Might spitting in a tube be the solution to finding out who is infected with SARS-CoV-2? The results of a recent study suggest that might be the case. To diagnose someone who is infected with SARS-CoV-2, a long swab is inserted deep into the nasal sinus to provide samples of the nasopharyngeal mucosa, a site …
by Gertrud U. Rey On April 5, 2020, a tiger named Nadia at the Bronx Zoo was confirmed to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 after displaying symptoms of COVID-19. Nadia is presumed to have been infected by a zookeeper, along with several other lions and tigers who were also showing symptoms. This incident raises the question …
Back in January 2020, I wrote about a deletion that appeared in the genome of SARS-CoV during the middle and late phase of the epidemic (link to article). A similar deletion has now been detected in the genome of SARS-CoV-2 (link to article). The deletion in the SARS-CoV genome occurred in a region encoding a protein …
A 382 nucleotide deletion in the genome of SARS-CoV-2 Read More »
by Gertrud U. Rey The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is steadily increasing around the world. Yet despite this unsettling fact, one statistic continues to hold true: most infected children experience mild symptoms, respond well to treatment, recover more quickly than adults, and have a better prognosis. An initial report from China showed …
When it comes to safeguarding the health of the US, there is no one I trust more than Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of NIAHD/NIH (whom I was fortunate to interview on TWiV in 2013). So when Dr. Fauci says that 100,000 people could die in the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak just in the US, I take notice. …
How many deaths caused by SARS-CoV-2 will there be in the US? Read More »
Driving the anxiety and uncertainty about the current outbreak of COVID-19 is the case fatality ratio (CFR) being thrown about carelessly by not just the press, but also WHO and other organizations. However the CFR is not a one-size-fits all, and is influenced by many factors.
