1- Monday Infectious Disease News – 28th June

1 – Variants of the COVID-19 Virus

• Viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur.
• Sometimes new variants emerge and disappear.
• currently there are six notable variants in the United States:
• 1.1.7: This variant was initially detected in the United Kingdom.
• 1.351: This variant was initially detected in South Africa in December 2020.
• 1: This variant was initially identified in travelers from Brazil, who were tested during routine screening at an airport in Japan, in early January.
• 1.427 and B.1.429: These two variants were first identified in California in February 2021.
• 1.617.2: This variant was initially identified in India in December 2020.

Source: CDC

2 – Everything you need to know about the COVID-19 therapy trials

• Researchers around the world are working at record speed to find the best ways to treat and prevent COVID-19, from investigating the possibility of repurposing existing drugs to searching for novel therapies against the virus.
• Current approaches to COVID-19 therapies generally fall into two categories: antivirals — which prevent the virus from multiplying — and immune modulators — which help the immune system to fight the virus or stop it from overreacting dangerously.
• Some potential therapies act in a different way or via multiple mechanisms.
• This article collates the main treatments being studied, the evidence supporting their use and the trials they are being evaluated in.
• It will be updated on a regular basis.

Source: Pharmaceutical Journal

3 – New Variants of Coronavirus: What You Should Know

• In December 2020, news media reported a new variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and since then, other variants have been identified and are under investigation.
• One of the main concerns about the coronavirus variants is if the mutations could affect treatment and prevention.
• The new variants raise questions: Are people more at risk for getting sick?
• Will the COVID-19 vaccines still work?
• Are there new or different things you should do now to keep your family safe?

Source: Johns Hopkins medicine

4- Risk of hospital admission for patients with SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7: cohort analysis

• This study aims to evaluate the relation between diagnosis of covid-19 with SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 (also known as variant of concern 202012/01) and the risk of hospital admission compared with diagnosis with wild-type SARS-CoV-2 variants.
• The results suggest that the risk of hospital admission is higher for people infected with the B.1.1.7 variant compared with wild-type SARS-CoV-2, likely reflecting a more severe disease.
• The higher severity may be specific to adults older than 30 years.

Source: BMJ

5 – COVID-19 variants: What’s the concern?

• Viruses constantly change through mutation.
•  Currently, several variants of the virus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are creating concern.
•  These variants include:
• (B.1.1.7). This COVID-19 variant appears to spread more easily and might have an increased risk of hospitalization and death.
• Beta (B.1.351). This variant appears to spread more easily. It also reduces the effectiveness of some monoclonal antibody medications and the antibodies generated by a previous COVID-19 infection or COVID-19 vaccine.
• Gamma (P.1). This variant reduces the effectiveness of some monoclonal antibody medications and the antibodies generated by a previous COVID-19 infection or a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Epsilon (B.1.427). This variant appears to spread more easily. It reduces the effectiveness of antibodies generated by a previous COVID-19 infection or COVID-19 vaccine.
• Epsilon (B.1.429). This variant appears to spread more easily. It reduces the effectiveness of antibodies generated by a previous COVID-19 infection or COVID-19 vaccine.
• Delta (B.1.617.2). This variant appears to spread more easily. It might reduce the effectiveness of some monoclonal antibody treatments and the antibodies generated by a COVID-19 vaccine.

Source: Mayo Clinic

6 – ‘Black fungus’ and COVID-19: Myths and facts

• In India, COVID-19 has led to a surge in cases of a potentially fatal fungal infection called mucormycosis, popularly known as “black fungus.”
• On May 26, 2021, there were 11,717 confirmed cases of mucormycosis in India.
• The fungus blocks blood flow, which killsTrusted Source infected tissue, and it is this dead, or necrotic, tissue that causes the characteristic black discoloration of people’s skin, rather than the fungus itself.

Source: Medical News Today

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