Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

• From Preprints
• From Clinical Trials
• From PubMed
• From Patent Search

From Preprints

• Novel emm4 lineage associated with an upsurge in invasive group A streptococcal disease in the Netherlands, 2022 -
  Invasive group A streptococcal (iGAS) disease cases increased in the first half year of 2022 in the Netherlands with a remarkably high proportion of emm4 isolates. Whole-genome sequence analysis of 66 emm4 isolates, 40 isolates from the pre-COVID-19-pandemic period 2009-2019 and 26 contemporary isolates from 2022, identified a novel Streptococcus pyogenes lineage (M4NL22), which accounted for 85% emm4 iGAS cases in 2022. Surprisingly, we detected few isolates of the emm4 hypervirulent clone, which has replaced nearly all other emm4 in the USA and the UK. M4NL22 displayed genetic differences compared to other emm4 strains, although these were of unclear biological significance. In publicly available data, we identified a single Norwegian isolate belonging to M4NL22, which was sampled after the isolates from this study, possibly suggesting export of M4NL22 to Norway. In conclusion, our study identified a novel S. pyogenes emm4 lineage underlying an increase of iGAS disease in early 2022 in the Netherlands and results have been promptly communicated with public health officials.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Novel emm4 lineage associated with an upsurge in invasive group A streptococcal disease in the Netherlands, 2022
• Disruptiveness of COVID-19: Differences in Course Engagement, Self-appraisal, and Learning -
  We investigated how the transition to remote instruction amidst the COVID-19 pandemic affected students’ engagement, self-appraisals, and learning in advanced placement (AP) Statistics courses. Participants included 681 (Mage=16.7 years, SDage=.90; %female=55.4) students enrolled in the course during 2017-2018 (N=266), 2018-2019 (N=200), and the pandemic-affected 2019-2020 (N=215) year. Students enrolled during the pandemic-affected year reported a greater improvement in affective engagement but a decrease in cognitive engagement in the spring semester relative to a previous year. Females enrolled in the pandemic-affected year experienced a greater negative change in affective and behavioral engagement. Students enrolled during the pandemic-affected year reported a greater decrease in their anticipated AP exam scores and received lower scores on a practice exam aligned with the AP exam compared to a prior year. Though resilient in some respects, students’ self-appraisal and learning appeared negatively affected by pandemic circumstances.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Disruptiveness of COVID-19: Differences in Course Engagement, Self-appraisal, and Learning
• The potential contribution of vaccination uptake to occupational differences in risk of SARS-CoV-2: Analysis of the ONS COVID-19 Infection Survey -

  Objectives To assess variation in vaccination uptake across occupational groups as a potential explanation for variation in risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Design We analysed data from the UK Office of National Statistics COVID-19 Infection Survey linked to vaccination data from the National Immunisation Management System in England from December 1st 2020 to 11th May 2022. We analysed vaccination uptake and SARS-CoV-2 infection risk by occupational group and assessed whether adjustment for vaccination reduced the variation in risk between occupational groups. Setting Results Estimated rates of triple-vaccination were high across all occupational groups (80% or above), but were lowest for food processing (80%), personal care (82%), hospitality (83%), manual occupations (84%), and retail (85%). High rates were observed for individuals working in health (95% for office-based, 92% for those in patient-facing roles) and education (91%) and office-based workers not included in other categories (90%). The impact of adjusting for vaccination when estimating relative risks of infection was generally modest (ratio of hazard ratios reduced from 1.38 to 1.32), but was consistent with the hypothesis that low vaccination rates contribute to elevated risk in some groups. Conversely, estimated relative risk for some occupational groups, such as people working in education, remained high despite high vaccine coverage. Conclusions Variation in vaccination coverage might account for a modest proportion of occupational differences in infection risk. Vaccination rates were uniformly very high in this cohort, which may suggest that the participants are not representative of the general population. Accordingly, these results should be considered tentative pending the accumulation of additional evidence.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: The potential contribution of vaccination uptake to occupational differences in risk of SARS-CoV-2: Analysis of the ONS COVID-19 Infection Survey
• Clinical Evaluation of Post-Surgical Scar Hyperesthesia; an Exploratory Longitudinal Study -

