Coronavirus & Monkeypox Tidbits #212 9/25/22

Announcements:

First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I'm getting.

Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don't be shy about that.

New Posts:

Cracks In Promising Treatments For Monkeypox—TPOXX And Jynneos

https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2022/09/21/cracks-in-promising-treatments-for-monkeypox-tpoxx-and-jynneos/?sh=5b15d4ad3122

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Can We Eliminate Measles and Rubella Worldwide?

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/981204

 

News 

Covid:

I'll have a post in Medscape early in the week on Biden's foolishly declaring the pandemic over.

In the meanwhile, in a Friday night news dump, the CDC just announced that many hospitals and nursing homes no longer have to mask. This is awful, and particularly stupid as we head into flu and RSV season. Many hospitals are already reporting no pediatric beds. They have thrown vulnerable people under the bus.

Here's what some others are saying, as well as other news:

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Quick test kit to determine a person's immunity against COVID-19 and its variants

A team of scientists from the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT's research enterprise in Singapore, and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has developed a quick test kit that can tell if a person has immunity against COVID-19 and its variants, based on the antibodies detected in a blood sample.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-quick-kit-person-immunity-covid-.html?

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Long COVID patients show signs of autoimmune disease a year after infection

Blood samples drawn from patients with long COVID who are still suffering from fatigue and shortness of breath after a year show signs of autoimmune disease in those patients, according to a study published today in the European Respiratory Journal.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-covid-patients-autoimmune-disease-year.html?

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Newly discovered COVID-like virus could infect humans, resist vaccines

A recently discovered virus in a Russian bat that is similar to SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19, is likely capable of infecting humans and, if it were to spillover, is resistant to current vaccines.

A recently discovered virus in a Russian bat that is similar to SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19, is likely capable of infecting humans and, if it were to spillover, is resistant to current vaccines.

A team lead by researchers in Washington State University's Paul G. Allen School for Global Health found spike proteins from the bat virus, named Khosta-2, can infect human cells and is resistant to both the monoclonal antibodies and serum from individuals vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2. Both Khosta-2 and SARS- CoV-2 belong to the same sub-category of coronaviruses known as sarbecoviruses.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-newly-covid-like-virus-infect-humans.html?

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COVID-19 associated with increase in new diagnoses of type 1 diabetes in youth, by as much as 72%

Children who were infected with COVID-19 show a substantially higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes (T1D), according to a new study that analyzed electronic health records of more than 1 million patients ages 18 and younger.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-covid-diabetes-youth.html?

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Covid-19 raises the risk of long-term brain problems, large study confirms

At this stage of long Covid research, calls for longer-term studies are coming due. Research in Nature Medicine offers an update based on 12 months of data from the VA system (before vaccines were widely available) looking at the longer-term impact of Covid-19 on neurological outcomes after patients recovered from their acute infections. Compared to a control group of 11 million patients, the 154,068 Covid-19 patients had a higher risk of complications including stroke (50%), memory and cognition disorders (77%), seizures (80%), movement disorders (42%), and mental health disorders (43%). Their average age was 61, and the sicker they were, the greater their risk.

Younger adults had a higher risk of memory and cognitive disorders, sensory disorders, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and encephalitis or encephalopathy. Older adults were more vulnerable to mental health disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, and migraine and seizures. “Some of the neurologic disorders reported here are serious chronic conditions that will impact some people for a lifetime,” the authors warn.

https://mailchi.mp/statnews/tk-tncyc6de8v-619348?e=5c09ee46b1

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https://twitter.com/larrybrilliant/status/1573380782235832321?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

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Monkeypox:

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The researchers highlight three examples where monkeypox has pathways to spread and where a One Health approach to its prevention is particularly needed—land use change, the bushmeat trade and the pet trade.

They conclude by suggesting that a preventative approach to preventing further zoonotic disease outbreaks could incorporate promoting alternatives to , routinely vaccinating people at high risk of exposure and educating people in hygienic procedures such as the wearing of gloves when handling live and dead wild animals.

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Unusual routes of acquisition for monkeypox:

Also today, a case report describes a possible tattoo-transmitted monkeypox infection in Italy. The patient reportedly got a tattoo in Spain in the 7 days prior to rash development. The rash developed where the tattoo needle was inserted.

