Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: health – Page 307

Kim Jong Un in ‘vegetative state,’ Japanese media report says

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is in a “vegetative state” after he underwent heart surgery earlier this month, a Japanese magazine says.

The weekly Shukan Gendai reported Friday that a Chinese medic sent to North Korea as part of a team to treat Kim believed a delay in a simple procedure left the leader severely ill, Reuters reported.

North Korean media hasn’t mentioned Kim’s health or whereabouts, even though reports by other media have sparked international speculation about his well-being.

Neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in a COVID-19 recovered patient cohort and their implications

Background The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus threatens global public health. Currently, neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) versus this virus are expected to correlate with recovery and protection of this disease. However, the characteristics of these antibodies have not been well studied in association with the clinical manifestations in patients. Methods Plasma collected from 175 COVID-19 recovered patients with mild symptoms were screened using a safe and sensitive pseudotyped-lentiviral-vector-based neutralization assay. Spike-binding antibody in plasma were determined by ELISA using RBD, S1, and S2 proteins of SARS-CoV-2. The levels and the time course of SARS-CoV-2-specific NAbs and the spike-binding antibodies were monitored at the same time.

The manufacturer of Lysol issues a warning against the use of its disinfectant products for internal use after Donald Trump’s comments on a possible treatment for patients with coronavirus

Have a good day group 😅.

On Thursday, Donald Trump raised a few eyebrows as he spoke at the White House daily briefing on the coronavirus. Like us previously He reportedly suggested using UV lights or injecting disinfectants into a person affected by the virus.

Oddly enough, Trump’s suggestion not only sparked a conversation, as many people ignored him, but also prompted RB, the makers of Lysol and Dettol, to release a statement to assure everyone that their products are NOT for internal use, despite Trump’s suggestion.

On Friday, the company released the statement in its official website and said: “As a world leader in health and hygiene products, we must be clear that under no circumstances should our disinfectant products be administered to the human body (by injection, ingestion, or any other route). As with all products, our disinfectant products and hygiene should only be used as intended and in accordance with usage guidelines. Read label and safety information. We have a responsibility to provide consumers with access to accurate and up-to-date information as advised by leading health experts public ”.

UV Light That Is Safe for Humans but Bad for Bacteria and Viruses

In the constant battle against the spread of infectious diseases, scientists are continually on the hunt for new weapons that specifically target pathogenic microbes. Now, investigators from the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) believe they may have found a new, low-cost solution to eradicating airborne viruses in indoor public spaces. The research team found that continuous low doses of far ultraviolet C (far-UVC) light can kill airborne flu viruses without harming human tissues. The findings from the new study—published today in Scientific Reports in an article entitled “Far-UVC Light: A New Tool to Control the Spread of Airborne-Mediated Microbial Diseases”—suggests that use of overhead far-UVC light in hospitals, doctors’ offices, schools, airports, airplanes, and other public spaces could provide a powerful check on seasonal influenza epidemics, as well as influenza pandemics.

Scientists have known for decades that broad-spectrum UVC light, which has a wavelength of between 200 to 400 nanometers (nm), is highly effective at killing bacteria and viruses by destroying the molecular bonds that hold their DNA together. This conventional UV light is routinely used to decontaminate surgical equipment.

“Unfortunately, conventional germicidal UV light is also a human health hazard and can lead to skin cancer and cataracts, which prevents its use in public spaces,” explained senior study investigator David Brenner, Ph.D., director of the Center for Radiological Research and professor at CUIMC.

Rapid development of an inactivated vaccine for SARS-CoV-2

April 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has brought about an unprecedented crisis, taking a heavy toll on human health, lives as well as the global economy. There are no SARS-CoV-2-specific treatments or vaccines available due to the novelty of this virus. Hence, rapid development of effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 is urgently needed. Here we developed a pilot-scale production of a purified inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus vaccine candidate (PiCoVacc), which induced SARS-CoV-2-specific neutralizing antibodies in mice, rats and non-human primates. These antibodies potently neutralized 10 representative SARS-CoV-2 strains, indicative of a possible broader neutralizing ability against SARS-CoV-2 strains circulating worldwide. Immunization with two different doses (3μg or 6 μg per dose) provided partial or complete protection in macaques against SARS-CoV-2 challenge, respectively, without any antibody-dependent enhancement of infection. Systematic evaluation of PiCoVacc via monitoring clinical signs, hematological and biochemical index, and histophathological analysis in macaques suggests that it is safe. These data support the rapid clinical development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines for humans.

One Sentence Summary A purified inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus vaccine candidate (PiCoVacc) confers complete protection in non-human primates against SARS-CoV-2 strains circulating worldwide by eliciting potent humoral responses devoid of immunopathology.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Trial Moves into 2nd Round of Dosing

On March 16, Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases (NIAID) began dosing patients with mRNA-1273, its vaccine candidate against COVID-19. The second round of dosing in healthy Seattle volunteers has now begun.

Without placing too much significance on this, it is a good sign, suggesting that the trial is progressing well and there are no obvious bad side effects from the first round.

Lisa Jackson, senior investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, who is heading the study, told USA Today that the physicians at Kaiser Permanente’s Vaccine Treatment and Evaluation Unit in Seattle don’t have results from the first round. This suggests that the study data is blinded, meaning it will not be released until a specific point in the trial.

Covid-19 could detonate a ‘hunger pandemic.’ With millions at risk, the world must act

This is the truth of the looming “hunger pandemic,” which has the potential to engulf over a quarter of a billion people whose lives and livelihoods will be plunged into immediate danger, unless urgent and effective action is taken to keep commercial and humanitarian goods flowing, support communities with humanitarian assistance and provide governments with the additional health interventions required to control the spread of the virus.

If we can’t reach these people — if we can’t give them the lifesaving assistance they need because our funding has been cut or borders where we move our food have been closed — WFP’s analysis shows that 300,000 could starve to death every single day for the next three months.

When you consider that already, despite our best efforts, 21,000 people die of hunger every single day, the scale of the potential death toll is heart-rending. We could be looking at famine in about three dozen countries. In 10 countries, we have more than a million people who are on the verge of starvation as we speak.

Not just the lungs: Some COVID-19 patients show signs of neurological ailments

Strokes, seizures, loss of smell and taste and other neurological deficits are showing up in patients critically ill with the coronavirus.

Although the virus is classified as a respiratory disorder and primarily damages the lungs, clinicians are seeing patients with a wide array of symptoms, from seizures to hallucinations, brain inflammation, disorientation, delirium and loss of smell and taste.

“I had a patient, a young guy, 48, who attended a party in New Rochelle two weeks before and came in with hallucinations and confusion,” said Dr. Pooia Fattahi, regional chair of neurology for Trinity Health Of New England. The patient had no fever and only a slight cough. Still, aware some COVID-19 patients show up at hospitals with seizures, strokes and confusion, Fattahi suspected, correctly, that the patient had COVID-19. Three of those who attended the same New Rochelle party ultimately died of the virus.

The Rockefeller Foundation rolls out plan to test 30 million people a week to reopen the country

The Rockefeller Foundation releases an ambitious new proposal to test 30 million people a week, employ up to 300,000 contact tracers, and establish a digital data sharing platform. Rajiv Shah, President and CEO of the Rockefeller Foundation, and Dr. Kavita Patel, former health policy director in the Obama White House, join Andrea Mitchell to discuss this and other plans to reopen the country. April 22, 2020.