#HKU #Research
Coronavirus could survive on masks for 7 days; Ambient temperature affects the virus
 
A research by the University of Hong Kong found that coronavirus could survive in the outer environment for a prolonged period of time. It is 7 days on masks, and 2 days on the surface of clothes.

The research also found that the coronavirus diminishes faster at high temperature. The virus could survive for 14 days at 22°C, 2 days at 37°C, 30 mins at 56°C, and only 5 mins at 70°C.

In addition, if soaked in 1:49 or 1:99 diluted bleach for 5 mins, the virus will lose its infectivity.
 
Prof. Leo Poon, who is in charge of this research at the HKU School of Public Health, said that it is not recommended to reuse surgical masks, as the coronavirus could survive on the outer surface. In case of high risk factors such as being in contact with a COVID-19 patient, clothes can be soaked in hot water for 30 mins before washing.

The research has not been formally published yet.

Source: MingPao #Apr1

#Research #HKU
HKU Study : SARS-COV-2 replicates 3 times faster than SARS-COV, capable of infecting without triggering immune responses

SARS-COV-2 (aka Wuhan Pneumonia or COVID-19) is harder to contain than SARS-COV from 17 years ago. The danger in SARS-COV-2 is marked by its efficient transmission and asymptomatic infection. However, very little is known about how SARS-COV-2 acquired such a rapid rate of transmission without triggering symptoms in some patients.

The viral transmission rate and symptoms can be linked to its replication rate and host immune responses respectively. Hence, a study conducted by the University of Hong Kong (HKU) investigated the SARS-COV-2 replication rate and host immune responses. The study compared findings between SARS-COV-2 and SARS-COV. To ensure the results accurately reflect the condition in human lungs, the same amount of SARS-COV-2 and SARS-CoV were used to infect lung tissues extracted from human donors.

The study shows that SARS-COV-2 replicated 3.2 folds faster than SARS-COV in human lung tissues. The faster replication of SARS-COV-2 explains why SARS-COV-2 transmits faster than SARS-CoV.

Moreover, upon infection by SARS-COV-2, human lung tissues produced fewer interferons (molecules that activate a stronger immune response) and fewer cytokines (molecules that trigger symptoms such as inflammation) than when infected by SARS-COV. Hence, the results suggest SARS-COV-2 can infect but avoid triggering any noticeable immune responses.

In a follow-up press conference, Dr. Yuen Kwok-yung (leading expert in SARS) and two other HKU researchers described SARS-COV-2 as a “ninja” for being difficult to notice. Such "stealthiness", along with its rapid replication rate, allow SARS-COV-2 to quickly spread among human population with some patients being difficult to identify due to the lack of symptoms.

In addition, the HKU researchers also highlighted a few important points in the press conference:

1. The findings suggest one potential treatment for SARS-COV-2 by supplementing patients with interferons. Ongoing trials are testing the possibility of using interferons supplements as anti-SARS-COV-2 drugs.

2. The death rate in Hong Kong is lower than that in Europe for several reasons. For instance, patients in Hong Kong tend to receive earlier treatment, while European patients receive treatment much later after the infection.

Another reason is that most people in Hong Kong wear masks in public. Hence, an infected individual is less likely to pass on the virus to other members in the public. Masks also lower the amount of virus that could infect mask-wearers.

3. A vaccine is unlikely to be ready anytime soon, so expect to coexist with the virus in the coming months. Restrictions may be adjusted from time to time. Schools and universities may reopen, but that needs to be accompanied by increased testing capacity; continued practice of social distancing within the classroom; wearing masks and good hygiene.

4. The researchers pointed out a few limitations of this study. For instance, the lung tissues were extracted and grown outside human bodies. Hence data from extracted tissues may not completely reflect things that happen inside human bodies. Also, extracted tissues can only survive for about 48 hours. Such duration is not long enough for conducting vaccine trials.

Sources:
1 Research Paper - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32270184
2 Press conference

#Research
HKU estimates 232,000 infected in Wuhan in mid-February, 2.8 times the reported total for China

There are more than a million cases of Wuhan coronavirus in Europe and the United States and yet the epidemic has not even peaked. In stark contrast, mainland China, the country where the outbreak started, has only about 82,000 cases, leading the public to question the true scale of the outbreak. The Hong Kong University School of Public Health's WHO Collaborating Centre for Epidemiology and Control of Infectious Diseases has found that had mainland China broadened its case definition criteria earlier; and screened all those with respiratory symptoms, who have been to Wuhan and surrounds, or who have been in contact with suspected cases; it is estimated that by 20 February, the number of patients with Wuhan pneumonia would have reached 232,000, about 2.8 times the current reported total cases in the mainland.

