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CoronaVirus Updates

Dogs Can Detect Covid-19 Faster Than Rapid Antigen Test: Study

London: Dogs are more effective at detecting Covid-19 infections through human sweat samples than the existing rapid antigen tests, according to a study. The study, published in the PLOS ONE, showed that dogs were 97 per cent effective at detecting Covid infection compared to PCR tests - the most accurate Covid test. On the other hand, the nasal antigen tests detected 84 per cent of positive Covid infections. The findings suggest a potentially less invasive and quicker Covid testing alternative. For the study, researchers at the Assistance Publique-Hopitaux de Paris included PCR and sweat samples from 335 people and antigen tests from 234 people recruited in Paris from March 16 and April 9, 2021. The researchers examined five dogs trained to sniff out Covid-19 by examining both positive and negative tests to see if they could tell. They found canines were 100 per cent accurate in detecting positive Covid cases in asymptomatic individuals compared to PCR test results. The canines were slightly less effective at identifying negative coronavirus infections, detecting 90 per cent of negative cases compared to antigen tests that were 97 per cent accurate. "Non-invasive detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection by canine olfaction could be one alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs RT-PCR when it is necessary to obtain a result very quickly according to the same indications as antigenic tests in the context of mass screening," the researchers wrote in the paper. Previous studies have shown dogs to detect malaria, prostate cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's disease and also breast cancer. (Agency) Read More► Diabetes Almost Doubles Risk of Death From Covid: Study
Food and Nutrition

New Gene-Edited Tomatoes Could Boost Your Vitamin D Levels

London: Finding it hard to raise levels of Vitamin D, popularly known as the sunshine vitamin? Scientists have developed gene-edited tomatoes that could be a simple and sustainable innovation to address the global health problem. Researchers John Innes Centre in the UK used gene editing to turn off a specific molecule in the plant's genome which increased provitamin D3 in both the fruit and leaves of tomato plants. It was then converted to Vitamin D3 through exposure to Ultraviolet B light. Vitamin D is created in our bodies after skin's exposure to UVB light, but the major source is food. This new biofortified crop could help millions of people with Vitamin D insufficiency, a growing issue linked to higher risk of cancer, dementia, and many leading causes of mortality, according to the study, which appears in the journal Nature Plants. Tomatoes naturally contain one of the building blocks of Vitamin D3, called provitamin D3 or 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC), in their leaves at very low levels. Provitamin D3, does not normally accumulate in ripe tomato fruits. Researchers used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to make revisions to the genetic code of tomato plants so that provitamin D3 accumulates in the tomato fruit. The leaves of the edited plants contained up to 600 microgram of provitamin D3 per gram of dry weight. The recommended daily intake of vitamin d is 10 micrograms for adults. When growing tomatoes leaves are usually waste material, but those of the edited plants could be used for the manufacture of vegan-friendly Vitamin D3 supplements, or for food fortification. "We've shown that you can biofortify tomatoes with provitamin D3 using gene editing, which means tomatoes could be developed as a plant-based, sustainable source of vitamin D3," said Professor Cathie Martin, corresponding author of the "Forty per cent of Europeans have vitamin D insufficiency and so do one billion people world-wide. We are not only addressing a huge health problem, but are helping producers, because tomato leaves which currently go to waste, could be used to make supplements from the gene-edited lines," Martin added. The study noted that the provitamin D enriched tomatoes could be much helpful for people adopting a plant-rich, vegetarian or vegan diet, and for the growing number of people worldwide suffering from the problem of vitamin D insufficiency. (Agency) Read More► High-Fibre Rich Diet Can Help Fight Antibiotic Resistance
CoronaVirus Updates

