Epidemiology News

The coronavirus pandemic has a considerable impact upon health services and the public health response. The responses require new approaches and different ways of working, from caring for newborns, to schools, and the workplace.

Sydney - In less than 12 months, the pandemic has basically crashed the global economy, and killed a million people. The second wave is now here, forming a rather grim pattern. The people who dropped the ball on the first wave are still in charge.

Sydney - The short answer to the question is that global infection rates keep going up exponentially. That’s despite the selective testing and reporting and the political spin on every number. If it is out of control, what happens next?

Sydney - Europe is trying to avoid lockdowns, for obvious economic reasons. The UK is trying to dodge them. The US no-lockdowns have been a disaster. So why the sudden dreams of a non-existent “normal”?

Digital Journal presents periodic round-ups of interesting COVID-19 related news. For this occasion, we looks at news items relating biodiversity, the complexities of estimating viral spread, and when exactly infections began.

Sydney - The more anyone learns about COVID-19, the harder to define its range of effects becomes. This virus is causing problems for survivors in multiple types of organs and tissues. There may be valuable information to be found here.

Why is the U.S. COVID-19 case count data so variable to the extent that different bodies are producing widely varying numbers? According to one CEO, the U.S. needs a National COVID-19 Analytics Platform to resolve matters.

Models for tracking viral outbreaks, as with the current novel coronavirus issue, need to assess the ability of the virus to mutate. Accounting for the evolutionary impact of the virus is essential for accurate modelling, according to new research.

Sydney - Look out, world. The Australian stock market crashed by 5% today in a true reflection of the sheer chaos caused by coronavirus. For decades, epidemiologists have predicted a major outbreak. Nothing was done. This is the result.

Simon Fraser University are using Dell technology to study the DNA code in infectious disease microbes and using that to understand how the diseases are spreading and how to better track them, deploying machine learning and deep learning algorithms.

Edinburgh - The digital age is making inroads into microbiology and epidemiology. Researchers have developed software to help track and to predict pathogenic infections around the world.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has convened its second meeting on the Zika virus disease, which is regarded as an international threat.

New York - The Zika virus is causing a rash of birth defects in Brazil. Birth defects include microcephaly, infants born with small heads. Zika is so bad doctors are advising women to avoid pregnancy.

A U.S. National Cancer Institute model forecasts a marked increase in estrogen receptor-positive tumors (breast cancer) among older women by 2030.

Dallas - Contact tracing allows epidemiologists and others fighting the spread of dangerous diseases like the Ebola virus.Technological tools in surveillance and molecular diagnostics, information and communications, and geoinformatics make this tough job easier.

A new report argues that algorithms that map social media posts and mobile phone data can help researchers track epidemics.

Washington - A challenge has been laid down for scientists. The contest aims to identify models that accurately forecast outbreaks of the mosquito spread viral disease chikungunya.

San Francisco - Californian state health department has reported a serious whooping cough (pertussis) outbreak. The incidences are said to be at "epidemic proportions".

The U.S. CDC, mixing education and entertainment, have launched an app based on a disease outbreak scenario. The game was inspired by calls to the CDC asking about the impending 'zombie apocalypse'.

Sydney - Folklore is turning into fact. The suspicion that antibacterial agents are responsible for allergies now appears confirmed. A new finding also indicates that commensal bacteria are responsible for a healthy immune system.

Sydney - There’s a very ugly conspiracy theory going around- Medical research is deliberately not finding cures for major diseases. Sound disgusting? It is, extremely. The trouble is that it may have some basis in fact.

Morgellons Disease is “controversial”, according to the Mayo Clinic. The Mayo, however, doesn’t consider the condition trivial. The condition is very debilitating. Apparently also severely debilitated is the sleeping science of epidemiology.

Now here’s a first. Healthmap is able to produce a map of disease incidences, around the world, and track, in real time, about 95% of them. That’s a lot faster than existing systems, and could be a huge asset if there’s ever a global pandemic.

Hormone Replacement Therapy was touted as the magic bullet that would keep women young forever. Studies showed that it could ward off osteoporosis and heart attacks in older women. By 2001, 15 million women were taking estrogen. Then the other shoe fell.