In another study, a Brazilian nurse who likely contracted the virus during a needle-stick event. A lesion appeared at the stick site 5 days after the event, and the nurse subsequently tested positive for the virus.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/09/florida-infant-new-hampshire-child-contract-monkeypox

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Low risk of monkeypox spread noted in health workers

In a report today of 313 healthcare workers (HCWs) exposed to monkeypox in Colorado, none of them contracted the virus, despite few wearing the recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) or receiving postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) vaccination.

The study, by researcher with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Just 23% wore recommended PPE

The study took place from May 1 to Jul 31, with 313 healthcare workers interacting with patients who subsequently were diagnosed as having monkeypox. Only 23% of the HCWs wore all recommended PPE during their exposures.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/09/low-risk-monkeypox-spread-noted-health-workers

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Ebola:

Uganda Ebola Sudan outbreak grows to 7 cases, 1 fatal

Six more cases have been confirmed in Uganda's Ebola Sudan outbreak, raising the total to seven, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in an update, while noting that the outbreak location—Mubende district—poses a risk of further spread and that health officials are weighing the possibility of testing a vaccine targeting the strain in the location.

In its statement, the WHO said medical teams are monitoring 43 contacts.

Concerns about possible spread

In its statement, the WHO said it is concerned about the outbreak's location. Mubende is a 2-hour drive from Kampala and is on a busy road that leads to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The area has gold mines that attract people from elsewhere in Uganda and from other countries.

"The mobile nature of the population in Mubende increases the risk of a possible spread of the virus," the WHO said.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/09/uganda-ebola-sudan-outbreak-grows-7-cases-1-fatal

These previous Zaire ebolavirus outbreaks were brought under control after officials implemented ring vaccination for high-risk people using Merck’s Ervebo vaccine. This vaccine, however, has been proven to protect only against the Zaire strain. Officials said that another vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson could be effective in the Uganda outbreak but has yet to be specifically tested against Sudan ebolavirus.

Diagnostics:

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Pin-prick blood test identifies immunity to COVID-19

A finger-prick blood test can identify people most at risk of being reinfected with COVID-19. The simple test, developed by a small biotech firm based in Cardiff (ImmunoServ Ltd) in close collaboration with Cardiff University researchers, measures the presence of immune T cells that can recognize SARS-CoV-2.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-pin-prick-blood-immunity-covid-.html?

Drugs and Vaccines:

Covid:

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https://twitter.com/JeromeAdamsMD/status/1573261444103213058?s=20&t=4MAUpSriOtkLz7aV7GzIyw

Monkeypox:

Devices:

Epidemiology/Infection control:

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https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1572964719845318657?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

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Tips, general reading for public:

Ventilate.

Mask.

Vax.

Politics:

Covid:

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https://twitter.com/JoyHenningsenMD/status/1573479280142589953?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

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Long Covid:

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https://twitter.com/EurekaHealthApp/status/1572644380418383874?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

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Disparities/Greed:

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TFG:

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https://twitter.com/Angry_Staffer/status/1572731476923518978?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

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https://twitter.com/theAntenna_uk/status/1573220661790744577?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

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GOP:

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Jan 6th:

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Abortion/Contraception:

https://twitter.com/leahmcelrath/status/1572276808506032129?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

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Book bans:

Climate change:

Arizona:

Cops:

Florida:

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Georgia:

https://twitter.com/duty2warn/status/1572240044429291521?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

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Michigan:

Pennsylvania:

https://twitter.com/sarahchblum/status/1571593350310133761?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

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Puerto Rico:

Wisconsin:

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1572240107855581184?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

Feel good du jour:

https://twitter.com/Omar_pets0/status/1571191803465941000?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

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https://twitter.com/JannaMacLean1/status/1571832679955308545?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

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https://twitter.com/its_jessi_grace/status/1572588325659344902?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

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https://twitter.com/silverpebble/status/1572916994978070528?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

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https://twitter.com/TansuYegen/status/1573153756774121473?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

Comic relief:

https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1572106081731579907?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

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https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1572446272119873537?s=20&t=YQqcjFzAl3f3qtT7dwaKGA

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Perspective/Poem

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Bits of beauty:

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