//The study further pointed out that the mainland officially announced 1 January as the date of disease onset for 114 patients. However had the mainland adopted the fifth edition of the criteria at that point in time, 11,000 patients would have been identified with onset on 1 January, an increase of 96 times.//

Full translation:
https://telegra.ph/HKU-estimates-232000-infected-in-Wuhan-in-mid-February-28-times-the-reported-total-for-China-04-28

Sources: Apple Daily HK ; The Lancet, April 2020

#Coronavirus #Wuhan #China #Infected #Data

#Research

Cheap Heartburn remedy might provide a cheap alternative against the Wuhan Virus

Most news headlines on Wuhan Virus treatment have focused on remdesivir, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. However, such early coverage has drawn premature popularity for those drugs. For instance, Donald Trump has promoted the use of chloroquine before the completion of clinical trials, and some patients suffered from side effects after taking chloroquine without medical supervision (https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-touts-chloroquine-for-covid-19-but-dismisses-risks-2020-4). Moreover, drug candidates tend to have higher demand from the public and hospitals after gaining public popularity. As a result, there is insufficient stockpile left for clinical trials and treatments for other diseases.

In contrast to the aforementioned drug candidates, clinical trails are quietly conducted for a cheap heartburn remedy called famotidine. Researches on famotidine have been kept in low profile to avoid drawing premature attention and reserving sufficient stockpile for clinical trials.

Infectious disease doctor named Michael Callahan and doctors from Wuhan first noticed the potential clinical effect of famotidine. Callahan and colleagues noticed poor peasants seem to have a higher survival rate. After further investigation of patient's records, Callahan and colleagues realised the higher survival rate coincides with stomach illness treatment by famotidine, a cheap medicine taken by poorer people.

The initial observation of famotidine was reported to Robert Malone, a chief medical officer of Florida-based Alchem Laboratories. Malone and computational chemist Joshua Pottel later computationally predicted that famotidine can target a protein the Wuhan Virus, which is a sign that famotidine may prevent Wuhan Virus from replicating. Adding to that, later observations have seen infected hospital staffs showing improved recovery after taking famotidine.

While famotidine may provide a low-cost and safe alternative against the Wuhan Virus, it is still too early to assign famotidine as a routine treatment against the Wuhan Virus. The potential of famotidine requires further examinations with an ongoing clinical trial involving 1174 participants.

Source: ScienceMag

#Coronavirus #WuhanVirus #Trump #Treatment #famotidine

#Research
A study finds the Wuhan coronavirus strain prevalent in Hong Kong to be less virulent than the European and US strains

Full translation:
https://telegra.ph/Hong-Kongs-first-genomic-study-of-the-virus-reveals-lower-virulence-than-European-and-US-strains-05-10-2

#Coronavirus #VirusOrigin #HongKong

#Research
"Something We've Never Seen Before": Scientists Still Trying to Understand Baffling, Unpredictable Coronavirus

"This gets into every major biological process in our cells," said Nevan J. Krogan, a molecular biologist at the University of California, San Francisco, who has studied HIV, Ebola, Zika, dengue and other viruses over the past 13 years.

"At the molecular level, it's something we've never seen before, and then look at what it does to the body – the long list of symptoms – we've never seen that before."

At first, the virus was thought to be mostly a risk to older adults and people with chronic illnesses; its primary point of attack, the lungs. Then 30- and 40-years-olds with the virus began dying of strokes. Recently, a small number of infected children have died of a mysterious illness resembling Kawasaki disease.

Symptoms of COVID-19 range from fever, coughing and shortness of breath to the loss of smell and taste and the angry red swelling that has come to be known as "COVID toes." Studies have found that damage from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease COVID-19, isn't limited to the lungs; it can include the heart, liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal system and bowels.

Source: COVID19 Report, USA Today

#Coronavirus

#WuhanPneumonia #WHO
Hong Kong Microbiologist Prof. Yuen Kwok-Yung’s research proves WHO is wrong about masks

During the hot summer, a lot of citizens will feel discomfort wearing face masks. WHO has doubted on multiple occasions the effectiveness of using face masks to prevent the spread of Wuhan Pneumonia. Professor Yuen Kwok-Yung and his research team from the Department of Microbiology at the University of Hong Kong were the first to use the golden Syrian hamster model to show that using face masks can reduce the chance of contracting Wuhan Pneumonia. They also found that infected hamsters with a face mask was more effective at reducing the transmission rate than healthy hamsters with a face mask.

