There are two (2) articles to read for this homework assignment. After reading the first article on the variants of coronavirus, tell me some of your thoughts. Were you aware of the different human co
Variants of Coronavirus WebMD Medical Reference Reviewed by Neha Pathak, MD on March 10, 2021 What Is a COVID -19 Variant? Viruses are always changing, and that can cause a new variant, or strain, of a virus to form. A variant usually doesn’t affect how the virus works. But sometimes they make it act in different ways. Scientists around the world are tracking changes in the virus that causes COVID -19. Their research is helping experts unders tand whether certain COVID variants spread faster than others, how they might affect your health, and how effective different vaccines might be against them. How Many Coronaviruses Are There? Coronaviruses didn’t just pop up recently. They’re a large family of viruses that have been around for a long time. Many of them can cause a variety of illnesses, from a mild cough to severe respiratory illnesses. The new (or “novel”) coronavirus that causes COVID -19 is one of several known to infect humans. It’s probably been around for some time in animals. Sometimes, a virus in animals crosses over into people. That’s what scientists think happened he re. So this virus isn’t new to the world , but it is new to humans. When scientists found out that it was making people sick in 2019, they named it as a novel coronavirus. Hum an Coronavirus Types Scientists have divided coronaviruses into four sub -groupings, called alpha, beta, gamma, and delta. Seven of these viruses can infect people: • 229E (alpha) • NL63 (alpha) • OC43 (beta) • HKU1 (beta • MERS -CoV, a beta virus that causes Middle E ast respiratory syndrome (MERS) • SARS -CoV, a beta virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) • SARS -CoV -2, which causes COVID -19 How Do Variants Happen? Coronaviruses have all their genetic material in something called RNA (ribonucleic acid). RNA has some similarities to DNA , but they aren’t the same. When viruses infect you, they attach to your cells, get inside them, and make copies of their RN A, which helps them spread. If there’s a copying mistake, the RNA gets changed. Scientists call those changes mutations. These changes happen randomly and by accident. It’s a normal part of what happens to viruses as they multiply and spread. Because the c hanges are random, they may make little to no difference in a person’s health. Other times, they may cause disease. For example, one reason you need a flu shot every year is because influenza viruses change from year to year. This year’s flu virus probably isn’t exactly the same one that circulated last year. If a virus has a random change that makes i t easier to infect people and it spreads, that variant will become more common. The bottom line is that all viruses, including coronaviruses, can change over time. Coronavirus Mutations Found in Brazil, U.K., Africa In January 2021, experts spotted a new COVID -19 variant in people from Brazil who’d traveled to Japan. By the end of that month, the variant was showing up in the U.S. This variant appears to be more contagious than earlier strains of the virus. And it may be able to infect people who’ve al ready had COVID -19. A report from Brazil confirms that a 29 -year -old woman came down with this variant after an earlier coronavirus infection a few months before. Some early research suggests that the variant’s changes might help it evade antibodies (ma de by your immune system after an infection or a vaccine) that fight the coronavirus. A lab study shows that both Pfizer’s and BioNTech’s vaccine can neutralize the fast -spreading Brazil strain. But more research is needed. In late 2020, experts noted gene mutations in COVID -19 cases seen in people in southeastern England. This variant has since been reported in other countries, including the U.S. Scientists estimate that these mutations could make the virus up to 70% more transmissible, meaning it could sp read more easily. Some research has linked this variant to a higher risk of death, but the evidence isn’t strong. The mutation on the U.K. variant is on the spike protein, which the COVID -19 vaccines target. These vaccines make antibodies against many part s of the spike protein, so it’s unlikely that a single new mutation in the U.K. variant will make the vaccine less effective. Other variants of the virus have been found in other countries, including South Africa and Nigeria. The South African variant appe ars to spread more easily than the original virus but doesn’t seem to cause worse illness. Earlier Coronavirus Variants Earlier in 2020, when the pandemic was new, you might have heard that there was more than one strain of the new coronavirus. Is it tru e? The answer appeared to be yes. The theory about different variants of the new coronavirus came from a study in China. Researchers were studying changes in coronavirus RNA over time to figure out how various coronaviruses are related to each other. They looked at 103 samples of the new coronavirus collected from people, and they looked at coronaviruses from animals. It turned out that the coronaviruses found in humans weren’t all the same. There were two types, which the researchers called “L” and “S.” Th ey’re very similar, with slight differences in two places. It looks like the S type came first. But the scientists say the L type was more common early in the outbreak. What to Expect The virus that causes COVID -19 will probably keep changing. Experts may find new variants. It’s impossible to predict how those virus changes might affect what happens. But change is just what viruses do. © 2021 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.
