Tag Archives: COVID19

2020 Methane Spike: How COVID-19 Lockdowns Reduced Pollution Levels

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Environmental Impact of COVID-19 Lockdowns

2020 Lockdowns Led to Reduced Nitrogen Oxide Emissions from Transport

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The reduction in pollution during the COVID-19 lockdown has caused significant chemical changes in the atmosphere, leading to a concerning rise in methane concentrations that could greatly affect future climate change.

Methane, which remains in the atmosphere for only about a decade, has a much higher warming potential than CO2. Its levels have been rising since the 1980s, mainly due to emissions from fossil fuel production. In recent decades, increased microorganisms breaking down organic matter in wetlands, agriculture, and landfills have further amplified these emissions.

From 2020 to 2022, the atmospheric methane surge unexpectedly doubled from approximately 20 million tons per year to roughly 40 million tons annually, reverting to about 20 million tons in 2023. A recent study indicates that this spike is largely attributed to a reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from vehicles, aviation, and shipping during the lockdown.

NOx compounds catalyze atmospheric reactions that produce hydroxyl radicals (OH), key for breaking down methane. Hence, a decline in NOx typically results in enhanced methane persistence.

According to Matthew Johnson from the University of Copenhagen, “Reducing catalyst emissions leads to an increased methane pollution, akin to a hangover from our fossil fuel dependency.”

Prior research by Professors at Peking University indicated that the methane spike in 2020 was largely due to a decline in hydroxyl radicals and an increase in emissions from wetlands. Surprisingly, methane growth rates continued to rise in 2021 and 2022, despite the global economy’s recovery.

While hydroxyl radicals are too short-lived for direct measurement, satellite data can detect the gases that produce them. The recent study modeled both terrestrial methane sources and atmospheric hydroxyl radical sinks, linking their data with measured methane concentrations.

It discovered that the decline in hydroxyl radicals during 2020-21 and their recovery in 2022-23 accounted for 83% of the variations in methane growth rates. Continued low aviation emissions in 2021, coupled with the slow recovery of the transportation sector, contributed to these findings.

The increase in methane emissions from wetlands and inland waters accounted for the remaining spike. The La Niña climate phase boosted precipitation in Central Africa, expanding wetlands and generating more methane. Additionally, worsening weather in South and Southeast Asia increased methane emissions from rice fields, while rising temperatures accelerated methane emissions from Arctic wetlands.

As countries like China and India move toward electrification, the reduction in NOx pollution could further escalate methane growth, warns Penn.

“Improved air quality will likely mean decreasing methane absorption in the atmosphere,” he states, underscoring the urgent need for reducing human-caused emissions.

Disparities exist within climate models; some predict a decline in hydroxyl radicals, while others foresee an increase. Difficulties in measuring hydroxyl concentrations may also cast uncertainty over this study’s results.

Echoing this sentiment, Paul Palmer from the University of Edinburgh expressed surprise at the significance of hydroxyl radical changes compared to emission fluctuations. “If validated, this findings necessitate a reevaluation of factors influencing hydroxyl radicals in the global troposphere.”

Attributing changes to hydroxyl radicals might underestimate the actual variations in methane emissions.

Regardless, methane emissions from wetlands are set to escalate due to global warming, increasing precipitation, and microbial activity. To mitigate climate change, urgent human intervention is essential.

The new research highlighted by Ewan Nisbet from Royal Holloway, University of London, and Martin Manning from Victoria University in Wellington emphasizes that nations like China and India have substantial opportunities to capture methane from coal mines, landfills, and wastewater treatment facilities. Global oil and gas production continues to lose significant amounts of methane as well.

“We need urgent action; the methane emissions situation is becoming increasingly critical,” Johnson concluded. “Current trends are reflecting the alarming increase in methane emissions driven by climate change.”

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  • Climate Change/
  • Air Pollution

Source: www.newscientist.com

Can You Get Infected with Another Virus Alongside COVID-19? A Doctor’s Insights

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As a healthcare professional, I often encounter concerns from patients about COVID-19, particularly those suffering from long-term effects. A common inquiry I receive is, “Can I get reinfected with COVID-19 while experiencing long-term symptoms from a previous infection?“

Many individuals believe that enduring the virus for an extended period grants them some level of immunity against future infections. Unfortunately, this assumption is not accurate.

Long-lasting COVID-19 symptoms, including fatigue, breathing difficulties, and cognitive issues, can persist for months after initial infection. Regrettably, even prolonged exposure to COVID-19 does not shield you from reinfection.

The protective effects from previous infections and vaccinations fade over time. New variants of the virus, such as Omicron KP.3 and XEC in 2025, can evade the immune response.

This means that even if you’re grappling with persistent COVID-19 symptoms, it’s possible to contract the virus again, which may exacerbate symptoms or prolong recovery.

A positive COVID-19 test may indicate a reinfection with the same variant or a new one, but either way, it remains a manifestation of the coronavirus. Vaccines, particularly the 2025 booster shot, can significantly reduce the risk of severe illness. If you’re experiencing long-term COVID-19 and test positive, ensure you rest, stay hydrated, and consult your physician if symptoms worsen.

The coronavirus is still prevalent and continues to mutate, necessitating the practice of protective measures. It’s essential to get tested if you feel unwell, wear masks in crowded indoor settings, and keep up with vaccinations.

These proactive steps help mitigate exposure and safeguard those around you, especially as we navigate the lingering effects of this virus.

This article addresses the question from Yorkshire’s Terence Caldwell: “Can I be infected with COVID-19 along with the new variants?“

If you have any questions, reach out to us at: questions@sciencefocus.com or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (don’t forget to include your name and location).

Explore our ultimate fun facts and discover more amazing science resources.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Covid-19 Affects Blood Vessel Aging, Particularly in Women

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The stiffening of arteries with age, exacerbated by Covid-19

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Covid-19 seems to speed up the aging of blood vessels, particularly in women.

The virus has been linked to cardiovascular issues such as heart disease, although the exact mechanisms remain unclear. For further insights, see Rosa Maria Bruno from the University of Parisite and her research team, who studied 2,390 individuals with an average age of 50 across 16 nations, including the UK and US, from September 2020 to February 2022.

Participants included those testing positive for Covid-19 viruses or for antibodies without vaccination, alongside others who were negative for both without past infections.

