The biology of coronavirus COVID-19 - including research and treatments

New Covid variant sparks fear as India sees huge surge of infections
A new variant of Covid-19 named “Arcturus” is behind a fresh surge of infections in India.

The Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.16 strain is on the verge of devastating the country where cases have soared 13-fold in the last month.

India's health ministry launched mock drills this week in an attempt to see if hospitals are prepared to deal with a possible influx of patients following the rise in cases.

Wearing face coverings in public has been made compulsory again in some states, being the first time in more than a year.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently monitoring Arcturus, also known as XBB.1.16, which was first detected in late January, with officials saying it had some mutations of concern.

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's Covid technical lead, said: “It's been in circulation for a few months.

“We haven't seen a change in severity in individuals or in populations, but that's why we have these systems in place.

“It has one additional mutation in the spike protein which in lab studies shows increased infectivity as well as potential increased pathogenicity.”
Click to expand...

New Covid variant sparks fear as India sees huge surge of infections (msn.com)
 
Sly Saint said:
New Covid variant sparks fear as India sees huge surge of infections

New Covid variant sparks fear as India sees huge surge of infections (msn.com)
Click to expand...
A new variant of Covid-19 named “Arcturus” is behind a fresh surge of infections in India.

"The Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.16 strain is on the verge of devastating the country where cases have soared 13-fold in the last month." - interesting use of 'devastation' as it apparently means slightly higher rates of acute disease in children for who the main symptom is 'itchy eyes'.

Virological characteristics of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB.1.16 variant

XBB.1.16 is on the WHO's current 'variants under monitoring', but it is not on the 'variants of interest', and is one of now 600+ recorded variants.
 
Amw66 said:
I don't know the veracity if this twitter post, but it suggestions should be looked into

Click to expand...

Interesting. The suggestion is that in England doctors stopped recording Covid as a contributor to death on death certificates around Christmas 2021, whereas in Wales doctors continued to do so. Which raises the question of whether there was a policy decision in England to ignore Covid as a cause of death whenever it could be attributed to other factors, for whatever reason.
 
If it was a policy decision it would have needed to be communicated to be put into practice so there would be evidence of that communication somewhere. I doubt it is possible to communicate with every GP and hospital doctor who signs death certificates without the information getting out (even if it was done as a confidential instruction). So even if the suggested NHS communication wasn’t publicly available there would be something on social media. I would have thought the person who posted the thread would have looked into that to either back up or rule out.

from a very brief skim it appears the same rules and guidance cover England and Wales https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...death-in-england-and-wales-accessible-version
 
Last edited:
Retraction: Physio-metabolic and clinical consequences of wearing face masks -Systematic review with meta-analysis and comprehensive evaluation

Following publication, concerns were raised regarding the scientific validity of the article. An investigation was conducted in accordance with Frontiers’ policies. It was found that the complaints were valid and that the article does not meet the standards of editorial and scientific soundness for Frontiers in Public Health; therefore, the article has been retracted. This retraction was approved by the Chief Editors of Frontiers in Public Health and the Chief Executive Editor of Frontiers. The authors did not agree to this retraction.
Click to expand...

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1221666/full

Original article abstract had concluded —

Discussion: Masks interfered with O2-uptake and CO2-release and compromised respiratory compensation. Though evaluated wearing durations are shorter than daily/prolonged use, outcomes independently validate mask-induced exhaustion-syndrome (MIES) and down-stream physio-metabolic disfunctions. MIES can have long-term clinical consequences, especially for vulnerable groups. So far, several mask related symptoms may have been misinterpreted as long COVID-19 symptoms. In any case, the possible MIES contrasts with the WHO definition of health.

Conclusion: Face mask side-effects must be assessed (risk-benefit) against the available evidence of their effectiveness against viral transmissions. In the absence of strong empirical evidence of effectiveness, mask wearing should not be mandated let alone enforced by law.
Click to expand...
 
