Respiratory Infections News

The Infectious Diseases Society of America has released recommendations for health care professionals to use in prioritizing testing for COVID-19 during the ongoing shortage of accessible tests.

Treatment with lopinavir-ritonavir did not significantly advance the time to clinical improvement, decrease mortality or lower the detectable level of throat viral RNA among patients with serious cases of COVID-19, according to data from a recent study in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Home assessment teams, or HATs, for patients who need to be evaluated for COVID-19 but do not require hospitalization or emergency medical care may provide useful real-time clinical information about potentially infected individuals, according to a recent study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

In a study from Wuhan, China, researchers found that certain factors, such as age or treatment with methylprednisolone, are associated with developing acute respiratory distress syndrome and its outcomes in patients with COVID-19, researchers reported in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Newly published study findings showed that children are susceptible to COVID-19, but generally have less severe symptoms than adults.

In view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there is need for global education that will prevent the pandemic from worsening. Learning from China, the prevention of spread within and between communities is the most pivotal step to take seriously. It is imperative for the public across every single continent to put this into action right now.

SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, remains viable and infectious in aerosols for hours and on some surfaces for days, according to a study published today in The New England Journal of Medicine.

A phase 1 clinical trial to assess an investigational vaccine for COVID-19 has begun at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle, according to an NIH news release.

Pregnancy does not increase the rate of rifapentine clearance, indicating that there is no need for a dose adjustment of the 3-month tuberculosis prevention regimen of weekly isoniazid and rifapentine during pregnancy, according to findings from CROI.

Testing capacity issues for COVID-19 have hindered laboratories from effectively identifying cases of the virus in the United States since the beginning of the outbreak — leaving some experts concerned for the country’s ability to contain its spread.