The health of their arteries was evaluated by measuring the speed of pressure wave transmission between the carotid artery in the neck and the femoral artery in the foot. This assesses arterial stiffness, which naturally increases with age and elevates heart disease risk.

Findings indicated that confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections were related to increased arterial stiffness in women. This correlation appeared to grow with infection severity; for instance, women hospitalized for Covid-19 showed an average arterial age roughly five years greater than their uninfected peers, rising to 7.5 years among those who needed intensive care.

Researchers accounted for other factors influencing arteriosclerosis, such as smoking and obesity.

However, no similar findings were present in men. Earlier studies indicate that women tend to have stronger responses to infections than men, and an inability to modulate immune responses can result in inflammatory damage. Bruno expressed hope for observable gender differences but noted that this study didn’t yield significant ones.

The results also shed light on long Covid, which is more prevalent among women. After six months, arterial stiffness in women showed slight improvement, yet remained notably high in patients with ongoing Covid-19 complications. “Our study demonstrated measurable changes in blood vessels correlating with the symptoms of long Covid patients,” said Bruno.

Some individuals in the uninfected group may have experienced mild infections unbeknownst to them, potentially influencing the study’s validity.

Regardless, Vassilios Vassilio from the University of East Anglia highlighted the study’s robustness, asserting it could aid in identifying individuals affected by long Covid. “This research marks the first large, international multicenter investigation confirming an association between COVID-19 and accelerated vascular aging,” he noted. “The findings enhance comprehension of mechanisms post-Covid-19 syndrome and may pave the way for targeted pharmaceutical approaches.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

COVID-19 and Flu Could Reactivate Dormant Lung Cancer Cells

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Lung tissue samples from mice, depicting cells (blue), cancerous cells (green), and proliferation markers (magenta)

Bryan Johnson

Respiratory viruses are capable of triggering the growth of dormant cancer cells that have metastasized to the lungs from other body areas. Infectious diseases, such as influenza, can instigate an inflammatory response that aids the immune system in combating pathogens, yet they may also adversely influence cancer progression.

Cancer fatalities frequently result from tumor cells migrating from their primary sites. These cells may remain dormant in new locations for extended periods—potentially years or decades—before forming detectable tumors.

While it is uncertain if these cells will eventually proliferate, previous studies have suggested that once cancer cells infiltrate the lungs, inflammation induced by respiratory virus infections might play a significant role. “Nevertheless, no comprehensive research has been conducted to establish a clear cause-and-effect relationship,” notes James DeGregori from the University of Colorado.

To address this research gap, DeGregori and his team employed genetically modified mice to develop tumors in their mammary glands. By two months of age, each mouse had developed a mammary tumor and fewer than ten dormant cancer cells in their lungs.

Subsequently, the researchers infected half of the mice with the H1N1 influenza strain, commonly referred to as swine flu, causing illness for approximately two weeks. During the nine days following the infection, the number of lung cancer cells surged by 100-fold, whereas uninfected mice exhibited minimal changes.

In complementary experiments, the team discovered that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for COVID-19, led to a tenfold increase in cancer cell numbers in the mice’s lungs, again with no significant alterations in uninfected counterparts.

The researchers hypothesized that this expansion occurred due to viral infections elevating the levels of inflammatory molecules known as IL-6.

To investigate this hypothesis, they conducted further experiments with genetically modified mice deficient in IL-6 and found significantly fewer lung cancer cells compared to typical mice with normal IL-6 levels.

Another experiment suggested that IL-6 seemed to rejuvenate dormant cancer cells that had already migrated to the lungs instead of promoting the dissemination of these cells from the breasts.

However, IL-6 levels wane when the infection subsides. At this juncture, the researchers observed that cancer cells in the mouse lungs had ceased to proliferate but had acquired alterations in gene expression typically associated with tumor metastasis, according to DeGregori.

These findings suggest a potential impact on individuals with undetected levels of cancer cells in the lungs who are believed to be in remission, as stated by Anne Zeuner at the National Institutes of Health in Rome, Italy.

To determine the relevance of these findings to humans, researchers analyzed health records from 36,800 women in the U.S. diagnosed with breast cancer before the COVID-19 pandemic, who were thought to be non-metastatic.

Women who tested positive during the initial three years of the outbreak were significantly more likely to receive a diagnosis of secondary lung cancer in that timeframe. However, some women may have avoided testing due to asymptomatic infections, while others might not have sought tests, thereby complicating the validation of this finding, notes DeGregori.

Further research is necessary to corroborate these findings and explore the interactions between various respiratory viruses and cancer types, according to Zeuner. “Individual factors are likely to significantly influence the relationship between respiratory infections and cancer recurrence,” she adds.

The research focused solely on swine flu and SARS-CoV-2, but DeGregori expresses hope that a spectrum of viruses will exhibit similar behaviors, as many are known to elevate IL-6 levels. He also underscores the importance of vaccination, stating, “As a cancer survivor, I would ensure I am protected against common respiratory viruses like influenza and COVID-19,” remarks DeGregori.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Research Links Low Vitamin D Levels to Higher Risk of Covid-19 Hospitalization

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A recent analysis utilizing data from the UK Biobank revealed that vitamin D deficiency is linked to a higher risk of COVID-19 hospitalization, though there is only a weak association with the risk of infection.

Monroy-Iglesias et al. The nested case-control study was based on individuals with serum vitamin D level measurements in Baseline (2006-2010) within the Biobank Cohort, documenting COVID-19 PCR results and prior cancer diagnoses.

The widespread impact of COVID-19 on healthcare services has sparked considerable research interest aimed at understanding the potential pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the disease.

At the onset of the pandemic, numerous studies were conducted to examine various risk factors influencing rates of COVID-19 infection, severity, and mortality.

Factors that have consistently emerged include age, male sex, smoking status, obesity, specific ethnic backgrounds, and immune system compromise, which all contribute to severe disease and a heightened likelihood of mortality.

Vitamin D is essential for regulating both innate and adaptive immune responses.

Deficiency in vitamin D has been linked to a higher susceptibility to respiratory infections and is considered a risk factor for the development of severe, persistent inflammation, which may precede acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Consequently, several investigations have focused on the correlation between vitamin D levels and the risk of COVID-19 from the beginning of the pandemic.

Emerging evidence suggests a connection between vitamin D deficiency and both the likelihood of COVID-19 infection and the severity of the disease.

