There are two opposing theories: zoonosis, and a leak from a lab
years since the covid-19 pandemic began, one of the most persistent questions has been how the virus that caused it—SARS-CoV2—first jumped from animals to humans. SARS-CoV2 is one of a group of viruses, known as coronaviruses, commonly found in bats. But bats are rarely found in Wuhan, the Chinese city in which the virus emerged in December 2019.
, a global centre for coronavirus research, were working on the genetic engineering of these viruses. Some observers thought that workers handling infected research animals could have provided the virus with passage to the outside world. The Chinese government has denied that the virus came from one of the country’s laboratories.
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Post-COVID dyspnea: prevalence, predictors, and outcomes in a longitudinal, prospective cohort - BMC Pulmonary MedicineBackground The pathophysiology, evolution, and associated outcomes of post-COVID dyspnea remain unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, severity, and predictors of dyspnea 12 months following hospitalization for COVID-19, and to describe the respiratory, cardiac, and patient-reported outcomes in patients with post-COVID dyspnea. Methods We enrolled a prospective cohort of all adult patients admitted to 2 academic hospitals in Vancouver, Canada with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 during the first wave of COVID between March and June 2020. Dyspnea was measured 3, 6, and 12 months after initial symptom onset using the University of California San Diego Shortness of Breath Questionnaire. Results A total of 76 patients were included. Clinically meaningful dyspnea (baseline score | 10 points) was present in 49% of patients at 3 months and 46% at 12 months following COVID-19. Between 3 and 12 months post-COVID-19, 24% patients had a clinically meaningful worsening in their dyspnea, 49% had no meaningful change, and 28% had a clinically meaningful improvement in their dyspnea. There was worse sleep, mood, quality of life, and frailty in patients with clinically meaningful dyspnea at 12 months post-COVID infection compared to patients without dyspnea. There was no difference in PFT findings, troponin, or BNP comparing patients with and without clinically meaningful dyspnea at 12 months. Severity of dyspnea and depressive symptoms at 3 months predicted severity of dyspnea at 12 months. Conclusions Post-COVID dyspnea is common, persistent, and negatively impacts quality of life. Mood abnormalities may play a causative role in post-COVID dyspnea in addition to potential cardiorespiratory abnormalities. Dyspnea and depression at initial follow-up predict longer-term post-COVID dyspnea, emphasizing that standardized dyspnea and mood assessment following COVID-19 may identify patients at high risk of post-COVID dyspnea and facilitating early and effective managem
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Prior COVID and vaccination generate superior hybrid immunityIn a recent article published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, researchers in France performed a long-term longitudinal analysis to demonstrate the benefits of hybrid immunity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), i.e., induced by viral infection followed by vaccination.
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Tetravalent COVID vaccine provides broad antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 variants in animal modelIn a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers in Italy and the United States evaluated the efficacy and immunogenicity of an adjuvanted tetravalent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike (S) protein subunit 1 (S1) COVID-19 vaccine.
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Research reveals substantial human cost of international COVID-19 travel and border restrictionsNew research being presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark (April 15-18) reveals the high human costs and negative impacts of border restrictions and travel bans during the COVID-19 pandemic on citizens stranded abroad.
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