Month: June 2021

An HIV-positive woman with a persistent coronavirus infection that lasted 216 days straight had the virus mutate within her over 30 times, according to new research. The study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, detailed the HIV-positive patient's more than seven month infection as part of a cohort study of 300 other people with HIV - exploring the effect of a SARS-CoV-2 infection when introduced to an immune system with a present HIV infection. Of the mutations found in the patient, both the UK and South African variants were noted to be present at one point or another throughout the length of the woman's infection. Throughout the course of the study, the woman, identified as being a 36-year-old living in South Africa, flip-flopped between stages of being asymptomatic...

New structure shows how virus envelope protein hijacks cell-junction protein and promotes viral spread; findings could speed the design of drugs to block severe effects of COVID-19. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have published the first detailed atomic-level model of the SARS-CoV-2 “envelope” protein bound to a human protein essential for maintaining the lining of the lungs. The model showing how the two proteins interact, just published in the journal Nature Communications, helps explain how the virus could cause extensive lung damage and escape the lungs to infect other organs in especially vulnerable COVID-19 patients. The findings may speed the search for drugs to block the most severe effects of the disease. “By obtaini...

Oregon health officials announced no new coronavirus deaths and 125 new confirmed or presumed COVID-19 infections, the lowest daily total since February. Mondays usually have the lowest new case counts of the week. Still, the latest numbers were the lowest since the Oregon Health Authority reported 111 new cases Feb. 21, when a data glitch kept the numbers suppressed. While generally on a downward trajectory, hospitalizations climbed back up above 200 occupied beds statewide. Saturday was the first time hospitalizations dropped below 200 since mid-April. Vaccines: Oregon reported 14,268 newly administered doses, which includes 10,301 Sunday and the remainder from previous days. Where the new cases are by county: Baker (1), Benton (1), Clackamas (19), Clatsop (1), Columbia (...

Michigan has confirmed its first case of human Sin Nombre hantavirus, the state's health department said Monday. A woman in Washtenaw County was recently hospitalized with a serious pulmonary illness from hantavirus, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which said the woman "was likely exposed when cleaning an unoccupied dwelling that contained signs of an active rodent infestation." Hantavirus infections, associated with contact with infected rodents, have caused hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, or HPS, in the United States since 1993. According to the health department, most cases of HPS are identified in adults, usually in the spring and summer. There are no documented person-to-person cases of hantavirus transmission in the Unit...

By Joe Fisher, WRAL reporter Another COVID strain could soon become more prevalent in the United States. The Delta variant, first identified in India in October 2020, is now listed as a “Variant of Concern” by the World Health Organization. The U.S. does not do intense tracking of COVID strains, but a CDC report last month shows the Delta variant makes up less than 3% of all variants detected in the U.S. The Alpha variant — formerly known as the B117 or U.K. variant — is now the dominant strain of COVID in the U.S. Dr. David Wohl with UNC is among the experts who fear that could soon change, due to the fact that Delta is considered more transmissible than previous strains. British health officials said Monday the Delt...