“Our goal was to utilize UK Biobank data to explore the relationship between vitamin D levels and the risks of both COVID-19 infection and hospitalization,” stated Dr. Maria Monroy Iglesias of King’s College London.

“We also assessed these associations across the general population, a subset of cancer patients, and examined potential differences related to ethnicity.”

The authors analyzed data from over 150,000 participants in the UK Biobank to ascertain whether the risk of COVID-19 was elevated among those with vitamin D deficiency (<25 nmol/L in blood) and vitamin D insufficiency (25-49 nmol/L).

Additionally, they compared hospitalization risks due to COVID-19 across these three groups.

“These findings can help identify at-risk individuals and inform future public health guidance,” noted Dr. Kerri Beckmann, a researcher with the University of South Australia.

“Given vitamin D’s important role in immune regulation, it is possible that low levels may influence responses to infections like COVID-19.”

“Our study indicated that individuals with vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency had a higher likelihood of being hospitalized due to COVID-19 compared to those with adequate vitamin D levels; however, they were not necessarily more prone to contracting the virus in the first place.”

The research team also explored the association between vitamin D and COVID-19 outcomes among cancer patients across different ethnic backgrounds.

It was found that individuals of Asian or African/Afro-Caribbean descent had a marginally increased risk of infection at lower vitamin D levels, while the link between vitamin D and severe illness was predominantly observed in individuals of white backgrounds.

Although no significant correlation was detected between vitamin D levels and COVID-19 outcomes among individuals previously diagnosed with cancer, researchers cautioned that this may stem from smaller sample sizes.

“While the overall risk of COVID-19 has diminished over time, the virus continues to pose a public health challenge,” Dr. Beckmann remarked.

“COVID-19 may not be the threat it once was, but it continues to impact individuals’ well-being.”

“Understanding which populations are most vulnerable enables those individuals to take necessary precautions, such as keeping track of their vitamin D levels.”

“Individuals already in poor health may naturally have lower levels of vitamin D.”

“As such, it’s still unclear whether vitamin D supplementation can mitigate the severity of COVID-19.

“This remains a topic worthy of further investigation, especially as we adapt to living with the virus.”

Survey results will be published online in the journal PLOS 1.

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MJ Monroy-Iglesias et al. 2025. The effects of vitamin D on COVID-19 risks and hospitalizations in the UK Biobank. PLOS 1 20(7): E0328232; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0328232

Source: www.sci.news

The pandemic might have accelerated brain aging, even before we contracted Covid-19.

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Changes in brain structure over time

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The Covid-19 pandemic may have hastened brain aging, even prior to infection. Studies indicate that early in the outbreak, the brain may have undergone changes equivalent to 5.5 months of aging, potentially attributed to stress and shifts in lifestyle.

Many individuals suffering from long Covid report experiencing brain fog. However, the wider neurological implications of the pandemic are not completely understood a few years post-Covid-19’s emergence.

To investigate this, Ali-Reza Mohammadi-Nejad at the University of Nottingham, along with his team, trained machine learning models using 15,000 brain scans to analyze structural changes related to aging.

A model was then applied to brain scans from 996 volunteers participating in the UK Biobank Study. This comprised 564 individuals who underwent both scans prior to March 2020, which acted as the control group. The remaining 432 volunteers had one scan before March 2020 and another later, with scans averaging three years apart and a minimum gap of two years.

The research revealed that the pandemic may have induced an acceleration of brain aging by 5.5 months, as evidenced by structural changes in both white and gray matter. This effect was also observed in individuals who had recorded Covid-19 infections as part of the Biobank project.

This accelerated aging effect was notably more significant among men and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. However, the results may not be generalizable, as biobank participants typically exhibit better health, higher income, and less ethnic diversity than other demographics within the UK.

Researchers propose that these alterations might have been driven by the isolation and stress of lockdowns, alongside changes in lifestyle factors like physical activity and alcohol use during that period.

In their study, the authors indicate that these structural brain changes could be “at least partially reversible,” while also acknowledging limitations stemming from the study’s UK-based participant pool, suggesting that the findings may not accurately represent lockdowns’ impact elsewhere. “Our conclusions may actually underestimate the pandemic’s effects on more vulnerable populations,” Mohammadi-Nejad asserts.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

US Halts Support for COVID-19 Vaccines for Children—Are Other Vaccines Next?

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US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy JR

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One of the leading vaccine specialists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, resigned on June 4th, just a week after Robert F. Kennedy JR announced that the Covid-19 vaccine would no longer be advised for most children and pregnancies.

This declaration prompted several days of uncertainty regarding the availability of the Covid-19 vaccine in the U.S. Although there has not been a significant shift in access, parents may face new challenges when trying to vaccinate their children. Nonetheless, Kennedy’s statement reflects a concerning departure from established public health practices.

“My career in public health and vaccinology began with a deep-seated desire to assist the most vulnerable members of our population. This is not something I can continue in this role,” Reuters reported.

Panagiotakopoulos was part of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) since 1964. However, last week, Kennedy, as the highest authority in public health in the country, reversed decades of protocol. “As of today, we are unable to announce that the Covid vaccine for healthy children and pregnant women has been removed from the CDC’s recommended vaccination schedule,” he stated in a video shared on the social media platform X on May 27th.

Despite his directive, the CDC has only made minor modifications to its recommendations regarding the Covid-19 vaccine. Rather than a full endorsement for children, it is now recommended “Based on shared clinical decisions,” meaning parents should consult their doctors prior to making a decision. It remains uncertain how this will impact vaccine access in various situations, but it may complicate obtaining vaccinations for children at pharmacies.

The CDC’s guidance on vaccination during pregnancy is rather unclear as well. The relevant website still recommends Covid-19 shots during pregnancy, noting that “This page will be updated to reflect your new vaccination schedule.”

Kennedy’s declaration also stands in stark contrast to the positions of major public health organizations. Both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have expressed opposition to this stance.

“The CDC and HHS advise individuals to consult healthcare providers regarding personal medical choices,” a spokesperson for HHS told New Scientist. “Under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, HHS is re-establishing the connection between doctors and patients.”

However, Linda Eckart of Washington University in Seattle argues that these conflicting messages create confusion for the public, stating, “It opens doors for misinformation and undermines overall confidence in vaccines. I cannot fathom that vaccination rates will not decline.”

