Infection News

Rituximab was associated with more severe COVID-19 in patients with inflammatory rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, according to data published in The Lancet Rheumatology.

Despite COVID-19 quarantine measures, Kawasaki disease incidence was unchanged in Japan compared with significant declines in respiratory tract and gastrointestinal infections, indicating airborne rather than contact or droplet transmission.

Working with minimal data and the pressure of the pandemic, the American College of Rheumatology put together guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination in individuals with rheumatic and autoimmune diseases.

In this episode, we delve into Parvovirus B19: What does it do? How does it affect the joints? How was it discovered? Does it only infect young female schoolteachers? Find out!

COVID-19 positivity, older age at onset, and the presence of myocarditis are more common with multisystemic inflammatory syndrome in children than with Kawasaki disease, according to data published Pediatric Rheumatology.

Patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease, but especially those with autoimmune conditions, as well as those treated with rituximab, may be at greater risk for severe COVID-19 pneumonia than the general population, according to data.

COVID-19 is more severe, with more complications and higher mortality, than influenza among patients with autoimmune disease, according to data published in Rheumatology.

As physicians around the world scrambled throughout early 2020 to respond to the exploding COVID-19 pandemic, the one promising development appeared to be that children were at relatively low risk compared with adults.

Patients with non-life-threatening autoimmune and inflammatory rheumatic conditions should be vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as possible regardless of disease activity or severity, according to new American College of Rheumatology guidance.

Studies examining the immunopathogenesis of COVID-19 and its link to immune system dysregulation are providing an “unparalleled opportunity” to learn more about autoimmunity, according to a review published in Pathogens and Immunity.