S’pore modelling study estimates impact of physical distancing on reducing spread of COVID-19
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA NEW MODELLING study conducted in a simulated Singapore setting has estimated that a combined approach of physical distancing interventions, comprising quarantine (for infected individuals and their families), school closure, and workplace distancing, is most effective at reducing the number of SARS-CoV-2 cases compared with other intervention scenarios included in the study. While less effective […]
Study: Anti parasitic drug kills SARS-COV-2 virus
Reading Time: 3 minutesKUALA LUMPUR: A collaborative study led by the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) with the Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute), a joint venture of the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital, has shown that an anti-parasitic drug already available around the world kills the SARS-CoV-2 virus within 48 hours. The […]
Canadian firm announces breakthrough in possible plant-based Covid-19 vaccine
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY CLEMENT DIONGLAY WHEN the first case of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) was reported in China in late December last year, no one expected that it will spread far and wide, and become a global pandemic. As more and more confirmed cases and deaths were recorded in China and many other parts of the […]
Scientists prove SARS-CoV-2 not made in lab but come from nature
Reading Time: 4 minutesTHERE is now a steady stream of speculation and conspiracy theories that SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of Covid-19 was deliberately or accidentally released from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. Such speculations are not new. There is still a school of thought that says earth is flat, 9/11 was a self-attack, and A(HINI) [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ […]
MOH allows local company to supply test kits
Reading Time: 2 minutesKUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia has awarded ADT Biotech to supply its LyteStar 2019-nCoV RT-PCR Kit to all centers under MOH jurisdiction authorized to test for SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19. Preceding the award, the LyteStar 2019-nCoV RT-PCR Kit had been validated by the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) with concordant results against IMR’s reference test. […]
Experts: Don’t use steroids to treat Covid-19 cases
Reading Time: 2 minutesSTEROIDS should be avoided in the treatment of the current novel coronavirus, experts have advised. A commentary article published in The Lancet concludes that, based on evidence from previous outbreaks of similar types of infection such as SARS, steroids provide little benefit to patients and could do more harm than good. They say that clinicians […]
What is COVID-19?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteCORONAVIRUSES are a large family of viruses which may cause illness in animals or humans. In humans, several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). This new virus […]
How Hygienic are your Hellos?
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY NARVIINYA MURUGAPPAN DID YOU KNOW that we carry an average of 3200 bacteria on our hands? There are two types of microbes found on our skin – resident and transient. Resident microorganisms are always present in our skin and are mostly harmless, and are [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] less likely to cause an […]
Study: Incubation period for COVID-19 is 5.1 days
Reading Time: 3 minutesAN ANALYSIS of publicly available data on infections from the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, that causes the respiratory illness COVID-19 yielded an estimate of 5.1 days for the median disease incubation period, according to a new study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This median time from exposure to onset of […]
The big teacher in Covid-19
Reading Time: 3 minutesA 125NM PARTICLE is shaking up the world, thousands of lives are lost, world economy is crashing down and the world has come to an almost standstill. In the midst of this chaos, what are the valuable lessons that we can draw from this pandemic? What does COVID-19 teach us? A lot of things apparently, […]