Numerous studies have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccinations during adolescence and pregnancy. In fact, Martin McCurry, head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, emphasized this in a risk assessment for severe Covid-19 published a week before Kennedy’s announcement, further complicating the government’s public health message.

Kennedy’s announcement aligns with similar community policies in several countries. For instance, Australia and the UK do not recommend the Covid-19 vaccine for children unless they are at high risk of severe illness. Likewise, they advise against Covid-19 vaccinations during pregnancy for those already vaccinated.

Asma Khalil, a member of the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, stated that the UK’s choice is informed by a reduced risk from omicron variants, the cost-effectiveness of vaccinations, and high herd immunity. Nevertheless, these variables can differ from one country to another. Eckart notes that the UK population generally has better access to healthcare than that of the U.S. “These evaluations necessitate a meticulous consideration of risks and benefits for the national populace,” Khalil asserts. HHS did not respond to New Scientist regarding whether a similar assessment influenced Kennedy’s decision.

Perhaps the most concerning aspect of Kennedy’s announcement is its circumvention of the expected ACIP vote on proposed revisions to COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, which was slated for later this month. “This method of decision-making—by individual professionals who carefully review conflicts of interest and scrutinize the data—has never occurred in our country,” Eckart emphasizes. “We are traversing uncharted territory,” and she fears that Kennedy’s actions could establish precedents for other vaccine recommendations. “I am aware there are numerous vaccines he has actively opposed,” she continues, recalling Kennedy’s previous denunciations of vaccines linked to autism and false claims regarding the polio vaccine.

“What this implies is that [Kennedy] is undermining established scientific guidelines,” stated Amesh Adalja from Johns Hopkins University.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Iconic Images Captured During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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New coronavirus response hospital under construction in Wuhan, China

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It has been five years since the novel coronavirus disease emerged, causing a global pandemic with lasting impacts on societies, economies, and people's health.

Immediately after the virus was identified, many countries began making plans to treat the influx of severely ill people infected with COVID-19. The image above shows an excavator at the construction site of the purpose-built Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan, China, which became the initial epicenter of the outbreak on January 24, 2020.

People infected with covid-19 waiting for transit

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Huoshenshan was not the only hospital built in Wuhan as authorities prepared for the worst. In March 2020, people infected with the new coronavirus were photographed waiting to be transported from a general hospital in Wuhan to Leishenshan Hospital, which was also newly opened due to the pandemic.

Traffic decreases in New York City

Reuters/Andrew Kelly

Like many parts of the world, New York City began implementing restrictions around mid-March 2020. With the streets empty, ballet dancer Ashley Montague was able to perform in Times Square while wearing a gas mask.

COVID-19 wasn't the only thing going viral when this adorable baby started appearing on social media

Lillian Swanrunfa/AFP via Getty Images

Face shields were initially proposed as an alternative to masks to protect people from infection, but are increasingly discouraged as we learn more about the virus. Nevertheless, the above newborn photo taken at a hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, caught the internet's attention in early April 2020.

Social restrictions have forced some people to get creative.

Jim West/ZUMA Wire/Shutterstock

Like other public spaces, churches and other places of worship are closed in many parts of the world. A priest in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan held a creative Easter service in April 2020, using water guns to hand out holy water while practicing social distancing.

Some people hugged through plastic due to concerns about infection.

Handout via Domenico Sartor/Reuters

Many nursing homes have been severely affected by the coronavirus, as the elderly are particularly susceptible to serious infections. The restrictions gave some visitors the chance to hug their loved ones through plastic sheets. The photo above was taken in November 2020 at a care home in Castelfranco Veneto, Italy.

Some people have turned their experiences living under the pandemic into works of art.

Reuters/Lim Huey Teng

The pandemic has inspired colorful and creative murals around the world. The photo above shows a young boy being swabbed for the SARS-CoV-2 virus in front of a COVID-19 artwork in Shah Alam, Malaysia, in December 2020.

Margaret Keenan from Coventry, UK, receives COVID-19 vaccination

Jacob King/Pool/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Expectations were high when the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was approved in the UK on December 2, 2020, after showing 95 per cent efficacy in late-stage trials. Six days later, 90-year-old Coventry resident Margaret Keenan became the first person to receive the vaccine outside of the trial.

Late Queen Elizabeth maintains social distancing at husband's funeral

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Like many other queens, the late Queen Elizabeth II had to adhere to social distancing rules at her husband Prince Philip's funeral on April 17, 2021 at Windsor Castle, England. Due to pandemic restrictions, only 30 people were allowed to attend.

Monuments are being erected around the world to commemorate those who lost their lives to the new coronavirus infection.

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Britain's National Covid-19 Memorial Wall in London was built in March 2021 to commemorate those who have died from the disease. The photo above shows a woman leaving a message on the wall a year after it was created. Family members and volunteers painted more than 240,000 hearts on a 500-meter-long wall along the River Thames.

Public spaces were eventually opened up, but some things changed

Reuters/Kim Kyung-hoon

Although much of

Source: www.newscientist.com

COVID-19 vaccines may be less effective due to intestinal parasites

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Duodenal hookworms (Ancylostoma duodenale) cause one of the most common intestinal parasitic infections worldwide.

Katerina Conn/Shutterstock

People with intestinal parasitic infections, quarter This has been suggested by experiments in mice infected with the parasite, which had significantly weaker immunity after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination compared to mice not infected with the parasite.

Previous studies have shown that people with intestinal parasitic infections have a weakened immune response to vaccines for diseases such as tuberculosis and measles because the parasites suppress the processes that vaccines trigger to confer immunity, such as activating pathogen-killing cells. Intestinal parasitic infections are most common in tropical and subtropical regions, where they often occur because of limited access to clean water and sanitation.

Scientists have not tested whether these pathogens reduce the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. Michael Diamond Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, vaccinated 16 mice with a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, half of which had been infected 12 days earlier with an intestinal parasite that lives only in rodents. They gave each mouse a booster shot three weeks after the first vaccination.

About two weeks after the booster shot, the researchers analyzed the animals' spleens to measure concentrations of CD8+ T cells, specialized white blood cells that are important for eliminating other cells infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. They found that the spleens of mice infected with the intestinal parasite had about half the number of cells as mice without the parasite, suggesting a weakened immune response to the vaccine.

The researchers repeated the vaccination process in another group of 20 mice, half of which were infected with the intestinal parasite, exposing them to the highly infectious Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. After five days, the lungs of vaccinated rodents infected with the intestinal parasite had, on average, about 20% more virus than uninfected ones.