Diabetes Almost Doubles Risk of

London: People with diabetes were almost twice as likely to die with Covid and almost three times as likely to be critically or severely ill compared to those without diabetes, finds a study. The study conducted by researchers from the University of Aberdeen, UK found patients with diabetes had a significantly higher risk of requiring an intensive care admission and supplementary oxygen or being admitted in a critical condition in comparison to patients without diabetes. However, good control of blood sugar in these patients can significantly reduce this risk. "We found that following a Covid-19 infection, the risk of death for patients with diabetes was significantly increased in comparison to patients without diabetes," said Stavroula Kastora from the varsity. "We also show that good glycaemic control may be a protective factor in view of Covid-19 related deaths," she added, in the paper published in the journal Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. The team reviewed findings from 158 studies that included more than 270,000 participants from all over the world to determine how Covid affects people living with diabetes. The pooled results showed that people with diabetes were 1.87 times more likely to die with Covid, 1.59 times more likely to be admitted to ICU, 1.44 times more likely to require ventilation, and 2.88 times more likely to be classed as severe or critical, when compared to patients without diabetes.AA Further, the researchers found that patients in China, Korea and the Middle East were at higher risk of death than those from EU countries or the US. They suggest this may be due to differences in healthcare systems and affordability of healthcare. Diabetes is a serious medical condition where blood sugar levels are too high. In 2021, approximately 537 million adults between the 20-79 years were living with diabetes, according to the International Diabetes Federation. The total number of people living with diabetes is projected to rise to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045. While diabetes increased severity of Covid, a recent study published in the journal Diabetologia, also showed people who have had Covid-19 infection are at increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. "In light of the ongoing pandemic, strengthening outpatient diabetes clinics, ensuring consistent follow up of patients with diabetes and optimising their glycaemic control could significantly increase the chances of survival following a Covid infection," Kastora noted. (Agency) Read More► Double-Masking Does Not Improve Protection Against Covid: Study
CoronaVirus Updates

50% Hospitalised Covid Patients Continue to Suffer After 2 Years: Lancet

Two years after infection with Covid-19, half of patients who were admitted to hospital still have at least one symptom, according to the study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. The study followed 1,192 participants in China infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the first phase of the pandemic in 2020. While physical and mental health generally improved over time, the analysis suggests that Covid-19 patients still tend to have poorer health and quality of life than the general population. This is especially the case for participants with long Covid, who typically still have at least one symptom including fatigue, shortness of breath, and sleep difficulties two years after initially falling ill. "Our findings indicate that for a certain proportion of hospitalised Covid-19 survivors, while they may have cleared the initial infection, more than two years is needed to recover fully from it," said lead author Professor Bin Cao, of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, China. Six months after initially falling ill, 68 per cent of participants reported at least one long Covid symptom. By two years after infection, reports of symptoms had fallen to 55 per cent. Fatigue or muscle weakness were the symptoms most often reported and fell from 52 per cent at six months to 30 per cent at two years. Covid-19 patients were also more likely to report a number of other symptoms including joint pain, palpitations, dizziness, and headaches, pain or discomfort and anxiety or depression than non-Covid-19 participants. Long Covid participants also more often reported problems with their mobility or activity levels than those without long Covid. The authors also acknowledge limitations such as lack of control group of hospital survivors unrelated to Covid-19 infection. The team emphasised the need for follow-up of Covid survivors, particularly those with symptoms of long Covid. "There is a clear need to provide continued support to a significant proportion of people who've had Covid-19, and to understand how vaccines, emerging treatments, and variants affect long-term health outcomes," Cao said. Read More► Asthma in Children Likely to Worsen After Covid Infection: Study
CoronaVirus News

