COVID-19 may be a risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS). This has been shown by new research at Örebro University and Örebro University Hospital, Sweden. The study is published in the journal Brain Communications.
“We saw a raised risk of MS among people who had severe COVID-19. However, only an extremely small number of people who had severe COVID-19 received a subsequent MS diagnosis,” says Scott Montgomery, professor in clinical epidemiology.
Comments closedThe Tour de France has reinstated COVID-19 protective measures, requiring race organizers, media, and guests to wear masks when in contact with riders and team staff. This protocol was announced by race organizer ASO on Sunday morning after several recent COVID-19 cases among the peloton.
“In order to limit health risks, it is now compulsory to wear a mask in the various areas where you will be in contact with the riders and members of the cycling teams,” read the statement from the ASO.
Riders who have abandoned the race due to the virus include Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers), Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates), and Michael Mørkøv (Astana-Qazaqstan). Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) remains in the Tour despite testing positive, as the rules currently allow.
Comments closedFinland plans to offer preemptive bird flu vaccination as soon as next week to some workers with exposure to animals, health authorities said on Tuesday, making it the first country in the world to do so.
The Nordic country has bought vaccines for 10,000 people, each consisting of two injections, as part of a joint EU procurement of up to 40 million doses for 15 nations from manufacturer CSL Seqirus (CSL.AX).
The European Commission said Finland would be the first country to roll out the vaccine.
Comments closedThe proportion of children infected with COVID-19 while riding a bus to a school in Germany was about four times higher than in peers who didn’t ride the bus, illustrating efficient transmission during multiple short rides on public transport, finds a study published this week in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
A team led by researchers from the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin and public health officials used surveillance data, lab analyses, case-patient and household interviews, a cohort study of all students in grades 1 to 4, and a cohort study of bus riders to investigate a 2021 COVID-19 outbreak that involved an infected bus driver and his passengers. The rides lasted 9 to 18 minutes, and multiple schools in a single district were involved.
Comments closedA dedicated sick pay scheme for people suffering from the effects of “long Covid” is due to end in two weeks’ time in a move which will affect around 120 healthcare workers.
In July 2022 the Government introduced a temporary scheme to provide special leave with pay for eligible staff suffering with the symptoms of long Covid, such as fatigue and exhaustion. While the scheme was previously extended following approval by the Department of Public Expenditure, it will now end on March 31st. The Department of Public Expenditure has told the Department of Health that no further extensions will be granted.
Comments closedResearchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen have examined a man who has received more than 200 vaccinations against Covid-19. They learned of his case via newspaper reports. Until now, it has been unclear what affects hypervaccination such as this would have on the immune system. Some scientists were of the opinion that immune cells would become less effective after becoming used to the antigens. This proved not to be the case in the individual in question: his immune system is fully functional. Certain immune cells and antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 are even present in considerably higher concentrations than is the case with people who have only received three vaccinations. The results have been published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.
More than 60 million people in Germany have been vaccinated against SARS-Coronavirus 2, the majority of them several times. The man who has now been examined by researchers at FAU claims to have received 217 vaccinations for private reasons. There is official confirmation for 134 of these vaccinations.
“We learned about his case via newspaper articles,” explains Privatdozent Dr. Kilian Schober from the Institute of Microbiology – Clinical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene (director Prof. Dr. Christian Bogdan). “We then contacted him and invited him to undergo various tests in Erlangen. He was very interested in doing so.” Schober and his colleagues wanted to know what consequences hypervaccination such as this would have. How does it alter the immune response?
Comments closedThe reason why people with long Covid can suffer from “brain fog” has been discovered by Irish scientists.
The breakthrough has profound importance for the understanding of brain fog and cognitive decline seen in some patients with the condition, according researchers at Trinity College Dublin.
It brings the possibility of new treatments for the condition, but also for other neurodegenerative illnesses such as multiple sclerosis (MS), they said.
The research, published in Nature Neuroscience on Thursday, shows disruption to the integrity of blood vessels in the brains of patients suffering from long Covid and brain fog.
Comments closedFrom forgetfulness to difficulties concentrating, many people who have long Covid experience “brain fog”. Now researchers say the symptom could be down to the blood-brain barrier becoming leaky.
The barrier controls which substances or materials enter and exit the brain. “It’s all about regulating a balance of material in blood compared to brain,” said Prof Matthew Campbell, co-author of the research at Trinity College Dublin.
“If that is off balance then it can drive changes in neural function and if this happens in brain regions that allow for memory consolidation/storage then it can wreak havoc.”
Writing in the journal Nature Neuroscience, Campbell and colleagues report how they analysed serum and plasma samples from 76 patients who were hospitalised with Covid in March or April 2020, as well 25 people before the pandemic.
Comments closedA new study of almost 200,000 newborns in Sweden and Norway shows that maternal receipt of the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy poses no risk to…
Comments closedSpain’s government proposed a nationwide mandate for people to wear masks in hospitals and health clinics on Monday, and Italy said respiratory illness infection rates had hit a record, as flu and COVID spread across Europe.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control recommended that people on the continent stay home if they feel sick, and consider wearing masks in crowds or healthcare settings, with flu spreading as it typically does this time of year but hitting some countries harder than others.
Comments closedPeople are getting infected with COVID subvariant JN.1, but there are ways to protect yourself, your loved ones and the community over the holiday season.
Comments closedNever before have so many coronavirus particles been found in the wastewater as now. Coronavirus variant watcher Josette Schoenmakers reports this on X. At the time of writing, the national government’s coronavirus dashboard has not yet been updated with the most recent data.
Comments closedIn China, the recent outbreak of hospitalizations due to childhood pneumonia has attracted the attention of the World Health Organization (WHO). The primary cause appears to be Mycoplasma pneumoniae. In the height of influenza season, should we be concerned about this pathogen? Here are five questions to understand.
Comments closedEuropean Union (EU) regulators have delayed a decision to give approval for Novavax’s (NVAX.O) variant-tailored COVID-19 vaccine, the Financial Times said on Sunday.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which was due to approve the updated vaccine last Friday has requested more information from the company, the FT report added.
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