These findings suggest that intestinal parasites may reduce the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in people, but different types of intestinal parasites are known to affect immunity differently, the researchers say. Keke Fairfax The University of Utah researchers said it's unclear whether the parasite's infection in humans would have the same effect on vaccinating against COVID-19 as it did in mice, and the situation is further complicated by the fact that humans tend to harbor multiple types of intestinal parasites at the same time, they said.

Still, understanding how to alter the immune response to vaccination is important given the prevalence of parasitic infections, and these findings suggest that researchers may need to further evaluate the vaccine's effectiveness in parts of the world where a high proportion of the population is infected with intestinal parasites, Fairfax says.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Long-term cognitive decline found in severe COVID-19 patients years post-illness

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COVID-19 could have lasting effects on our mental and physical health

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There is evidence that people who were hospitalized with COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic still have lower than expected cognitive abilities several years later, forcing them to change jobs.

“What we found is that the average cognitive impairment is equivalent to 10 IQ points, based on what you would expect given age etc.” Maxim Take At Oxford University.

His team looked at 475 British people who had been admitted to and discharged from hospital with COVID-19 up to March 31, 2021.. All of the participants had undergone psychiatric and cognitive evaluations six months after they were discharged, as part of a separate study. Take's team asked them to be reassessed two to three years later and found that, on average, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and fatigue had worsened. “More people get worse than they get better,” Take says.

Overall, those suffering from moderate to severe depression increased from 34% at six months to 47% at the second assessment, and those suffering from moderate to severe fatigue increased from 26% at the first test to 40%. Smaller changes were seen in the proportion of those suffering from moderate to severe anxiety, increasing from 23% to 27%.

It's not clear why so many people's symptoms worsened, but the team found that people whose symptoms were more severe in the initial tests tended to get worse over time. One participant said he'd had shortness of breath for three years and it was hard for him not to fall into depression, Take said.

The team also found that more than a quarter of participants changed jobs after hospitalization, half of whom said they did so because of poor health. The researchers found a strong association between changing jobs and declining cognitive function, but not with depression, anxiety, or fatigue. This suggests that many people are changing jobs because they can no longer cope with the cognitive demands of their previous jobs, rather than for a lack of energy or interest, Take says.

He acknowledges that the study has some major limitations: Only a fifth of those invited to take part actually did so, so it's not clear how representative the study is, and because participants weren't tested before being admitted to hospital, there's no baseline to compare it to, team members say. Paul Harrison also conducted at Oxford University. Instead, the conclusion that people lost 10 IQ points on average was based on what would be expected for people of the same age, sex and education level, British Intelligence Test.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Women in India have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 compared to men in most countries.

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In March 2020, a night-time curfew was imposed in New Delhi, India, as a preventive measure against COVID-19.

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The COVID-19 pandemic may have affected India more severely than previously estimated, with women, certain social groups and younger people experiencing the most severe declines in life expectancy.

Mortality estimates in India during the coronavirus pandemic have been based on official death records. But the lockdown disrupted this system, and already Under-reporting of women and children’s deaths Even before the pandemic, certain information such as caste and ethnicity was not collected. Sangeeta Vyas At Hunter College in New York

So Vyas and his colleagues collected information on mortality in India from the National Family Health Survey, a nation-wide survey that asks participants whether anyone in their household has died in the past four years and, if so, to provide data such as date of death, age, and sex (with only male and female options).

The researchers analyzed data from more than 765,000 participants who completed the survey in 2021. They found that deaths in 2020 were about 17% higher than in 2019. If a similar increase occurred across India, it would amount to about 1.2 million excess deaths in 2020. This is eight times the official number of COVID-19 deaths in India in 2020 and 1.5 times the World Health Organization estimate. QuoteAccording to research.

From 2019 to 2020, life expectancy across the entire sample fell by more than 2.5 years. 1.5 Years of Decline During the same period in the United States, changes in life expectancy also varied by sex, age, and social group.

For example, mortality rates fell by about three years for women and just over two years for men. This contrasts with global trends that show that men have experienced a larger increase in mortality than women during the COVID-19 pandemic. “These peculiar patterns in India are likely to be explained, at least in part, by gender inequality,” Vyas says.

preliminary survey In Indian households, women spend less on healthcare compared to men, and the pandemic may have exacerbated these existing disparities, it said. Riddhi Kashyap Oxford University researchers who co-authored the study say strict lockdowns could hinder access to obstetric care and increase obstetric mortality.

Unlike other countries, the decline in life expectancy observed in the study was mainly due to premature deaths: rising mortality rates among women and girls under 20 contributed about one year to the decline in life expectancy in 2020, roughly the same as the number of deaths among women aged 60 to 79.

“We believe the rise in mortality is stemming from indirect effects of the lockdown in India,” Vyas said, which could include disruptions to access to childhood vaccines and treatment for tuberculosis, a leading cause of death in the country.

There were also large differences between social groups: high-caste Hindus saw their life expectancy fall by 1.3 years, while Muslims and people belonging to lower castes saw their life expectancy fall by 5.4 and 2.7 years, respectively.

Public health experts have long been aware of health disparities in India, but the findings highlight the magnitude of those disparities, Vyas said. “Knowing how different populations are affected differently is important for crafting policy responses,” she said.

But the study had limitations. Due to disruptions during the lockdown, survey respondents came from only 14 of India’s 36 states and union territories, making the sample demographically representative of only about a quarter of India’s population. The study also didn’t look at causes of death. “We can only speculate as to why there are these patterns,” Kashyap says. “But we can’t say for sure what’s causing them.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Investigating the UK’s lack of preparedness for the COVID-19 pandemic

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People demonstrate outside the UK COVID-19 Inquiry site in London in October 2023.

Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images

“The UK prepared for the wrong pandemic” This is the key conclusion from the first part of a government inquiry looking at the UK's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular its preparedness and resilience.

“In 2019, it was widely believed, both in the UK and abroad, that the UK was not only well prepared to deal with a pandemic, but one of the best-prepared countries in the world. This belief proved dangerously wrong.” Heather HallettThe former judge leading the UK's coronavirus inquiry Video Statement Released at the same time Reports“The reality is that the UK was ill-prepared.”