Physicochemical Nature of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Binding to Human Vimentin (2023, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces)

Abstract said:
Vimentin, a protein that builds part of the cytoskeleton and is involved in many aspects of cellular function, was recently identified as a cell surface attachment site for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The present study investigated the physicochemical nature of the binding between the SARS-CoV-2 S1 glycoprotein receptor binding domain (S1 RBD) and human vimentin using atomic force microscopy and a quartz crystal microbalance. The molecular interactions of S1 RBD and vimentin proteins were quantified using vimentin monolayers attached to the cleaved mica or a gold microbalance sensor as well as in its native extracellular form present on the live cell surface. The presence of specific interactions between vimentin and S1 RBD was also confirmed using in silico studies. This work provides new evidence that cell-surface vimentin (CSV) functions as a site for SARS-CoV-2 virus attachment and is involved in the pathogenesis of Covid-19, providing a potential target for therapeutic countermeasures.
Click to expand...
 
Post moved from
Anomalies in the review process and interpretation of the evidence in the NICE guideline for (CFS & ME), 2023, White et al

There's a similar dynamic happening right now between some of the major minimizers, the Great Barrington Declaration, and a physician who wrote a book documenting the effort to push herd immunity. The book quotes them plenty, I haven't seen enough excerpts to know how much of it is simply quoting them directly, but there are a lot, he simply uses their word against them. It's indisputable.

And they are behaving exactly the same as the ideologues behind this letter, defending the indefensible when most of the criticism consists of their own words and actions. They can't refute a single point. Never do, only bleat and whine with juvenile quips such as "no one is buying your book", which I find equivalent to one response made by Glasziou, dismissing a letter by Tuller because it wasn't published, as if it negates its substance.

I don't think the issue of being unable to defend evidence is limited to our corner, sadly. The self-entitled behavior is the same. It's really not a good look. This guy is really putting himself out there, doesn't back down despite openly criticizing people with huge influence.

The book is "We want them infected" and the title really speaks for itself. The people who pushed herd immunity were not shy about saying they want people infected. And they still think it's a good thing, but somehow don't like it to be pointed out. Really weird stuff.

This is an example of whiny response from one of the herd immunity pushers (too long to quote, of course he's a Twitter Blue subscriber):

Click to expand...


And this is the author of the book:
When I disagree with people, I explicitly and clearly say exactly what I think they got wrong. This, for example, showing you didn’t understand how the mRNA trials were designed. Your lengthy screed reveals everything about you, not my book.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Since I'm seeing this again, I've seen since more excerpts from his book and it really is mostly quoting their own words. Pages and pages of their own claims. Like the title says: they want them infected. They really did, and still do.

So the pushers of herd immunity are mad at their own words. Well, mad at the idea of being accountable to them.
 
Covid Eris symptoms: All we know about new variant driving surge in cases

A new Covid variant dubbed Eris has emerged as hospital admissions spike amid bad weather and waning immunity this summer.

A descendant of Omicron, Eris, or EG.5.1, was first classified as a variant in the UK on 31 July, but now accounts for one in 10 Covid cases.

It is now the second most prevalent variant in the UK, after Arcturus which makes up almost half of all infection cases at 39.4 per cent, according to UKHSA.
Click to expand...
Covid Eris symptoms: All we know about new variant driving surge in cases (msn.com)
 
The USA, and northern California (locally) is having an uptick of covid hospitalizations and increased PCR positive tests ratio to negative ones. Wastewater analysis confirms the uptick.

Advice for various at risk groups is to again mask in crowded indoor places. I would not eat at an indoor restaurant.

I've been to a small grocery store twice without a mask since 2020. I no longer care "socially" what I'm wearing.
 
Mods please move if better thread .

Interesting very long thread in X re SARS evolution





Can cryptic lineages tell us anything about the origins of SARS-CoV-2 (SC2)?

The answer may surprise you, it surprised the hell out of me.

This is amazing.

1/Can cryptic lineages tell us anything about the origins of SARS-CoV-2 (SC2)?

The answer may surprise you, it surprised the hell out of me.

Cryptic lineages are unique, evolutionarily advanced SC2 lineages detected in wastewater from an unknown source.

We are pretty certain that these are coming from people with persistent infections, and they are likely gut infections.

2/

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…


I had a pet theory that SC2 was derived from a persistent infection of a person infected with a bat Sarbecovirus.

I now think this theory is completely wrong, but I learned some surprising things while exploring the idea.

3/
When looking at the evolutionary history of a lineage there are 3 main things I pay attention to.

1. What kinds of nt changes occur.
2. How many of the mutations are silent (don’t change the protein sequence).
3. What protein changes occur.

4/
When you look at the kind of nt changes that occur, you usually find that the changes are not ‘random’.