  Introduction: Evidence for the objective clinical evaluation of scar hyperesthesia is lacking. This exploratory study investigated the clinical relevance and responsiveness of objective scar evaluation measures in adults following hand surgery. Methods: With ethical approval and consent, participants were enrolled from one NHS hospital. Patient reported and investigator completed scar morphology, cosmesis, pain and function were evaluated at 1- and 4-months post-surgery. Statistical analysis investigated the responsiveness of outcome measures and association of physical measures with the Palmar Pain Severity Scale (PPS). Results: 21 participants enrolled prior to premature study closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic; 13 completed follow up. Scar pain (p=.002); scar interference (PPI [p=.009]) and Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) scores (p=.03) improved. Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory (NPSI) scores demonstrated heterogeneity in scar pain; evoked pain predominated. Patient Scar Assessment Questionnaire (PSAQ) indicated improvement in cosmetic dissatisfaction and consciousness (p=.03; p=.003), respectively. Baseline psychological screening scores correlated with scar pain (p=.04), and interference (p< .001). Scar morphology, pliability and inflammation were not associated with scar pain. Significant differences in scar mechanical pain sensitivity (p=.04) and cold pain threshold (p=.05) were identified. Discussion: PPS and PPI scores were responsive in a heterogeneous hand surgery sample. BPI worst pain identified severe pain, suggesting composite scar pain scores are required. The PSAQ robustly measured scar appearance and consciousness. Psychophysical tests of mechanical and thermal sensitivity are potential candidate objective measures of scar hyperesthesia. The NPSI demonstrates clinical utility for exploring scar pain symptoms and may support the elucidation of the drivers of persistent scar pain.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Clinical Evaluation of Post-Surgical Scar Hyperesthesia; an Exploratory Longitudinal Study
• Used paper tissues for pathogen identification in acute respiratory infection. -

  We investigated the potential of used paper tissues as a non-invasive sampling method for the diagnosis of acute respiratory infections. The method allowed the identification and typing of respiratory pathogens in symptomatic individuals, as well as in collective samples taken at a community level. The collection of used paper tissues could therefore be useful in epidemiological surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens such as influenzavirus, respiratory syncytial virus, entero/rhinoviruses and Streptococcus pneumoniae.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Used paper tissues for pathogen identification in acute respiratory infection.
• An appraisal of the scope of domestic tourism in Dooars foothills tourist circuit in the post-pandemic scenario -
  COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on world economy including tourism and hospitality industry. While international tourism has been on a slump for most of the last three years, people and organisations involved in the sector need to focus on domestic tourism for a slow but steady turn around. India with a huge share of annual domestic tourists is better positioned to cope up with this scenario. Tourism Department, Govt. of West Bengal has been promoting and developing different tourist circuits in the state for the last two decades. Dooars circuit, located in a comparatively backward region in the northern foothills of the state deserves more attention. With various kinds of tourist spots and events, it attracts visitors throughout the year. Impact of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown has been felt here too. The tourism sector has suffered a setback and most of the people associated with it, have lost their earning and livelihood. Thus promoting domestic tourism in Dooars is the only feasible way to protect the industry and its workers. The present paper attempts to make an appraisal of the tourism infrastructure and services available at different tourist attractions spread over the region. It aims to suggest some policies for improvement of the tourism scenario in general and domestic tourism in particular.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: An appraisal of the scope of domestic tourism in Dooars foothills tourist circuit in the post-pandemic scenario
• Longitudinal wastewater surveillance addressed public health priorities during the transition from “dynamic COVID-zero” to “opening up” in China: a population-based study -

  Background Wastewater surveillance provides real-time, cost-effective monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. We developed the first city-level wastewater warning system in mainland China, located in Shenzhen. Our study aimed to reveal cryptic transmissions under the “dynamic COVID-zero” policy and characterize the dynamics of the infected population and variant prevalence, and then guide the allocation of medical resources during the transition to “opening up” in China. Methods In this population-based study, a total of 1,204 COVID-19 cases were enrolled to evaluate the contribution of Omicron variant-specific faecal shedding rates in wastewater. After that, wastewater samples from up to 334 sites distributed in communities and port areas in two districts of Shenzhen covering 1.74 million people were tested daily to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of this approach and were validated against daily SARS-CoV-2 screening. After the public health policy was switched to “opening up” in December 7, 2022, we conducted wastewater surveillance at wastewater treatment plants and pump stations covering 3.55 million people to estimate infected populations using model prediction and detect the relative abundance of SARS-CoV-2 lineages using wastewater sequencing. Findings In total, 82.4% of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron cases tested positive for faecal viral RNA within the first four days after the diagnosis, which was far more than the proportion of the ancestral variant. A total of 27,759 wastewater samples were detected from July 26 to November 30 in 2022, showing a sensitivity of 73.8% and a specificity of 99.8%. We further found that wastewater surveillance played roles in providing early warnings and revealing cryptic transmissions in two communities. Based on the above results, we employed a prediction model to monitor the daily number of infected individuals in Shenzhen during the transition to “opening up” in China, with over 80% of the population infected in both Futian District and Nanshan District. Notably, the prediction of the daily number of hospital admission was consistent with the actual number. Further sequencing revealed that the Omicron subvariant BA.5.2.48 accounted for the most abundant SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater, and BF.7.14 and BA.5.2.49 ranked second and third, respectively, which was consistent with the clinical sequencing. Interpretation This study provides a scalable solution for wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 to provide real-time monitoring of the new variants, infected populations and facilitate the precise prediction of hospital admission. This novel framework could be a One Health system for the surveillance of other infectious and emerging pathogens with faecal shedding and antibiotic resistance genes in the future. Funding Sanming Project of Medicine in Shenzhen, Shenzhen Key Medical Discipline Construction Fund.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Longitudinal wastewater surveillance addressed public health priorities during the transition from “dynamic COVID-zero” to “opening up” in China: a population-based study
• Seventy Years of Mortality Transition in India 1950-2021 -