“I have no hesitation in saying that the processes, plans and policies of the UK-wide civil emergency response arrangements have let down the people of all four countries,” Mr Hallett said. “There were serious errors on the part of the government and serious failings in the civil emergency system. This cannot be allowed to happen again.”

The main reason the UK was unprepared was because it planned on the assumption that the pandemic would be caused by a dangerous influenza strain or something similar, the report concluded, “which resulted in risk assessments being narrowly limited, excluding other types of pandemics.”

The next biggest mistake was assuming that because influenza spreads easily from person to person, there would be no way to stop the spread of a pandemic pathogen. “Plans were focused on dealing with the effects of the disease rather than preventing the spread of the disease,” the report said.

As a result, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no plans to implement measures such as border controls, lockdowns, testing people or contact tracing to identify people who may have the coronavirus and stop them from infecting others.

“There was no preparation whatsoever for the fact that hygiene measures at the border might be necessary to protect the population,” the former health minister said. Matt Hancock Part of the problem, the inquiry said, is that because responsibility for health measures has been devolved between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, it is not clear who can implement such measures.

The UK government also did not consider the possibility of a lockdown being necessary: ​​”There was no plan to introduce a lockdown.” Mark Woolhouse “Lockdowns were an ad-hoc public health intervention devised in real time in the face of a rapidly evolving public health emergency,” researchers from the University of Edinburgh in the UK said in a study.

Testing and tracing was envisioned as part of any response to new pathogens, but the capacity to do so was limited because it was assumed that any new infectious diseases would only have a small number of cases.

“One of the first lines of defence against a pandemic is containment, and this requires a test, trace and isolate system that can be rapidly expanded to meet the demands of a large outbreak,” Mr Hallett said. “This did not exist in the UK when the COVID-19 pandemic began.”

“The UK government's only pandemic plan, developed in 2011, was outdated and inadequate,” she said. “The UK government never applied or adapted it, and the principles on which it was based were ultimately abandoned, along with the 2011 strategy itself.”

The report does not explore the consequences of those failures, but a summary released with the report states that “further preparations could have avoided some of the enormous financial, economic and human costs of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The inquiry will also look into decision-making and political governance in Westminster, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the impact on health systems across the UK, vaccines, medicines, anti-viral treatments, government procurement and PPE. [personal protective equipment]; the care sector, test and trace, the impact on children and young people, and the Government's business and finance response.

The latest report quoted a civil servant as saying: Chris Wormald “There's been a lot of discussion, of course, about countries like South Korea, who handled COVID very well. In fact, they had much higher standards of containment than we did, and that was a key difference.”

One of the aims of the review is to help the UK better prepare for the future. “The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that another, more infectious and deadly pandemic is likely in the near to medium term,” Hallett said. “This means that the UK will face another pandemic – one that, unless we prepare better, will cause untold suffering and huge economic loss, with the most vulnerable in society suffering the most.”

“This is a most urgent report because we are still not fully prepared for the next pandemic.” Duncan Robertson Loughborough University, UK Post to X.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

FDA advises updating COVID-19 vaccine to target KP.2 variant

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The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday recommended that pharmaceutical companies develop coronavirus vaccines targeting the KP.2 strain, a descendant of the highly contagious JN.1 variant that began spreading widely in the United States this winter. The announcement comes just one week after an FDA advisory committee unanimously recommended updating COVID-19 vaccines in the fall to target the JN.1 variant or its descendants.

After the vote, there was disagreement between committee members and Dr. Peter Marks, the agency’s top vaccine regulator, over which strain the agency should choose. Most committee members expressed a preference for JN.1, but Dr. Marks favored choosing a newer strain like KP.2. “We’re paying an incredibly high premium for the mRNA vaccines to get the freshest vaccine,” Marks said, likening getting the vaccine to buying milk at the store.

The FDA said it had initially advised drugmakers on June 6 to target the JN.1 variant, but the agency continues to monitor circulating strains and “based on the latest available data and recent increases in COVID-19 cases in areas of the country, the FDA has further determined that the JN.1 lineage is preferred for improved vaccines,” with the KP.2 strain preferred “when possible,” the FDA said.

The JN.1 is hardly in circulation in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention As of Saturday, KP.2 accounted for 22.5% of new coronavirus cases in the U.S., while its sister variant, KP.3, accounted for 25% of new cases.

The FDA’s decision allows pharmaceutical companies to begin manufacturing and distributing the vaccine, which is expected to be used as part of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns this fall.

Three pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax, are producing coronavirus vaccines. Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines are mRNA-based, while Novavax’s vaccine is protein-based. Because protein-based vaccines take a long time to produce, Novavax has indicated that it will not be able to produce the KP.2 vaccine by the fall. Instead, it plans to distribute the JN.1 vaccine that it has already produced.

This is the third time the vaccine has been updated to target circulating strains. The process of selecting the next vaccine is becoming more routine, similar to the annual influenza vaccination update, with vaccinologists selecting the strains in the spring and then conducting vaccination campaigns in the fall.

At the advisory committee meeting, the pharmaceutical company presented data showing that compared to current vaccines that target the variant XBB.1.5, which is not currently in circulation, the JN.1 vaccine should generate higher levels of antibodies against circulating virus strains.

The committee did not recommend who should get the latest vaccine, leaving that to the CDC, which will be holding its own advisory committee meeting later this month.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Dr. Fauci Provides Testimony at Contentious Hearing Regarding COVID-19 Origins

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Dr. Anthony Fauci faced tough questions from Republican politicians in a recent hearing regarding the lessons learned from the pandemic. This was his first public testimony since leaving government service at the end of 2022.

During the hearing with the House Select Subcommittee on COVID-19, Fauci addressed various allegations made against him, including claims about funding for virus research in China. Some conspiracy theories suggest that this research could have led to the coronavirus leak.

Fauci admitted that the possibility of a lab leak cannot be dismissed entirely, but denied any involvement in concealing information related to it. He emphasized that the origins of the pandemic remain unknown.

Despite the accusations, no evidence linking Fauci to the origins of the coronavirus was presented during the hearing.

Fauci, who served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, defended his actions during the pandemic and refuted claims of bribing scientists or misleading the public.

Democrats supported Fauci as a dedicated public servant, while some Republicans, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, called for his prosecution and made unsubstantiated accusations against him.

The hearing also focused on the EcoHealth Alliance’s research activities, with Republicans questioning Fauci’s relationship with the organization and its president, Peter Daszak.