कोविड रोगियों ने माना स्वस्थ्य होने में योग ने की मदद

दिल्ली में होम-आइसोलेशन में रहे 92.3 प्रतिशत कोरोना रोगियों ने माना है कि योग ने कोरोना से उबरने में उनकी मदद की है। दिल्ली में कोरोना संक्रमितों के लिए 'दिल्ली की योगशाला' नाम से ऑनलाइन योग क्लासेस शुरू की गई थीं। लगभग 4600 से ज्यादा संक्रमितों को इसका लाभ हुआ है। इस फ्री योग कक्षाओं से संक्रमितों को हुए वास्तविक फायदे की जांच करने के लिए दिल्ली फर्मास्यूटिकल साइंसेज एंड रिसर्च यूनिवर्सिटी द्वारा आईसीएमआर के सीटीआरआई के तहत पंजीकृत एक रिसर्च किया गया। इस रिसर्च में शामिल 92.3 प्रतिशत लोगों ने माना कि संक्रमण के दौरान योग करने से उन्हें कोरोना के सभी लक्षणों में सुधार देखने को मिला और उन्हें सांस फूलने जैसी समस्या नहीं हुई। इस बाबत उपमुख्यमंत्री मनीष सिसोदिया ने कहा कि दिल्ली की योगशाला कार्यक्रम, दिल्ली की जनता को योग के माध्यम से स्वस्थ रखने की एक अनूठी पहल है। उन्होंने कहा कि ये बेहद खुशी की बात है कि जिस उद्देश्य के तहत दिल्ली की योगशाला कार्यक्रम की शुरूआत की गई थी वो पूरा हो रहा है और लोगों को इसका फायदा हो रहा है। उन्होंने कहा कि इस कार्यक्रम के तहत कोरोना के दौरान संक्रमितों को फ्री ऑनलाइन योग कक्षाएं उपलब्ध करवाई गई, जिससे न केवल उन्हें कोरोना से उबरने में मदद मिली बल्कि उनके खांसी, सर्दी, शरीर में दर्द, सांस फूलना आदि जैसे लक्षणों से भी राहत मिली। रिसर्च में शामिल ज्यादातर मरीज 30 से 70 साल के बीच 92.3 प्रतिशत रोगियों ने माना योग करने से कोरोना के लक्षणों में सुधार दिखा। ज्यादातर मरीजों ने माना कि उन्हें संक्रमण के दौरान योग करने से सांस फूलने जैसी समस्या का सामना नहीं करना पड़ा। योग करने से अधिकांश मरीज 5 से 7 दिनों के भीतर कोरोना से उबरे। योग करने वाले केवल 21 संक्रमित ही कोई दवाई ले रहे थे, केवल 26.2 प्रतिशत का ही टीकाकरण हुआ था। ज्यादातर संक्रमितों ने माना योग करने से उन्हें खांसी, सर्दी, शरीर में दर्द, नींद सांस फूलना आदि से जैसे लक्षण से राहत मिली। संक्रमितों ने माना ऑनलाइन योग क्लासेस ने उनके अकेलेपन को खत्म करने के साथ मेंटल हेल्थ को भी बेहतर करने का काम किया। (एजेंसी) यह भी पढ़े► कोविड महामारी अभी खत्म नहीं हुई है: डब्ल्यूएचओ
CoronaVirus Updates

Omicron Not Mild as Thought,

Infection from the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is not mild as generally touted, rather is as deadly as Delta, Alpha and other strains that claimed thousands of lives globally, finds a study. Omicron was first detected by South African scientists in November last year. It has previously been reported as more transmissible by a number of studies conducted in the UK, South Africa, Canada, and others, but less severe than other SARS-CoV-2 variants. It was also reported to cause less hospitalisation and death. The highly contagious variant was found to affect the upper airways more than lungs, unlike Delta, causing common cold-like symptoms. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned several times that it should not be taken lightly. But, the study led by the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School found that the risks of hospitalisation and mortality were "nearly identical between previous waves of Covid-19". "Our analysis suggests that the intrinsic severity of the Omicron variant may be as severe as previous variants," the researchers claimed in the pre-print study, meaning not yet peer-reviewed. Although there were reports noting Omicron's vaccine evading properties, the new study provided evidence that vaccines helped spare people from the worst impacts of Omicron. In the study, the team linked state-level vaccination data with quality-controlled electronic health records from a large healthcare system, including 13 hospitals, in Massachusetts. They then performed a weighted case-control study to compare risks of hospital admission and mortality across the SARS-CoV-2 waves in over 130,000 Covid patients. The unadjusted rates of hospital admission and mortality appeared to be higher in previous waves compared to the Omicron period. But, our findings suggest that after accounting for confounders, including various demographics, and vaccination status, "the Omicron variant was as deadly as the previous SARS-CoV-2 waves", wrote the researchers, including Zachary H. Strasse from MGH, in the study. The team also acknowledged limitations in their report, including the possibility that the analysis underestimated the number of vaccinated patients in more recent Covid waves, and the total number of infections, because it excluded patients who performed at-home rapid tests. (Agency) Read More► Double-Masking Does Not Improve Protection Against Covid: Study