Reductions in sexual mixing ended mpox outbreak in England, while vaccination has prevented resurgences in 2023

The rapid outbreak of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) in 2022 likely resulted from high levels of sexual mixing among some gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM), with the initial downturn in cases probably due to a reduction in sexual contacts among these men.

Novel Model Predicts COVID-19 Outbreak Two Weeks Ahead of Time

People’s social behavior, reflected in their mobility data, is providing scientists with a way to forecast the spread of COVID-19 nationwide at the county level. Researchers have developed the first data-driven deep learning model with the potential to predict an outbreak in COVID-19 cases two weeks in advance. Feeding the mobility data to epidemiological forecasting models helps to estimate COVID-19 growth as well as evaluating the effects of government policies such as mandating masks on the spread of COVID-19.

Health Status of Vulnerable Gopher Tortoises Revealed in Southeastern Florida

In previously unstudied gopher tortoise aggregations, researchers found that overall, 42.9 percent had circulating antibodies to an infectious bacterium that causes upper respiratory tract disease. Physical examination showed that 19.8 percent had clinical signs consistent with upper respiratory tract disease and 13.2 percent had some form of physical abnormality. None of the tortoises tested positive for Ranavirus or Herpesvirus, which represents important baseline data, since these viruses are thought to be emerging pathogens of other tortoise and turtle species.

Harmful Microbes Found on Sewer Pipe Walls

Can antibiotic-resistant bacteria escape from sewers into waterways and cause a disease outbreak? A new Rutgers study, published in the journal Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, examined the microbe-laden “biofilms” that cling to sewer walls, and even built a simulated sewer to study the germs that survive within.

Countries Group into Clusters as COVID-19 Outbreak Spreads

Mathematicians based in Australia and China have developed a method to analyze the large amount of data accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The technique, described in the journal Chaos, can identify anomalous countries — those that are more successful than expected at responding to the pandemic and those that are particularly unsuccessful. The investigators analyzed the data with a variation of a statistical technique known as a cluster analysis.

People Who Felt Knowledgeable About COVID-19 at Time of Outbreak More Likely to Report Positive Mood

Johns Hopkins Carey Business School Assistant Professor Haiyang Yang finds in a new study that people who perceived themselves as knowledgeable about COVID-19 – regardless of the actual amount of their knowledge – experienced more happiness during the outbreak than those who didn’t perceive themselves as informed about COVID-19.

Coronavirus crisis: governments, organizations need to get creative to avoid healthcare rationing

Governmental and nongovernmental organizations need to get creative to avoid healthare rationing during the coronavirus crisis, says Nicole Hassoun, professor of philosophy at Binghamton University, State University of New York and head of the Global Health Impact project. “While transparency is…

COVID-19 Expert Panel Live Event Series – Media Invited to Attend and Submit Questions, 2 PM EDT Thursday March 12 and 2 PM EDT Monday March 16

redirect to event registration   Newswise Live Expert Panel discussion of unique angles to the COVID-19 outbreak of interest to the public and the media, including public health, testing, business and financial markets, 2020 elections, and more. Experts from institutions…

UAB experts involved with COVID-19 vaccine research available to comment on outbreak, what’s being reported, where concerns lie

Experts from the University of Alabama at Birmingham are avaliable to comment on the state of COVID-19, including the development of an investigational compound  at UAB, next steps for a vaccine, what the state of the outbreak looks like, what…