Fauci addressed the concerns raised during the hearing, including allegations about his former aide’s communications and the nature of the research funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Despite facing continued harassment and threats to his life, Fauci remains committed to serving the public and providing accurate information about public health issues.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

How a 2,450-Day Snapchat Streak Has Kept Our Friendships Strong Through Heartbreak, Joy, and COVID-19

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I
It's hard to say when it became a daily habit. There were stops and starts. Days when I couldn't think of anything. But little by little, it became non-negotiable. Wake up. Please check the time. Send a snap. Every day for 2,450 consecutive days. I sent fleeting moments spanning almost seven years to a friend on the other side of the world.


Sarah has seen my sleepy eyes and the view of my dresser from my bed more than anyone else on earth. I don't know why I decided my Snapchat streak would be most important, but it became a priority in April 2017, almost four years after I downloaded the app and started using it haphazardly.

We are currently experiencing one of the longest snap streaks in the history of the app. Snapchat doesn't make that information public, so we don't know where they are on the ladder, but they recently ranked among the top 10 sites that collect that data.


Guardian Australia political blogger Amy Lemeikis and her friend Sarah are on a road trip together.
Photo: Amy Lemeikis

Sarah and I met while teaching English in Korea. An American and an Australian, they were excited to be so far away from home. We forged a friendship over BBC's Pride and Prejudice and Korean sheet masks. Eventually, we both returned to real life, me in journalism, she in grad school, but we continued to communicate sporadically. Days, then weeks, then months passed before we spoke.

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She was severely affected by the coronavirus. She kept on ringing until she stood up and her words were breathtaking. She found medical help for her and I sent food and Amazon care packages to her home. This is America's online artery that connects us across closed borders. Her recovery from coronavirus was long and scary, and I woke up in a panic, but it wasn't until I saw her open the app that I felt relieved and went back to sleep.

When I recently asked her what this streak meant to her, she said, “Tangible proof that someone special is thinking of you at least once a day, even on your worst day.” “It's very reassuring to have that,” she said, and it's true. During some particularly difficult moments, that was the only voice I heard outside of my head.

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Source: www.theguardian.com

Probiotics found effective in reducing fatigue and memory loss related to prolonged COVID-19 infection

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Probiotics, illustration of live microorganisms that can affect intestinal bacteria

ART-ur/Shutterstock

A daily cocktail of prebiotics and probiotics can help reduce fatigue, memory, and symptoms in people with long-term COVID-19 (symptoms that persist for months or years after being infected with COVID-19). May be useful in treating gastrointestinal complaints.

Although little is understood about long-term coronavirus infections, previous research has shown that people with the disease have lower levels of certain gut microbes than those without. Masu. In particular, they lack gut bacteria that produce compounds called short-chain fatty acids that regulate immune responses.

Siu Ng and his colleagues at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have formulated a mixture that boosts the production of short-chain fatty acids. The product, called SIM01, contained three probiotics (live bacterial strains) and three prebiotics (compounds that help the growth of beneficial gut bacteria).

They distributed this cocktail to 232 adults. Another group of 231 adults took a mixture containing starch and low-dose vitamin C. Both mixtures were taken twice a day for 6 months. All participants were residents of Hong Kong, had previously tested positive for COVID-19, and met the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s criteria for long-term COVID-19 infection.

Researchers used a questionnaire to assess 14 long-term COVID-19 symptoms in participants before treatment began and after treatment ended. At the end of the trial, people who received SIM01 were likely to experience relief from five long-term coronavirus symptoms: fatigue, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, general unwellness, and gastrointestinal upset. It was found to be about 2 to 2.5 times higher on average. The research team also found no serious side effects from the treatment.

Analysis of fecal samples taken before and after the trial revealed that SIM01 increases gut microbial diversity and promotes the growth of beneficial gut bacteria, Ng said. Therefore, she says, it could be useful in treating other conditions that are associated with disruption of the gut microbiome, such as chronic fatigue syndrome.

However, it is unclear how these changes in the gut reduce the symptoms of long-term coronavirus infection. timothy sampson At Emory University in Georgia. “It makes sense that the microbiome has the ability to mediate immune responses, but… [immune system] What is actually at the root of [long covid] You get symptoms,” he says.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

New Study Finds COVID-19 Vaccination Does Not Increase Risk of Miscarriage

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A study by Boston University researchers found no increased risk of miscarriage associated with the COVID-19 vaccine among individuals planning a pregnancy. This encouraging evidence supports the safety of preconception vaccination and is consistent with health authorities’ recommendations for vaccination of people planning pregnancy.

The new study is the first to prospectively assess the relationship between bias and bias. COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection) We found that vaccinating both partners and having a miscarriage slightly reduced the risk of miscarriage among vaccinated partners trying to conceive.

In many studies, It is shown COVID-19 vaccines do not cause infertility or increase the risk of pregnancy-related problems, including miscarriage.Despite this evidence, people still on guard About the potential negative effects of vaccines on pregnancy.

A recent study conducted by researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) provided more comprehensive information about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for individuals considering pregnancy.

It was published in the magazine human reproductionthe study found no increased risk of early or late miscarriage as a result of either the man or the woman’s partner receiving the COVID-19 vaccine before pregnancy.

Insights from new research on pre-pregnancy vaccine safety

This study is the first to assess the risk of early miscarriage (<8 weeks gestation) following preconception COVID-19 vaccination, and the first to assess vaccination and miscarriage in men. The researchers hope these results will be useful information for individuals planning pregnancy and health care providers.

“These findings should be replicated in other populations, but are reassuring for couples planning pregnancy,” says lead author Jennifer Eland, an epidemiology doctoral student at BUSPH at the time of the study. .

Study details and results

For this study, Yland and colleagues analyzed survey data on COVID-19 vaccination and miscarriage among male and female participants of the BUSPH-based Online Pregnancy Study (PRESTO). National Institutes of Health– A funded study that enrolls women who wish to become pregnant and follows them from before pregnancy until 6 months after giving birth. Participants in this new analysis included 1,815 women in the United States and Canada who were followed in the study from December 2020 to November 2022. They were observed from the first positive pregnancy test until miscarriage or other event (e.g. induced abortion, ectopic pregnancy) occurred. , or 20 weeks of pregnancy)—whichever comes first.

