies, and multiple infarcts, another&nbsp;described a patient with&nbsp;, and a third in a patient with .&nbsp;Immunosuppressed k&nbsp;had more severe pneumonia than the general population, according to a small study of 10 cases in Wuhan, China. Patients with , due to the immunosuppressive drugs they take. Advice for their care, including a recommendation to consider stopping taking medication for IBD, is published., contracted the virus from an infected patient in hospital in Solano County, California. 121 healthcare workers were exposed.for 2 hours to sterilise them, allowing their re-use, in a study using an avian coronavirus.43% of caused by PPE, such as pressure inquiries and tears, in a large survey of more than 4000 medical staff at multiple hopsitals.A is described in this useful study, as well as instructions for setting up your own ELISA to detect antibodies.A serology study of 1400 people in Wuhan, China, found that . Another study found that both but only 1 of the 5 asymptomatic carriers in the study developed an antibody response.Another study, this time from Zhejiang, found that COVID-19 patients have for longer than in respiratory samples, as did a . Another study found . None of these studies showed evidence for live, infectious virus.&nbsp;for detecting SARS-CoV-2; another study found that for diagnostics. Several were assessed.Two reverse transcriptional loop-mediated isothermal amplification () diagnostic tests have been developed, by , to detect SARS-CoV-2.were used by doctors at&nbsp;Massachusetts General Hospital, reducing the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to healthcare workers., peaked on 31st January and again on 5th April, with interest decreasing since then, despite an increase in cases., compared to 83% that were classed as informative, and 29% that linked to government sources. A survey found that to the outbreak, rather than the President or Congress.A between January and February, and found that male sex, advanced age, and lung diseases were associated with a higher risk of fever. Self-reporting of fever peaked around 8th February, which corresponds with other data from China, showing the usefulness of such surveys.&nbsp;Another study found that can be used to measure public attention to the COVID-19 outbreak.A tested their knowledge of COVID-19 and the coronavirus that causes it, showing some gaps in their knowledge. A similar found that they mainly get their knowledge from social media.A hypothesis article in The Lancet suggests that &nbsp;Indeed, a&nbsp;&nbsp;with sepsis was managed with standard paediatric intensive care unit protocols. He survived.than a control group of influenza patients, adding to the evidence that this should be included as a symptom. were also commonly seen in COVID-19 patients in King County, Washington, and so should be included in screening for disease.of severely ill COVID-19 patients, potentially indicating viraemia, and correlated with high levels of IL-6. Live virus was not detected.&nbsp;&nbsp;was found, complicating treatment for this individual. A case of patient with hypertension was also described.&nbsp;It can also cause&nbsp;, a rare consequence of some viral infections. Another study found&nbsp;&nbsp;of an infected patient.&nbsp;Age was again shown to be the main&nbsp;&nbsp;in a study from Shanghai.&nbsp;There were no deaths in 118 pregnant women with COVID-19 in China, and no evidence of transmission to the baby, showing that&nbsp;&nbsp;However, a single case study from Iran in a severely ill patient with COVID-19, found that the and in the baby, suggesting vertical transmission, although the authors cannot rule out contamination. The mother sadly died, but the baby is doing well.&nbsp;and can be detected using abdominopelvic&nbsp;CT scans. The virus also causes &nbsp;in some patients, as well as in 31% of patients.&nbsp;&nbsp;in an older patient with no fever or cough was seen, and highlighted as an unusual symptom of COVID-19. COVID-19 can also cause rare neurological manifestations,&nbsp;. In contrast, according to a retrospective multi-centre study.&nbsp;And finally, an unusual case of&nbsp;&nbsp;in a German man with&nbsp;schizophrenia was described. The patient was not infected himself, but he&nbsp;experienced acoustic hallucinations of his neighbours accusing him of neglecting his parents during the pandemic. The authors speculate that extensive media coverage of COVID-19 contributed to these paranoid delusions.If you are a registered user on Nature Portfolio Microbiology Community, please sign inChoose a social network to share with, or copy the shortened URL to share elsewheremicrobiologycommunity.nature.comAll the latest research on coronaviruses and COVID-19This is a representation of how your post may appear on social media. The actual post will vary between social networksWe use cookies to ensure the functionality of our website, to personalize content and advertising, to provide social media features, and to analyze our traffic. If you allow us to do so, we also inform our social media, advertising and analysis partners about your use of our website. You can decide for yourself which categories you want to deny or allow. 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A fromAll the latest research on coronaviruses and COVID-19Magazine Editor, Nature Medicine, Springer NatureThis week there were 846 manuscript titles to scan through, of which 85 were original research. As the volume gets bigger, I&nbsp;have become slightly more selective in what I&nbsp;highlight and will no longer highlight case reports, or CT scans, unless they show new findings. Although reproducibility is absolutely key to good science, these observational studies are too numerous to cover here.This week we learnt that SARS-CoV-2 may have originated from recombination between a bat...

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24th April - the coronavirus COVID-19 compendium

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