The research team performed three rounds of testing on 13 infected hamsters and 39 healthy hamsters. They put the two groups of hamsters in a cage and used a fan to create airflow from the infected hamsters towards the healthy hamsters. Surgical masks were used to filter the virus. In the first group, there was no surgical mask placed between the two cages of hamsters. In the second group, a surgical mask was placed outside the cage of the infected hamsters to simulate infected hamsters using face masks. In the third group, a face mask was placed outside the cage of the healthy hamsters to simulate healthy hamsters using face masks. Each experiment lasted 7 days and overall the experiment took 1 month to complete.

The results showed with no face mask as a barrier, 66.7% of healthy hamsters got infected after 7 days. In the healthy hamsters with a face mask, the infection rate was 33.3%. In the case of the infected hamsters with a face mask, only 16.7% of healthy hamsters got infected. This indicates the use of face masks by infected patients would result in a lower rate of infection than healthy patients with face masks on who are not carrying the virus.

Professor Yuen points out this experiment scientifically proved that using face masks can effectively prevent the spread of Wuhan Pneumonia. He understands that demanding Hong Kongers to use face masks for an extended period of time is difficult during the summer. Recently, (a survey showed that) less than 90% of adults were using a face mask. He hopes that Hong Kongers will continue to use a face mask. “With face masks on, even if you get infected, the viral load will be lower, it will take longer for symptoms to develop and with less severity. This buys us time to provide treatment, thus reducing mortality and leads to better recovery.” He also calls for citizens who have mild symptoms to get tested in government clinics to reduce the chance of creating an invisible transmission chain in the community.

Source: Apple Daily #May17
#YuenKwokYung #FaceMasks #Research

#Research

Did China lie about COVID-19 death numbers in Wuhan? 1/3

The official figures provided by China have attracted queries and questions regarding their creditability, reliability and truthfulness. Whistleblowers, investigative reporters, and local and international communities have all provided evidence to question Chinese officials for their reluctance to disclose truthful and timely details about the epidemic.

The Chinese government threatened doctors and victims to remain silent while prohibiting foreign experts to enter China for investigation. They also launched a large scale propaganda globally and nationally to deceive and mislead the public. This series show how even the official figures and data provided by China can indirectly reveal the extent of how the reality was distorted.

Source: https://bit.ly/2Xgx8bE
#Coronavirus #ChinaLiedPeopleDied

⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️Continue

#Research

HKUMed researchers: SARS-CoV2 can infect more efficiently then SARS-CoV in human airways and eyes

The research team at of the School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine of The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) developed methods for culturing tissues from the human respiratory tract and eyes in the laboratory and applied them to study respiratory viruses such as avian flu H5N1, H5N6, H7N9, the 2009 pandemic H1N1 and MERS-CoV from the past 15 years.

By applying these methods, the team discovered that the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) can remain alive for days on smooth surfaces such as stainless steel, glass and plastic. Its latest study proved that SARS-CoV-2 is much more efficient in infecting both the upper human airways and conjunctiva (the cells lining the surface of the eye) than the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Its level of infection is comparable to what was observed in the 2009 pandemic H1N1. All this explains that SARS-CoV-2 has higher transmissibility than SARS-CoV, and that the eyes may be an important route of SARS-CoV-2 human infection. This implicates the prevention of accidentally transferring SARS-CoV-2 from contaminated surfaces to human eyes and noses. It is vital to avoid touching the eyes when in public areas. Clean hands regularly with soap and water or alcohol hand rub. These findings are now published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, a leading prestigious journal.

Source: http://www.med.hku.hk/en/News/HKUMed-Novel-coronavirus-can-infect-more-efficiently-than-SARS-CoV-in-human-airways-and-eyes

#Research

Antibodies may not provide immunity for long enough to prevent second infection

The Wuhan Virus pandemic has forced countries into lockdown. To return to normality, countries such as Italy, Britain and the US are considering issuing "Immunity certificate" to free people from the lockdown. This policy assumes an individual can retain long-lasting immunity after the first infection. However, this assumption has yet to be validated.

Recent studies cast even more doubts on this assumption. One study (not peer-reviewed yet) showed that 10% of recovered patients did not produce antibodies against the Wuhan Virus after 21 days, hinting to an immune response that lasts for less than a month after among some patients. Another study (published in Nature Medicine) demonstrated showed a reduced level of antibodies from 81% of asymptomatic patients 8 weeks after their recoveries, in contrast to 62% of symptomatic patients. The results highlighted asymptomatic patients are more likely to suffer from a second infection.

Both sets of results demonstrated that immunity against the Wuhan Virus is short-lived, and thus invalidate the assumption behind issuing "Immunity certificate". Instead, the Nature Medicine team suggests prolonging public health intervention such as social distancing, sanitisation, quarantining and widespread testing.

Source: https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-antibodies-lost-10-wuhan-study-patients-within-21-days-1511850

#WuhanVirus