Among female participants, 75% had received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine before becoming pregnant. Almost a quarter of pregnancies led to miscarriage, 75% of which occurred before 8 weeks of pregnancy, but there was no increased risk.

The risk of miscarriage was 26.6% for unvaccinated female participants, 23.9% for female participants who received one dose of vaccine before pregnancy, and 24.5% for female participants who completed the full first dose before pregnancy. and 22.1% among female participants who completed the vaccination series. 20.1% of women received only one dose of the two-dose vaccine three months before pregnancy.

“The miscarriage rate among vaccinated people was not only comparable to that among PRESTO participants who became pregnant before the pandemic, but also that the risk of miscarriage among vaccinated people was higher than that of unvaccinated people. “Our data showed that it was slightly lower than the previous year,” Yland said.

Federal health officials continue to recommend COVID-19 vaccination for people planning pregnancy, emphasizing that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the potential risks of vaccination before or during pregnancy. ing.

Reference: “Prospective Cohort Study of Preconception COVID-19 Vaccination and Miscarriage” Jennifer J Yland, Amelia K Wesselink, Annette K Regan, Elizabeth E Hatch, Kenneth J Rothman, David A Savitz, Tanran R Wang, Krista By F Huybrechts, Sonia Hernández-Diaz, Michael L. Eisenberg, Lauren A. Wise, October 20, 2023. human reproduction.
DOI: 10.1093/hamrep/dead211

The study was funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Science Foundation.

Source: scitechdaily.com

COVID-19 can lie dormant in the lungs for as long as 18 months

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SARS-CoV-2 Virus Persistence Study

The SARS-CoV-2 Virus Persistence Study

The SARS-CoV-2 virus can remain in the lungs for up to 18 months after infection, a study has found, challenging the notion that it is undetectable after initial recovery. This persistence is associated with a failure of the innate immune system. This study confirms the existence of “viral reservoirs” similar to those found in HIV and highlights the role of NK cells in controlling these reservoirs. This discovery is extremely important for understanding long-term COVID-19 infections and the mechanisms of viral persistence.

Groundbreaking research reveals:

SARS-CoV-2 Due to malfunctioning of the innate immune system, it can remain in the lungs for months, undetected, leading to long-term COVID-19 infections. 1 to 2 weeks after being infected with the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) virus It is generally undetectable in the upper respiratory tract. But does that mean it’s not present in the body? To find out, a team at the Institut Pasteur, which specializes in HIV, teamed up with France’s public research institute, the Commission for Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy (CEA), to study lung cells in animal models. It was conducted. This finding not only shows that SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in the lungs of certain individuals for up to 18 months after infection, but also that its persistence is associated with a failure of innate immunity, the first line of defense against the pathogen. It also shows that this is the case. ).This study was published in the journal innate immunology.

Discovery of virus carriers in the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19)

After causing an infection, some viruses remain in the body in a discreet and undetectable form. They remain in what is known as the “viral reservoir.” This is the case with HIV, which is latent in certain immune cells and can reactivate at any time. The same may be the case with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection). At least, this is the hypothesis proposed in 2021 by a team of scientists at the Pasteur Institute, and now confirmed in a preclinical model in non-human primates.

“We observed that inflammation persisted for a long time in primates infected with SARS-CoV-2. We therefore thought that the presence of the virus in the body could be the cause,” said Pass. explains Michaela Müller Tortwin, head of the HIV, Inflammation and Persistence Unit at the Toole Institute. This study showed that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is transmitted from one macrophage to another through bridge-like cell processes, allowing it to spread. The cell nucleus is highlighted in pink and the viral protein NSP3 is highlighted in green. Credit: © Marie Lazzerini, Nicolas Huot, Institut Pasteur research result To study the persistence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, scientists at the Institut Pasteur collaborated with CEA’s IDMIT (Infectious Disease Models for Innovative Therapies) Center to study the persistence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from animal models infected with the virus. The collected biological samples were analyzed. Early results from the study show that the virus was detected in some people’s lungs 6 to 18 months after infection, even though it was not detected in their upper respiratory tract or blood. Another finding was that the amount of residual virus in the lungs was lower with the Omicron strain than with the original SARS-CoV-2 strain. “We were really surprised that we found the virus in specific immune cells (alveolar macrophages) after such a long period of time, when routine PCR testing was negative,” said the study’s lead author. Yes, says Nicolas Huot, a researcher in HIV, inflammation and inflammation at the Institut Pasteur. Persistence unit.

“Furthermore, we were able to culture these viruses and use the tools we developed to study HIV to observe that the viruses were still able to replicate.” To understand the role of innate immunity in controlling these viral reservoirs, scientists next turned to NK (natural killer) cells. “The innate immune cellular response, the body’s first line of defense, has so far been little studied in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection,” says Michaela Müller-Turtwin. “However, it has long been known that NK cells play an important role in controlling viral infections.” The study found that in some animals, macrophages infected with SARS-CoV-2 were destroyed by NK cells. In other animals, NK cells have been shown to adapt to infection and destroy resistant cells (known as adaptive NK cells). For macrophages. Therefore, this study sheds light on a possible mechanism explaining the existence of ‘viral reservoirs’. People who had little or no virus over time had adaptive NK cell production, whereas people with higher levels of virus not only had no adaptive NK cells, but only cell activation. NK cell activity also decreases. Therefore, innate immunity appears to play a role in controlling persistent SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Future research directions

“We will undertake a study of a cohort infected with SARS-CoV-2 early in the pandemic to investigate whether the identified viral reservoirs and mechanisms are associated with long-lasting COVID-19 cases. “However, the results here already represent an important step in understanding the nature of the virus reservoir and the mechanisms regulating virus survival,” says Michaela Müller-Turtwin.

Reference:

“SARS-CoV-2 virus persistence in lung alveolar macrophages is controlled by IFN-γ and NK cells”, Nicolas Huot, Cyril Planchais, Pierre Rosenbaum, Vanessa Contreras, Beatrice Jacquelin, Caroline Petitdemange, By Marie Lazzerini, Emma Beaumont, Aurelio Horta-Rezendis, Felix A. Rey, R. Keith Reeves, Roger Le Grand, Hugo Mouquet, Michaela Müller-Tourtuin, November 2, 2023. innate immunology.

This research was primarily funded by families of major donors as part of the Coronavirus Research Program Call for Projects.


Source: scitechdaily.com