  Mortality in India remains high by international standards. This paper analyses mortality transition in India during the 70 years since 1950 based on the annual estimates of age-specific probabilities of death prepared by the United Nations Population Division for the period 1950-2021. The analysis reveals that characterisation of mortality transition is sensitive to the summary index of mortality used. Mortality transition in India based on the geometric mean of the age-specific probabilities of death is found to be different from that based on the life expectancy at birth. The transition in mortality based on the geometric mean of age-specific probabilities of death accelerated during 2008-2019 but decelerated when based on the life expectancy at birth. The reason is that mortality transition in younger ages has been faster than mortality transition in older ages. The analysis also reveals that there were around 4.3 excess deaths associated with the COVID-19 epidemic in the country leading to a loss of around 3.7 years in the life expectancy at birth between 2019 and 2021.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Seventy Years of Mortality Transition in India 1950-2021
• The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on young people from black and mixed-ethnic groups’ mental health: A qualitative study -
  Author Notes This manuscript has been submitted for publication and is likely to be edited as part of the peer-review process. Correspondence regarding this paper should be addressed to Dr Keri Ka-Yee Wong, keri.wong@ucl.ac.uk Abstract Objectives The Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted vulnerable groups’ physical and mental health, especially young people and minority ethnic groups, yet little is known about how this is taking place and what support they would like. To address this gap, this qualitative study aims to uncover the effect of the Covid-19 outbreak on young people with ethnic minority backgrounds’ mental health, how this changed since the end of lockdown and what support they need to cope with these issues. Setting and Participants Ten 20-minute in-person semi-structured interviews were conducted with young people aged 12 to 17 years old from black and mixed-ethnic groups who regularly attend a community centre in West London. Results Through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, results indicated that the participants’ mental health was negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, with feelings of loneliness being the most common experience. However, positive effects were concurrently observed including improved well-being and better coping strategies post-lockdown, which is a testament to the young people’s resilience. That said, it is clear that young people from minority ethnic backgrounds lacked support during the Covid-19 pandemic and would now need psychological, practical and relational assistance to cope with these challenges. Conclusions Whilst future studies would benefit from a larger ethnically-diverse sample, this is a start. Study findings have the potential to inform future government policies around mental health support and access for young people from ethnic minorities, notably prioritising support for grassroots initiatives during times of crisis. Strengths and limitations • This qualitative interview study during Covid-19 gives voice to the experiences of young people from black and mixed-ethnic backgrounds in the UK • The in-person quality of the interviews helped build rapport between the researcher and the young people and sharing of sensitive issues around mental health access and support, increasing the results’ validity • This is a convenient sample, with girls and those aged 15 years and above being disproportionately represented in our data as they provided most of the answers. • The small sample size and lack of ethnic diversity limits the generalisability of the study to individuals from other ethnic minority groups.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on young people from black and mixed-ethnic groups’ mental health: A qualitative study
• Intra-Host Mutation Rate of Acute SARS-CoV-2 Infection During the Initial Pandemic Wave -
  Background: Our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 evolution and mutation rate is limited. The rate of SARS-CoV-2 evolution is minimized through a proofreading function encoded by NSP-14 and may be affected by patient comorbidity. Current understanding of SARS-CoV-2 mutational rate is through population based analysis while intra-host mutation rate remains poorly studied. Methods: Viral genome analysis was performed between paired samples and mutations quantified at allele frequencies (AF) [≥]0.25, [≥]0.5 and [≥]0.75. Mutation rate was determined employing F81 and JC69 evolution models and compared between isolates with ({Delta}NSP-14) and without (wtNSP-14) non-synonymous mutations in NSP-14 and by patient comorbidity. Results: Forty paired samples with median interval of 13 days [IQR 8.5-20] were analyzed. The estimated mutation rate by F81 modeling was 93.6 (95%CI:90.8-96.4], 40.7 (95%CI:38.9-42.6) and 34.7 (95%CI:33.0-36.4) substitutions/genome/year at AF [≥]0.25, [≥]0.5, [≥]0.75 respectively. Mutation rate in {Delta}NSP-14 were significantly elevated at AF>0.25 vs wtNSP-14. Patients with immune comorbidities had higher mutation rate at all allele frequencies. Discussion: Intra-host SARS-CoV-2 mutation rates are substantially higher than those reported through population analysis. Virus strains with altered NSP-14 have accelerated mutation rate at low AF. Immunosuppressed patients have elevated mutation rate at all AF. Understanding intra-host virus evolution will aid in current and future pandemic modeling.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Intra-Host Mutation Rate of Acute SARS-CoV-2 Infection During the Initial Pandemic Wave
• Concerns about data integrity of 30 randomized clinical trials from one author. -
  Introduction In 2021, we learnt about the problems in studies on ivermectin and hydrocholoroquine in COVID-19. We noticed an appreciable number of unfunded randomised clinical trials (RCTs) on the treatment of COVID-19 conducted across three centres in Egypt (Tanta University, Assiut University, Ain-shams University) on COVID-19 patients with similar inclusion criteria and overlapping time frames. Dr Sherief M Abd-Elsalam ran seven such RCTs across these three centres; four of these RCTs have since been retracted. We therefore set out to systematically analyse the integrity of all RCTs (co-)authored by Dr Abd-Elsalam, in particular 23 RCTs on Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Methods We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus and clinical trial registries for RCTs published by Dr Sherief M Abd-Elsalam, affiliated with the Department of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt. We assessed trial registration, tables for identical data values, statistical errors, and improbable data trends. We assessed the probability of true randomization by assessing baseline characteristics through a Monte Carlo Analysis. Results We report on 30 published randomized control trials (RCTs) of Dr. Sherief Abd-Elsalam, in particular 23 RCTs on Gastroenterology and Hepatology. We found important issues in all RCTs examined. Of these 23 RCTs, 10 RCTs had substantial trial registration inconsistencies. Only one of these 10 RCTs has been retracted to date. We found nine RCTs with substantial statistical mistakes, five RCTs with similarities between tables unlikely to happen by chance, four RCTs with implausible Gaussian distributions, three RCTs in which almost all dichotomous variables had even values, while part of at least one study was plagiarized. Monte Carlo analysis indicated that the probability that distribution of baseline characteristics due to randomisation was 0.0000228. According to the trial registration, Dr. Abd-Elsalam is coordinating 76 clinical trials with 45 trials currently marked as ‘Recruiting’ and 17 trials marked as ‘Unknown Status’ as of November 2022. Interpretation We strongly recommend a thorough investigation of the data integrity of all RCTs by Dr Sherief M Abd-Elsalam by journal editors. Until the completion of such an investigation, we suggest that none of these studies are used to inform clinical practice.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Concerns about data integrity of 30 randomized clinical trials from one author.
• False Information Literacy During the Covid-19 Pandemic -
  The COVID-19 pandemic is a confusing time. Because COVID-19 was a new evolution of a virus, much of the information surrounding it was ever-evolving. Although a vaccine was quickly developed, and it was approved by the FDA for emergency use, people were still skeptical of its efficacy and safety. Malicious internet users chose to spread mis- and disinformation about the vaccine. An explosion of information literacy has accompanied the spread of misinformation. Specifically, people used the internet to combat misinformation and spread true information about both the virus and its corresponding vaccine. By using a case study of an article, I choose to explore the methods in which malicious users spread misinformation and specifically the language used to spread this misinformation. While doctors and other public health experts have used the internet to argue against misinformation, malicious users have also used their medical qualifications, applicable or otherwise, to demonstrate credibility. Similarly, arguments such as “believe science” or “trust the evidence” have been twisted to spread misinformation. Finally, visualizations showing a false relationship between otherwise-unrelated topics spread quickly. While information literacy is an important tool, malicious users have co-opted the language used to obtain credibility. Identifying the forms that this false information literacy takes is one step in understanding how to combat it.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: False Information Literacy During the Covid-19 Pandemic
• The COVID-19 impact on tuberculosis incidence notification in India- A comparative study (2017-2022) -
  Abstract - Despite modern drugs treatment with 60 years of chemotherapy and 90 years of vaccination with various strategies to prevent and control tuberculosis (TB), globally TB ranks 13th in leading causes of mortality. In recent year 2021 Worldwide, TB ranks 2nd after COVID-19, in leading causes of infectious killer, killing about 1.6 million people in 2021 (including 187 000 people infected with HIV). During COVID-19 era 2020, very significant global reduction in TB incidence was detected, which suddenly reduced from 7.1 million in 2019, to 5.8 million in 2020 (–18 percent). Globally, India is listed among the top three countries accounting for 67percent of this global reduction in TB incidence, besides Indonesia and the Philippines. As per data of The World Bank, India’s annual TB incidence was falling continuously since 2000, rose again and reached 210/100,000 in 2021 from 204/100,000 in 2020. A modelling analysis study found that lockdown has induced 80 percent reduction in TB notification rates in India. India ranks fourth in infection and death from COVID-19; hence there is a possibility that slowing down of COVID-19 will unmask the TB cases and deaths leading to increase in the count of TB in future years. In spite of several similarities in manifestation and differences in aetiology, there is still lack of full knowledge about the epidemiological relationship between TB and COVID-19 .To know the real situation and scenario of TB cases this study was started with aim to alert policy maker for needful action to control TB effectively in time. This study aimed to know the impact of COVID-19 on annual TB notifications incidence in India. This is a cross-sectional, quantitative, retrospective, deductive study. This research study included all the 36 states and UTs of India. We performed a linear regression study of the existing data of pre pandemic years included in this study for calculating a counterfactual analysis in order to find out the possible real incidence of TB cases notifications, which may have been notified if the current natural intervention of COVID-19 had not taken place. The annual number of new (TB) cases detected during the pre-COVID-19 period as well as COVID-19 period of this study has shown similar trends separately. During both periods the number of new (TB) cases increased in consecutive years. Another significant finding of this study is that the number of new (TB) cases detected during the first two COVID-19 years i.e. 2020 and 2021 decreased in comparison to last pre-COVID-19 year i.e. 2019. The base year of this study i.e. 2017 are having least whereas the last year of this study i.e. 2022 are having the largest number of new (TB) cases detected in one individual year. There is an increase of 7.79 percent in TB case detection during the COVID-19 period of this study. This study revealed that during first COVID-19 year i.e. 2020 there is significant reduction in number of new (TB) cases detected by 580869 numbers or 24.29 percent in comparison to last pre-COVID-19 year i.e. 2019. The number of new (TB) cases detected increased continuously during pre-COVID-19 years by 29.59 percent in 2018 and 18.49 percent in 2019. The question arises from this study is that, is it possible to achieve the goal of NTEP by year 2025 in current scenario reality?
  🖺 Full Text HTML: The COVID-19 impact on tuberculosis incidence notification in India- A comparative study (2017-2022)
• Obesity and Smoking: A Tale of 2 Risk Factors with Implications for the Next Pandemic -

