Tag: SARS-CoV-2

Detection of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant in New York

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena have developed a software tool called "Variant Database" that has detected an emerging lineage of severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) isolates in New York. The novel SARS-CoV-2 virus is the agent responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that continues to sweep the globe

CDC says vaccinated individuals can skip COVID quarantines

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic's global case toll has surpassed 109 million globally. Of these infections, 2.4 million people have already succumbed to the disease. As the pandemic continues to spread, many countries have rolled out vaccinations. Now, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued updated guidance that people who have

Researchers report a new SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern in Uganda

The etiological agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Since then, the virus has infected more than 107 million people worldwide and caused over 2.4 million deaths. Due to its high transmissibility, it has been difficult to

SARS-CoV-2 evolves antibody resistance in immunocompromised patient

Researchers in the United States who tracked the evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in an immunocompromised patient found that convalescent plasma therapy was associated with the emergence of viral variants that were less susceptible to neutralizing antibodies. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is the agent responsible for the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that

Study finds low SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses in asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 cases

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to spread across the globe. Caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, the disease exhibits an array of clinical outcomes (from asymptomatic to critical). The majority of cases are asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic, wherein there are no symptoms or only a few manageable ones.

Subgenomic RNAs could help identify asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection

With new variants emerging, often showing increased transmissibility and virulence, governments and health organizations do not appear to be within striking distance of effectively containing the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), this condition presents with a wide spectrum of severity, ranging from asymptomatic infection

What are Coronaviruses?

Skip to: What are coronaviruses? Why are coronaviruses dangerous? SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 SARS-CoV MERS-CoV The rapid spread of the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has sparked alarm across the globe. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the condition a global pandemic, with many countries grappling with the rise of infections. The disease

The Naming System Behind SARS-CoV-2

SARS-CoV-2 stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. It is a virus that causes respiratory illness in humans. It passed from animals to humans in a mutated form and was first reported in December 2019 in an outbreak occurring in Wuhan, China. Image Credit: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock.com This virus has since rapidly spread throughout the

Some transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurs after seven, 10 days

There is some onward transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from household contacts released from quarantine after seven or 10 days, according to research published in the Jan. 1 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Melissa A. Rolfes, Ph.D., from the CDC COVID-19

Scientists develop rapid lateral flow immunoassay for fluorescence detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for rapid and accurate nucleic acid detection at the point of care. To meet this need, scientists from the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology have developed a novel amplification-free rapid SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid detection platform based on hybrid capture fluorescence immunoassay (HC-FIA). The use of the

Could SARS-CoV-2 evolve resistance to COVID-19 vaccines?

Similar to bacteria evolving resistance to antibiotics, viruses can evolve resistance to vaccines, and the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 could undermine the effectiveness of vaccines that are currently under development, according to a paper published November 9 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by David Kennedy and Andrew Read from Pennsylvania State University, U.S. The authors

Virologists select SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate for clinical trials

Virologists at the Rega Institute at KU Leuven (Belgium) have developed a vaccine candidate that protects hamsters from infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Theirs is one of the first vaccine candidates that is proven to protect lab animals from infection. The team aims to start clinical trials next Winter. Their findings are pending peer review,

Researchers identify possible immune targets in the SARS-CoV-2 genome

Otago researchers studying the COVID-19 virus (SARS-2) have discovered potential target points on its genome, which may contribute to future treatments for the virus. While their laboratory was locked down during the Level 4 period, Ph.D. student Ali Hosseini and Professor Alex McLellan from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology worked from their homes to

NIH ACTIV working group weighs human challenge studies for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development

In a Perspective for the New England Journal of Medicine, members of the National Institutes of Health’s Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) Vaccines Working Group assess practical considerations and prerequisites for using controlled human infection models (CHIMs), which can be used for human challenge studies, to support SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development. In the article,