Researchers have uncovered a link between COVID-19 and blood markers linked to faulty proteins in the brain.
In an analysis led by researchers at Imperial College London and the UK Dementia Research Institute, scientists found that people who had previously had COVID-19 were more likely to have increased levels of biomarkers linked to faulty amyloid proteins – a known hallmark for Alzheimer’s disease.
Comments closedPublic health officials said they are now dealing with a measles outbreak in southwestern Ontario, with 19 confirmed cases as of Jan. 29.
Southwestern Public Health, which covers Oxford County, Elgin County and the City of St. Thomas, is reporting three cases of the highly contagious disease in children.
The remaining 16 infections are with Grand Erie Public Health, which serves the City of Brantford, Brant County, Haldimand County and Norfolk County. In an update Friday, officials said thirteen children and three adults have measles.
Comments closedComments closedRFK Jr. has a well-documented history of spreading dangerous disinformation on vaccines and public health interventions, leaving vulnerable communities unprotected and placing millions of lives at risk. His appointment is a direct threat to the safety of our patients and the public at large.
False narratives in a new $2-million report on COVID 19 in Alberta send Albertans the wrong signals, said a former chief medical officer of health for the province.
An adjunct professor at the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health, Dr. James Talbot said the 269-page report released late last Friday cherry-picks information and includes unproven ideas, including that the vaccine is ineffective and potentially harmful.
“We’ve given literally billions of doses of this vaccine around the world with the best surveillance we’ve ever had. This is one of the safest, most effective vaccines that we’ve ever had,” he said.
Comments closedThe European Commission has just launched a new tool that supports the tracking of the spread of infectious diseases by analysing wastewater: the European Wastewater Surveillance Dashboard. It displays data from across the EU by bringing together existing national and research-based dashboards.
Comments closedCNN’s Arlette Saenz reports on video shared by Caroline Kennedy warning senators to reject her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to be Health and Human Services secretary ahead of confirmation hearings on Wednesday.
Comments closedThe Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) at the University of Saskatchewan has been awarded a $24 million grant to help develop a vaccine to protect against wide-ranging strains of coronaviruses.
VIDO’s funding flows from Norwegian-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) into its ongoing development of its pan-sarbecovirus vaccine.
Comments closedThe Trump administration has instructed organizations in other countries to stop disbursing H.I.V. medications purchased with U.S. aid, even if the drugs have already been obtained and are sitting in local clinics.
The directive is part of a broader freeze on foreign aid initiated last week. It includes the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the global health program started by George W. Bush that is credited with saving more than 25 million lives worldwide.
The administration had already moved to stop PEPFAR funding from moving to clinics, hospitals and other organizations in low-income countries.
Appointments are being canceled, and patients are being turned away from clinics, according to people with knowledge of the situation who feared retribution if they spoke publicly. Many people with H.I.V. are facing abrupt interruptions to their treatment.
Comments closedThe National Science Foundation canceled all of its grant review panels this week, as the organization works to align its grantmaking process with new executive orders from the Trump administration.
The NSF funds a wide range of scientific research through grants to universities and research institutions. It convenes panels of experts to weigh the merits of those proposals, ultimately informing which receive federal funding. It has a budget of around $9 billion.
Comments closedComments closedI think it was a waste of time. It was a waste of money. And under no circumstances should the recommendations be implemented until there’s been a full and expert public discussion of the report.
When bird flu first struck dairy cattle a year ago, it seemed possible that it might affect a few isolated herds and disappear as quickly as it had appeared.
Instead, the virus has infected more than 900 herds and dozens of people, killing one, and the outbreak shows no signs of abating.
A human pandemic is not inevitable, even now, more than a dozen experts said in interviews. But a series of developments over the past few weeks indicates that the possibility is no longer remote.
Comments closedPublic Service Confidential is a workplace advice column for federal public servants. The following question has been edited for clarity and length.
I am an immunocompromised federal public servant with multiple chronic illnesses. I still work from home, but HR wants me back in the office three days a week the moment they can give me a private office beside the bathroom. My doctor wrote a letter to counter the accommodation, saying it’s not appropriate and even less beside a bathroom with the shared environment, and it could put my life at risk of getting sick with complications. So I am fighting to keep my full-time telework agreement.
Comments closedAn Alberta government task force has recommended that the use of COVID-19 vaccines be halted unless more information is provided about risk, in a report rife with suggestions that run counter to mainstream scientific consensus.
The $2-million task force’s final report, released Friday, touched on several points common with disinformation campaigns such as the effectiveness of public health restrictions and masking, while also recommending some government authority over media.
Comments closedResearchers have discovered a molecular signature of Long Covid in children, detectable through a blood test and diagnosable with 93% accuracy using AI.
This breakthrough signifies a major advancement in pediatric healthcare, offering hope for early detection and tailored treatments.
Comments closedConfirmed cases of measles have now been reported at two public health units in southern Ontario.
Grand Erie Public Health said nine people have the highly contagious virus.
Of those, three are children and the remaining six are adults.
Only one of those cases is in Brantford-Brant, while the other eight are in Haldimand County and Norfolk County.
Southwestern Public Health, which covers Oxford County, Elgin County and St. Thomas, confirmed Thursday they have one active case. Officials believe it is likely connected to those reported by Grand Erie Public Health.
Comments closedA flurry of scientific gatherings and panels across federal science agencies were canceled on Wednesday, at a time of heightened sensitivity about how the Trump administration will shift the agencies’ policies and day-to-day affairs.
Several meetings of National Institutes of Health study sections, which review applications for fellowships and grants, were canceled without being rescheduled, according to agency notices reviewed by STAT. A Feb. 20-21 meeting of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, a panel that advises the leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services on vaccine policy, was also canceled. So was a meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria that was scheduled for Jan. 28 and 29.
Comments closedResearchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo and Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University said that they have developed a peptide that can bind to the spike proteins of SARS-CoV-2 to prevent COVID-19 infections.
The peptide, which is a short chain of amino acids, has shown effectiveness in experiments involving various coronavirus strains attempting to infect human cell lines and hamsters.
Researchers hope to conduct a physician-led clinical trial for possible preventive and therapeutic treatment.
Comments closedSaskatchewan’s Ministry of Health has enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for the province’s high-risk population this spring, but would not confirm whether it plans to purchase more doses in the future.
The province has more than 100,000 doses, all of which were provided through the federal government’s procurement process.
Ottawa has been paying for the shots and distributing them across the country since they became available. Earlier this month, the Public Health Agency of Canada quietly announced that practice would come to an end.
Comments closed