There are two (2) articles to read for this homework assignment. After reading the first article on the variants of coronavirus, tell me some of your thoughts. Were you aware of the different human co
WHO advises 2 monoclonal antibodies for severe COVID Lisa Schnirring | News Editor | CIDRAP News July 6, 2021 Yaroslav Kryuchka / iStock The World Health Organization (WHO) today recommended the use of anti -inflammatory monoclonal antibodies — tocilizumab and sarilumab — alongside corticosteroids for treating patients who have severe or critical COVID -19 infections. In other global developments , some countries including Indonesia, Vietnam, and Bangladesh, reported new record daily highs for infections, as COVID -19 cases continued to rise in parts of Europe. Meta -analysis reveals life -saving impact The WHO’s treatment recommendation comes in the wake of a study published today in the Journal of the American Medic al Association (JAMA) , in which researchers analyzed 27 randomized trials that involved nearly 11,000 patients. They found that the interleukin -6 antagonists tocilizumab and sarilumab reduced the risk of death and the need for mechanical ventilation. The W HO coordinated the study, which included partners from the United Kingdom. The investigators found that the drugs were most effective when given with corticosteroids. Hospitalized patients who got one of the drugs along with corticosteroids had a 17% reduc tion in death compared with corticosteroids given alone. The combination cut the risk of mechanical ventilation or death by 21% compared with corticosteroids alone. Immune system overreaction is a feature of severe COVID -19 infection, and the two drugs —bot h initially developed to treat rheumatoid arthritis — were thought to have the potential to inhibit the interleukin -6 cytokines that the immune system generates during those instances. Earlier individual studies were inconclusive, ranging from benefit to no effect to harm. For the study, the WHO and UK researchers combined data from 27 randomized trials spanning 28 countries. Taken together, the meta -analysis included 6,449 patients who were randomly assigned an interleukin -6 antagonist and 4,481 who received usual care or placebo. The risk of death within 28 days was lower in those who received the drugs, and outcomes were better in patients who were also treated with corticosteroids. For every 100 patients treated with corticosteroids, 4 more survived. And w hen the team looked at death and mechanical ventilator outcomes, they found that adding the drugs meant that, for every 100 such patients, 7 more will survive. Janet Diaz, MD, clinical management lead for the WHO’s health emergencies program, said in a Kin g’s College London news release that bringing togeth er the results of international trials is one of the best ways to determine which treatments will save lives. “While science has delivered, we must now turn our attention to access. Given the extent of global vaccine inequity, people in the lowest income c ountries will be the ones most at risk of severe and critical COVID -19. Those are the people these drugs need to reach,” she said. In a related commentary , two scientists who weren’t involved in the study said the treatments are promising for hospitalized patients with progressive disease and substantial oxygen requirements. The authors are Michael Matthay, MD, an acute respiratory disease specialist, and Anne Leutkemeyer, MD, an infectious disease expert, both based at the University of California, San Francisco. They said questions surround how the drugs compare to other interventions and what threshold to use for using them, though for now, they don’t seem destined for w idespread use in patients with mild disease or in patients who have been on prolonged mechanical ventilation. Record COVID in Southeast Asia Indonesia’s daily COVID -19 total rose to a new record high of 31,189 new cases, with a daily record 728 deaths reported, according to Xinhua , China’s state news agency. Cases have been reported from all of the country’s provinces, though roughly one third of the daily cases are from Jakarta. The country’s surge is overwhelming some hospitals, as well as the supply of oxygen. Dozens of patients reportedly died at a public hospital on the island of Java when the facility ran out of oxygen over the weekend, accor ding to the Washington Post . Meanwhile, Vietnam yesterday reported 1,102 new cases, the first time the country — known for its strong public health response — has topped 1,000 in a single day, according to Reuters . The country’s latest COVID wave started in late April, and though cases have been reported across the country, Ho Chi Minh City accounts for the most, according to the VN Express newspaper. Article retrieved from cidrap.umn.edu/news on October 1, 2021