Jun 11th, 2021 - Public toilets and bathrooms may act as a contact hub point where community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurs between users. The mechanism of spread would arise through three mechanisms: inhalation of faecal and/or urinary aerosol from an individual shedding SARS-CoV-2; airborne transmission of respiratory aerosols between users face-to-fa...

Feb 11th, 2022 - The use of face masks or respirators (N95/KN95) is recommended to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 (1). Well-fitting face masks and respirators effectively filter virus-sized particles in laboratory conditions (2,3), though few studies have assessed their real-world effectiveness in preventing acquisition of SARS-CoV-...

Oct 9th, 2020 - Health workers (HWs) are at increased risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and a possible source of nosocomial transmission clusters. Despite the increased risk, the best surveillance strategy and management of exposed HWs are not yet well known. The aim of this review was to summari...

Jan 5th, 2021 - SARS-CoV-2 infects its target cells via angiotensin converting enzyme 2 receptor, a membrane-bound protein found on the surface of many human cells. Treatment with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) or angiotensin receptors blockers (ARB) has been shown to increase angiotensin converting enzyme 2 expression by up to 5-fold. These findings coupled ...

Dec 21st, 2020 - The ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on the worldwide population. Seroconversion for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was described to occur 7–14 days after onset of symptoms, 100% within 19 days after clinical onset (1). Recent serologic data suggest that, in aff...

Sep 17th, 2020 - As a result of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, supplies of medical masks and respirators are limited globally. Medical/surgical masks and respirators are commonly used as protection against respiratory and other infections. The main difference in these 2 products is the intended use. Medical masks are used in both healthcare and community settings to protect fr...

Nov 2nd, 2021 - Thorough hand washing and sanitising are now second nature thanks to COVID-19, but a new study has also highlighted the dangers of open toilet lids, uncovered rubbish bins and defective plumbing drains in spreading infections in public washrooms. A global review of the risks of bacterial and viral transmission in public bathrooms has found that bioaerosols can potentially be trans...

Aug 18th, 2020 - On December 31, 2019, a cluster of severe pneumonia cases in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, was reported (1). On January 7, 2020, a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was isolated from samples associated with the cluster (2,3). As of May 1, 2020, a total of 3,175,207 coronav...

Feb 5th, 2022 - There has been no study in Japan on the predictors of risk for acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection based on people's behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to document changes in risk behaviour during the New Year's holiday season in 2021 and to identify factors associated with high-risk behaviour for infection...

Aug 17th, 2021 - Transmissibility of an emerging infectious disease is a key factor for determining transmission dynamics in a population. The basic reproductive number, R0, indicates the average number of new cases resulting from 1 infected person in a completely susceptible population (1). In December 2019, an outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respirato...

Sep 19th, 2021 - Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). After it was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, COVID-19 spread rapidly across the world as an ongoing global pandemic. As of July 9, 2021, most confirmed COVID-19 cases (33,79...

Nov 3rd, 2021 - What are you looking for?. × COVID-19 Risk. Who is at risk for infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19? Currently, those at greatest risk of infection are persons who have had prolonged, unprotected close contact (i.e., within 6 feet for 15 minutes or longer) with a patient with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, rega...

In the past two decades, the world has seen three coronaviruses emerge and cause outbreaks that have caused considerable global health consternation. Coronaviruses are enveloped, nonsegmented, single-stranded, positive-sense RNA viruses that have a characteristic appearance on electron microscopy negative staining Image 1. As a matter of fact, the characteristic electron microscopy appearance w...

Nov 3rd, 2021 - Note: This document is intended to provide guidance on the categories of viral testing and intended uses of testing for SARS-CoV-2 in light of additional testing capacity throughout the country and does not address decisions regarding payment for or insurance coverage of such testing. Summary of Recent Changes. Updates as of October 22, 2021 Base...

Sep 14th, 2021 - The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency of international concern. Solid organ transplant recipients have been identified as being at high risk of acquiring the virus SARS-CoV-2 and having a more severe COVID-19 disease. This article describes the experience of the National Lung Transplant Centre in Ireland in changing established care pathway...

Oct 17th, 2020 - During the first 6 months of 2020, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spread to almost all countries and infected »4 million persons worldwide (1). Air travel is contributing to the extent and speed of the pandemic spread through the movement of infected persons (2–4); consequently, in March, ...

Dec 10th, 2021 - Immediately following the March 13, 2020 declaration of COVID-19 as a national emergency (1), the U.S. government began implementing national testing programs for epidemiologic surveillance, monitoring of frontline workers and populations at higher risk for acquiring COVID-19, and identifying and allocating limited testing resources. Effective testing supports identi...

Oct 30th, 2021 - The following interim guidance may help prevent Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) from spreading among people in homes and in communities. The interim guidance is based on what we currently know about other viral respiratory infections and MERS-CoV. CDC will update this interim guidance as additional information becomes available. This interim guidance...

Jan 23rd, 2021 - Correctional and detention facilities face unique challenges for controlling severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19). These challenges include an inability for incarcerated or detained persons to socially distance and an ongoing risk for virus introduction ca...

Nov 19th, 2020 - On March 21, 2020, the Western Australia Department of Health was notified that 6 passengers aboard a flight from Sydney, New South Wales, to Perth, Western Australia, Australia, on March 19 had tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by PCR. All 6 passengers had disembarked fro...