  Background: In 1990, two risk factors that would figure prominently in the COVID-19 pandemic were on divergent paths in the US. The smoking rate was 23.5% and dropped to 13.5% in 2021, while the obesity rate was 11.5% and increased 186% to 33.0%. Objective: The study objective was to compare the global impact of those risk factors on COVID deaths to help prepare the US for future pandemics. Methods: Stata and Excel were used to regress global COVID deaths on obesity and smoking before and after vaccines were available, and US deaths/day were compared pre-and post-vaccines. Results: Obesity was associated with global COVID deaths, with R2 as high as 0.87 for cumulative data with slightly lower R2 and coefficients for post-vaccines. For 9 regressions of deaths on obesity, all P values (overall and coefficients) were <0.05 while for regressions on smoking, no P values were < 0.05. Of the 1.1 million US deaths, the death rate/day post-vaccines was 59% of that pre-vaccines. If the US obesity rate had remained 11.5%, estimates suggest 800,000+ lives could have been saved. US smoking rate was reduced 42% by multiple strategies using support from a 1998 multi-billion-dollar settlement between states and tobacco companies. Conclusion: Vaccines have limited ability to reduce total COVID deaths, with obesity remaining a key factor in death rates. Results suggest that lower obesity rates are needed to further reduce US COVID deaths, potentially saving thousands of lives in future pandemics. Lessons from reducing smoking rates might prove useful.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Obesity and Smoking: A Tale of 2 Risk Factors with Implications for the Next Pandemic
• Morbidity and mortality burden of COVID-19 in rural Madagascar: results from a longitudinal cohort and nested seroprevalence study -

