The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Swiss Confederation today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to launch the first WHO BioHub Facility as part of the WHO BioHub System, which was announced in November 2020. This facility will enhance the rapid sharing of viruses and other pathogens between laboratories and partners globally.
Recent research published on the medRxiv server has developed a portable, magnetofluidic cartridge platform, for automated PCR testing in <30 min, for rapid multiplexed screening of pathogens. A multidisciplinary team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine developed these cartridges for multiplexed detection of SARS-CoV-2 with distinctive variant mutations or with Influenza A and B.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With Kerala s positive cases touching nearly 42,000 on Saturday and over four lakh people undergoing treatment for the virus, the Kerala government decided to form ward level committees in each panchayat to ensure proper Covid-19 treatment activities.
The state was facing more challenges in the present second wave, as the pathogen strain was more virulent and was spreading fast, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here.
He said the role played by local governments in controlling and preventing the first wave of the Covid outbreak was unparalleled. During this second phase also, they have an important proactive role to play by being at the forefront of Covid prevention, he said.
100 year old pandemic, 100 year old advertisements.
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Just like we see today, even 100 years ago brands claimed their products prevented or cured the deadly influenza virus. There was a similar barrage of hygiene and immunity products that promised protection from the flu.
Over the last 12 months I ve taken to something called narrative prophylaxis - protecting oneself with stories. I ve been reading different kinds of books - old, new, fiction, non-fiction. I toggle between formats - paperback, kindle, audio books.
One of the books I finished reading recently (actually, listening to on Amazon s Audible) is a shocker titled The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry. Written in 2004, it s a brilliant, detailed account of the 1918 flu pandemic, that overlapped with the 1st world war.
In the study, which appeared on the pre-print server medRxiv, the team developed a general mathematical theory to predict airborne transmission risk from carbon dioxide (CO2) time series in real-time and clarify different estimates that steer the guideline. The study findings were based on the assessment of transmission risk and implementing the guideline by CO2 monitoring in university classrooms and office spaces.