• Virus in semen
• Blood thinners
• Tsunami of hate
Yet another warning from Chinese researchers on the possibility that the coronavirus could be sexually transmitted.
This time, a team from Shangqiu Municipal Hospital, who tested 38 male patients at the height of the pandemic in January and February, suggested the new coronavirus could persist in men’s semen even after the patients had recovered.
The team reported in the journal JAMA Network Open about 16 percent of those tested had evidence of the coronavirus in their semen.
About a quarter of them were in the acute stage of infection and nearly 9 percent of them were recovering, the team added.
“We found that SARS-CoV-2 can be present in the semen of patients with COVID-19, and SARS-CoV-2 may still be detected in the semen of recovering patients,” Diangeng Li of Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Hospital in Beijing and colleagues wrote.
“Even if the virus cannot replicate in the male reproductive system,” the team added, “it may persist, possibly resulting from the privileged immunity of testes” – a term which means the immune system cannot fully reach the region to attack viral invaders.
Blood thinners
A preliminary study has said treating coronavirus patients with blood thinners can help boost their prospects for survival.
This emerged from the preliminary findings from physicians at New York City’s largest hospital system that offer another clue about treating the ferocious coronavirus, which has infected and killed thousands.
The results of an analysis of 2,733 patients, published Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, are part of a growing body of information on what has worked and what has not during the desperate few months when doctors have tried dozens of treatments to save those dying of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Valentin Fuster, a physician in chief at Mount Sinai Hospital and one of the study’s authors, said in an interview the observations were based only on a review of medical records and that more rigorous, randomized studies are needed to draw broader conclusions, but that the results are promising.
Guterres’ call
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an “all-out effort” to end the “tsunami of hate and xenophobia” sparked by the novel coronavirus pandemic, short of identifying countries.
“The pandemic continues to unleash a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scaremongering,” Guterres said in a statement. AFP
“Anti-foreigner sentiment has surged online and in the streets. Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have spread and COVID-19-related anti-Muslim attacks have occurred.”
According to Guterres, migrants and refugees have been “vilified as a source of the virus – and then denied access to medical treatment.”
Australia’s 3-stage plan
Australia’s government has unveiled a three-stage plan to get the economy back to a new “COVID-safe” normal by the end of July.
The first stage of the plan will allow groups of up to 10 people to gather in cafes and restaurants, for weddings and to take part in outdoor sports.
Stage two would lift the gathering limit to 20 people and extend it to organized community sports, cinemas and other retail outlets as well as ease restrictions on domestic travel.
Stage three, which should come into effect in July, would allow gatherings of up to 100 people, including in pubs and restaurants, and see most businesses and domestic travel reopened.
African scenario
Up to 190,000 people in Africa could die of coronavirus in the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail, the World Health Organization has warned.
The UN health agency cited a new study by its regional office in Brazzaville which found that between 83,000 and 190,000 could die and 29 to 44 million be infected during the period.
The research is based on prediction modelling and covers 47 countries with a total population of one billion, the WHO said in a statement.
Experts have consistently warned that Africa is particularly vulnerable to an outbreak, due to weak health infrastructure, high rates of poverty, numerous roiling conflicts and a proven susceptibility to previous epidemics.