  Introduction: Three years into the pandemic, there remains significant uncertainty about the true infection and mortality burden of COVID-19 in the WHO-Africa region. High quality, population-representative studies in Africa are rare and tend to be conducted in national capitals or large cities, leaving a substantial gap in our understanding of the impact of COVID-19 in rural, low-resource settings. Here, we estimated the spatio-temporal morbidity and mortality burden associated with COVID-19 in a rural health district of Madagascar until the first half of 2021. Methods: We integrated a nested seroprevalence study within a pre-existing longitudinal cohort conducted in a representative sample of 1600 households in Ifanadiana District, Madagascar. Socio-demographic and health information was collected in combination with dried blood spots for about 6500 individuals of all ages, which were analysed to detect IgG and IgM antibodies against four specific proteins of SARS-CoV2 in bead-based multiplex immunoassay. We evaluated spatio-temporal patterns in COVID-19 infection history and its associations with several geographic, socio-economic and demographic factors via logistic regressions. Results: Eighteen percent of people had been infected by April-June 2021, with seroprevalence increasing with individuals age. COVID-19 primarily spread along the only paved road and in major towns during the first epidemic wave, subsequently spreading along secondary roads during the second wave to more remote areas. Wealthier individuals and those with occupations such as commerce and formal employment were at higher risk of being infected in the first wave. Adult mortality increased in 2020, particularly for older men for whom it nearly doubled up to nearly 40 deaths per 1000. Less than 10% of mortality in this period could be directly attributed to COVID-19 deaths given known infection fatality ratios and observed seroprevalence in the district. Conclusion: Our study provides a very granular understanding on COVID-19 transmission and mortality in a rural population of sub-Saharan Africa and suggests that the disease burden in these areas may have been substantially underestimated.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Morbidity and mortality burden of COVID-19 in rural Madagascar: results from a longitudinal cohort and nested seroprevalence study

From Clinical Trials

• Clinical Performance Evaluation of the CareSuperb™ COVID-19 Antigen Home Test - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Device: CareSuperb COVID-19 Antigen Home Test Kit
  Sponsor:   AccessBio, Inc.
  Recruiting

• Evaluation of Safety & Efficacy of MIR 19 ® Inhalation Solution in Patients With Mild COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: MIR 19 ®;   Combination Product: Standart therapy
  Sponsor:   National Research Center - Institute of Immunology Federal Medical-Biological Agency of Russia
  Completed

• LACTYFERRIN™ Forte and ZINC Defense™ and Standard of Care (SOC) vs SOC in the Treatment of Non-hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: Sesderma LACTYFERRIN™ Forte and Sesderma ZINC Defense™;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsors:   Jose David Suarez, MD;   Sesderma S.L.;   Westchester General Hospital Inc. DBA Keralty Hospital Miami;   MGM Technology Corp
  Not yet recruiting

• MP0420 for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: MP0420;   Drug: Placebo;   Biological: Remdesivir
  Sponsors:   National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID);   International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT);   University of Copenhagen;   Medical Research Council;   Kirby Institute;   Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center;   AIDS Clinical Trials Group;   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI);   US Department of Veterans Affairs;   Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL);   Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN);   Molecular Partners AG;   University of Minnesota
  Active, not recruiting

• AZD7442 for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: AZD7442;   Biological: Placebo;   Biological: Remdesivir
  Sponsors:   National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID);   International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT);   University of Copenhagen;   Medical Research Council;   Kirby Institute;   Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center;   AIDS Clinical Trials Group;   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI);   US Department of Veterans Affairs;   Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL);   Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN);   AstraZeneca;   University of Minnesota
  Active, not recruiting

• PF-07304814 for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: PF-07304814;   Drug: Placebo;   Biological: Remdesivir
  Sponsors:   National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID);   International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT);   University of Copenhagen;   Medical Research Council;   Kirby Institute;   Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center;   AIDS Clinical Trials Group;   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI);   US Department of Veterans Affairs;   Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL);   Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN);   Pfizer;   University of Minnesota
  Suspended

• VIR-7831 for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: VIR-7831;   Biological: Placebo;   Biological: Remdesivir
  Sponsors:   National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID);   International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT);   University of Copenhagen;   Medical Research Council;   Kirby Institute;   Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center;   AIDS Clinical Trials Group;   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI);   US Department of Veterans Affairs;   Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL);   Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN);   Vir Biotechnology, Inc.;   GlaxoSmithKline;   University of Minnesota
  Completed