There are 25 posts

This one is interesting


Here is the surprising part, the actual amino acid changes. When I looked at the list I was floored. It looked like a cryptic lineage played backwards.

There are not many changes, and cryptic lineages are trying desperately to turn back into a bat (gut) virus.
 


Foreword:

“We live immersed in an ocean of air, yet we hardly ever notice its presence. However, without air we would simply not be able to survive.”

“We must reshape & redesign the building environment, while focusing on optimizing indoor ventilation and the air we breathe.”
 
Nirmatrelvir for Vaccinated or Unvaccinated Adult Outpatients with Covid-19
Jennifer Hammond; Robert J. Fountaine; Carla Yunis; Dona Fleishaker; Mary Almas; Weihang Bao; Wayne Wisemandle; Mary Lynn Baniecki; Victoria M. Hendrick; Veselin Kalfov; J. Abraham Simón-Campos; Rienk Pypstra; James M. Rusnak

BACKGROUND
Nirmatrelvir in combination with ritonavir is an antiviral treatment for mild-tomoderate coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). The efficacy of this treatment in patients who are at standard risk for severe Covid-19 or who are fully vaccinated and have at least one risk factor for severe Covid-19 has not been established.

METHODS
In this phase 2–3 trial, we randomly assigned adults who had confirmed Covid-19 with symptom onset within the past 5 days in a 1:1 ratio to receive nirmatrelvirritonavir or placebo every 12 hours for 5 days. Patients who were fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and who had at least one risk factor for severe disease, as well as patients without such risk factors who had never been vaccinated against Covid-19 or had not been vaccinated within the previous year, were eligible for participation. Participants logged the presence and severity of prespecified Covid-19 signs and symptoms daily from day 1 through day 28. The primary end point was the time to sustained alleviation of all targeted Covid-19 signs and symptoms. Covid-19–related hospitalization and death from any cause were also assessed through day 28.

RESULTS
Among the 1296 participants who underwent randomization and were included in the full analysis population, 1288 received at least one dose of nirmatrelvir–ritonavir (654 participants) or placebo (634 participants) and had at least one postbaseline visit. The median time to sustained alleviation of all targeted signs and symptoms of Covid-19 was 12 days in the nirmatrelvir–ritonavir group and 13 days in the placebo group (P = 0.60). Five participants (0.8%) in the nirmatrelvir–ritonavir group and 10 (1.6%) in the placebo group were hospitalized for Covid-19 or died from any cause (difference, −0.8 percentage points; 95% confidence interval, −2.0 to 0.4). The percentages of participants with adverse events were similar in the two groups (25.8% with nirmatrelvir–ritonavir and 24.1% with placebo). In the nirmatrelvir–ritonavir group, the most commonly reported treatment-related adverse events were dysgeusia (in 5.8% of the participants) and diarrhea (in 2.1%).

CONCLUSIONS
The time to sustained alleviation of all signs and symptoms of Covid-19 did not differ significantly between participants who received nirmatrelvir–ritonavir and those who received placebo.

(Supported by Pfizer; EPIC-SR ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT05011513.)

Link | PDF (New England Journal of Medicine) [Open Access]
 
Anew group of Covid variants is spreading fast, putting the UK at risk of a fresh wave of infections in the coming weeks, scientists warn.

Cases involving the variants, nicknamed FLiRT, have soared this month to account for around a quarter of total UK Covid infections.

They are replacing JN.1, the dominant variant they are descended from, that until recently accounted for virtually every case of the virus in the UK.

At the moment, the new variants appear to be largely replacing JN.1 rather than driving up Covid cases overall – which remain at around three year lows.

But there are fears that its continued spread could start to push overall cases higher, given that it seems to be more contagious and that vaccines don’t work as well against it, scientists say.

At the same time, the immunity the British public has built up from vaccines and previous infections is likely to be waning after several months of very low levels of the virus.

“It is likely we are about to enter a new wave of infections due to the global increase of new subvariants of the current dominant variant JN.1,” said Professor Christina Pagel, of University College London.

“I expect prevalence to increase in the coming weeks as we see the arrival of new variants that seem to be replacing the JN.1 variant that caused the Christmas 2023 wave.”
Click to expand...
Why the new FLiRT group of variants is expected to bring a new wave of Covid (msn.com)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom