Zoonotic Infections News

President Donald J. Trump criticized the WHO’s COVID-19 response at a press briefing on Tuesday, suggesting the organization “missed the call” and should have acted “months earlier” to prevent the spread of the virus. During the same briefing, Trump also implied that the United States may cut off its funding to the WHO — a move that could have deeper implications for the global pandemic response.

Compared with other countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States generally has a higher incarceration rate, with more than 10 million people booked into jails each year. This specific setting poses “a unique set of challenges” when it comes to COVID-19 prevention that require action and attention, according to an editorial published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Universal masking policies have been a common topic of debate during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has now affected citizens in most countries and territories throughout the world. Some hospitals have begun implementing their own policies regarding masks. Officials are also calling on policymakers to act while experts weigh the benefits of having the general public wear masks during essential outings.

The United States now leads the world in the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, surpassing China and Italy by thousands.

Personal protective equipment, including goggles, N95 respirators and shoes, worn by health care workers caring for patients with SARS-CoV-2 tested negative for the illness, according to a recent study.

A team of researchers from around the world have identified 69 different drugs and compounds, including FDA-approved agents, compounds in clinical trials and preclinical compounds, that they are examining for potential effectiveness in SARS-CoV-2 infection assays.

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.

On Feb. 14, the FDA released a statement about its response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, noting that it is “keenly aware” that the outbreak will, in all likelihood, affect the medical supply chain. According to the release, the FDA has deployed additional resources to help determine possible weaknesses in the U.S. medical product sector caused by the outbreak. The agency has also been proactive in trying to identify potential disruptions and shortages, according to the release, instead of “waiting for drug and device manufacturers to report shortages to us.”

I knew from the earliest stages that if I pursued medicine as a career, infectious disease was the only choice for me. As a child, my favorite storybook was The Value of Believing in Yourself: The Story of Louis Pasteur, which recounts the discovery of the rabies vaccine. The idea that there were these mysterious entities called viruses and the human immune system had ways to combat them was completely captivating. As I grew older and learned about infectious diseases such as HIV, this fascination only increased. By the time I decided to go to medical school, I had already consumed scores of books on Ebola, Lassa fever, antimicrobial resistance and anything else I could get my hands on. In residency, I was mocked for carrying C.J. Peters’ Virus Hunter in my lab coat pocket, whereas the pockets of my fellow residents were teaming with reference books that allowed them to function on the wards.