• BRII-196/BRII-198 for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: BRII-196;   Biological: BRII-198;   Biological: Placebo;   Biological: Remdesivir
  Sponsors:   National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID);   International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT);   University of Copenhagen;   Medical Research Council;   Kirby Institute;   Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center;   AIDS Clinical Trials Group;   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI);   US Department of Veterans Affairs;   Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL);   Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN);   Brii Biosciences Limited;   University of Minnesota
  Completed

• LY3819253 (LY-CoV555) for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: LY3819253;   Biological: Placebo;   Biological: Remdesivir
  Sponsors:   National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID);   International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT);   University of Copenhagen;   Medical Research Council;   Kirby Institute;   Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center;   AIDS Clinical Trials Group;   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI);   US Department of Veterans Affairs;   Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL);   Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN);   Eli Lilly and Company;   University of Minnesota
  Completed

• Use of E-health Based Exercise Intervention After COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Behavioral: Exercise training using an e-health tool
  Sponsors:   Norwegian University of Science and Technology;   University of Oslo
  Recruiting

• Effect Of Calcitriol On Neutrophil To Lymphocytes Ratio And High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Covid-19 Patients - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: Calcitriol;   Other: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Universitas Sebelas Maret
  Completed

• Clinical Study for the Efficacy and Safety of Ropeginterferon Alfa-2b in Moderate COVID19. - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: P1101 (Ropeginterferon alfa-2b);   Procedure: SOC
  Sponsor:   National Taiwan University Hospital
  Active, not recruiting

• Phase I Clinical Trial of Recombinant Variant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) (WSK-V102) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Biological: Recombinant variant COVID-19 vaccine(Sf9 cell)
  Sponsor:   WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• A Phase II Clinical Trial of Recombinant Variant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) (WSK-V102) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: Recombinant variant COVID-19 vaccine (Sf9 cell);   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (CHO cell);   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (Sf9 cell)
  Sponsor:   WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• Short-term Effects of Transdermal Estradiol on Female COVID-19 Patients - Conditions:   COVID-19;   Hormone Replacement Therapy
  Interventions:   Drug: Climara 0.1Mg/24Hr Transdermal System;   Other: Hydrogel patch
  Sponsors:   Istanbul University - Cerrahpasa (IUC);   Turkish Menopause and Osteoporosis Society;   Karakoy Rotary Club;   Rebul Pharmacy
  Completed

From PubMed

• Qingfei Jiedu Granules fight influenza by regulating inflammation, immunity, metabolism, and gut microbiota - BACKGROUND AND AIM: Qingfei Jiedu Granules (QFJD) are a new Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which has been clinically used against coronavirus pneumonia in China. In this study, the therapeutic effect and the underlying mechanisms of QFJD against influenza were investigated.

• A pan-variant mRNA-LNP T cell vaccine protects HLA transgenic mice from mortality after infection with SARS-CoV-2 Beta - Licensed COVID-19 vaccines ameliorate viral infection by inducing production of neutralizing antibodies that bind the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein and inhibit viral cellular entry. However, the clinical effectiveness of these vaccines is transitory as viral variants escape antibody neutralization. Effective vaccines that solely rely upon a T cell response to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection could be transformational because they can utilize highly conserved short pan-variant peptide epitopes, but a…

• Discovery of therapeutic targets of quercetin for endometrial carcinoma patients infected with COVID-19 through network pharmacology - CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, this study provides new treatment option for UCEC patients infected with COVID-19. Quercetin may work by reducing the expression of ISG15 and participating in ubiquitination-related pathways.

• Effects of diarylbutane lignans from Schisandra chinensis fruit on SARS-CoV-2 3CL^pro and PL^pro and their in vitro anti-inflammatory properties - CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that compounds 63, 64, and 65 may be promising SARS-CoV-2 3CL^(pro) and PL^(pro) inhibitors and anti-inflammatory.

