Coronavirus [NEW TOPIC PAGE]

Hot Topics of the Day|PHGKB

 Coronavirus

The effect of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers on death and severity of disease in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A meta-analysis
S Ghosal et al, MEDRXIV, April 28, 2020

Five studies were eligible for meta-analysis. These included 308 patients on ACEi/ARB, and 1172 not on ACEi/ARB. Compared to patients with COVID-19 not on ACEi/ARB, there was a statistically significant 44% reduction in odds of developing severe disease (OR: 0.56), and 62% reduction in odds of death (OR: 0.38) in those on ACEi/ARB.

Whose coronavirus strategy worked best? Scientists hunt most effective policies-Researchers sift through data to compare nations’ vastly different containment measures.
E Gibney, Nature, April 27, 2020

Cigarette smoke exposure and inflammatory signaling increase the expression of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 in the respiratory tract
JC Smith, et al, BIORXIV, April 26, 2020

Emergence of multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 with signature structural changes
D Bhowmick et al, BIORXIV, April 27, 2020

Early detection of superspreaders by mass group pool testing can mitigate COVID-19 pandemic
MB Gongalsky, MEDRXIV, April 27, 2020

Metropolitan Wastewater Analysis for COVID-19 Epidemiological Surveillance
W Randazzo et al, MEDRXIV, April 27, 2020

We have used RT-qPCR for SARS-CoV-2 detection in metropolitan wastewaters samples collected during the earliest stages of the epidemic in Valencia, Spain. Our results strongly suggest that the virus was undergoing community transmission earlier than previously believed, and show that wastewater analysis is a sensitive and cost-effective strategy for surveillance.