• Adamantanes for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases in the presence of SARS-CoV-2 - Advent of the acute respiratory coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in the search for novel antiviral agents and in the repurposing of existing agents with demonstrated efficacy against other known coronaviruses in the search for an agent with antiviral activity for use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adamantanes including amantadine, rimantadine, and memantine have well-established benefit in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD)…

• Endogenous IFITMs boost SARS-coronavirus 1 and 2 replication whereas overexpression inhibits infection by relocalizing ACE2 - Opposing effects of interferon-induced transmembrane proteins (IFITMs 1, 2 and 3) on SARS-CoV-2 infection have been reported. The reasons for this are unclear and the role of IFITMs in infection of other human coronaviruses (hCoVs) remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that endogenous expression of IFITM2 and/or IFITM3 is critical for efficient replication of SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2 and hCoV-OC43 but has little effect on MERS-, NL63-and 229E-hCoVs. In contrast, overexpression of IFITMs…

• Repurposing 1,2,4-oxadiazoles as SARS-CoV-2 PLpro inhibitors and investigation of their possible viral entry blockade potential - Although vaccines are obviously mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic diffusion, efficient complementary antiviral agents are urgently needed to combat SARS-CoV-2. The viral papain-like protease (PLpro) is a promising therapeutic target being one of only two essential proteases crucial for viral replication. Nevertheless, it dysregulates the host immune sensing response. Here we report repositioning of the privileged 1,2,4-oxadiazole scaffold as promising SARS-CoV-2 PLpro inhibitor with potential…

• Thalidomide interaction with inflammation in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis - The “Thalidomide tragedy” is a landmark in the history of the pharmaceutical industry. Despite limited clinical trials, there is a continuous effort to investigate thalidomide as a drug for cancer and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lepromatous leprosy, and COVID-19. This review focuses on the possibilities of targeting inflammation by repurposing thalidomide for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Articles were searched from the Scopus database, sorted, and…

• Antiviral drugs block replication of highly immune-evasive Omicron subvariants ex vivo, but fail to reduce tissue inflammation - The identification of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants BA.4/BA.5, BF.7 and BQ.1.1 immediately raised concerns regarding the efficacy of currently used monoclonal antibody therapies. Here we examined the activity of monoclonal antibody therapies and antiviral drugs against clinical specimens for SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/BA.5, BF.7 and BQ.1.1 employing an immunofluorescence neutralization assay. Further we explored treatment of BA.4/BA.5 infections with efficient antiviral drugs and monoclonal…

• Structural basis of main proteases of HCoV-229E bound to inhibitor PF-07304814 and PF-07321332 - PF-07321332 and PF-07304814, inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2 developed by Pfizer, exhibit broad-spectrum inhibitory activity against the main protease (M^(pro)) from various coronaviruses. Structures of PF-07321332 or PF-07304814 in complex with M^(pro)s of various coronaviruses reveal their inhibitory mechanisms against different M^(pro)s. However, the structural information on the lower pathogenic coronavirus M^(pro) with PF-07321332 or PF-07304814 is currently scarce, which hinders our…

• Intranasal trimeric sherpabody inhibits SARS-CoV-2 including recent immunoevasive Omicron subvariants - The emergence of increasingly immunoevasive SARS-CoV-2 variants emphasizes the need for prophylactic strategies to complement vaccination in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Intranasal administration of neutralizing antibodies has shown encouraging protective potential but there remains a need for SARS-CoV-2 blocking agents that are less vulnerable to mutational viral variation and more economical to produce in large scale. Here we describe TriSb92, a highly manufacturable and stable trimeric…

• Role of heat shock protein 90 as an antiviral target for swine enteric coronaviruses - A variety of swine enteric coronaviruses (SECoVs) have emerged and are prevalent in pig populations, including porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), and swine acute diarrhea syndrome (SADS)-CoV, a newly identified bat-origin CoV with zoonotic potential. Unfortunately, available traditional, inactivated and attenuated SECoV vaccines are of limited efficacy against the variants currently circulating in most pig…

• Potent NKT cell ligands overcome SARS-CoV-2 immune evasion to mitigate viral pathogenesis in mouse models - One of the major pathogenesis mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 is its potent suppression of innate immunity, including blocking the production of type I interferons. However, it is unknown whether and how the virus interacts with different innate-like T cells, including NKT, MAIT and γδ T cells. Here we reported that upon SARS-CoV-2 infection, invariant NKT (iNKT) cells rapidly trafficked to infected lung tissues from the periphery. We discovered that the envelope (E) protein of SARS-CoV-2 efficiently…

• Protocol for an Implementation Science Evaluation of Roots of Hope: A Community Suicide Prevention Project - CONCLUSIONS: The evaluation results, including the identification of factors that facilitate and inhibit the implementation of RoH and adaptations to challenges, should be of use to the MHCC, current RoH communities and those who are considering adopting the RoH model.

• Levels of Complement Components in Children With Acute COVID-19 or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome - CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cross-sectional study, the complement system was associated with the pathogenesis of MIS-C and COVID-19 in children; complement inhibition could be further explored as a potential treatment option.

From Patent Search