Some people are better protected than others against urinary tract infections. This may be because their bodies produce more of a protein called uromodulin. An interdisciplinary research team has now found out exactly how this helper protein brings relief when nature calls and how this knowledge might benefit the treatment and prevention of these painful inflammations.
Anyone who has ever had cystitis knows that urinary tract infections of this kind are annoying and painful. They can be well treated by antibiotics, but may be fatal if left untreated. These infections are usually caused by what are known as uropathogenic E. coli bacteria when they bind to the cells of the bladder, ureter or urethra with their pili, the thread-like appendages that grow out of them like hairs. But protection is at hand in the form of a certain protein, produced naturally in the body, called uromodulin. Around 70 percent of all people carry a uromodulin gene variant in their genome, which means that they produce this protective protein in particularly large quantities. Accordingly, they have a smaller risk of contracting urinary tract infections.
But the exact process by which uromodulin prevents inflammation had never been understood. Now an interdisciplinary team, drawn from three research groups at ETH Zurich together with researchers from the University of Zurich and the Children's Hospital Zurich, has filled this knowledge gap by investigating uromodulin's appearance and how the protein goes about neutralizing uropathogenic E. coli. Their findings, which have been published in the journal Science, should help to develop new strategies for the treatment of urinary tract infections in the future.
A detailed look at how it works
First, the researchers analyzed how the protein binds to the bacterial pili at the molecular level. "We already knew that a bond is formed and that this presumably plays a part in uromodulin's protective function, but nobody had studied this in greater detail," says Gregor Weiss, a doctoral student in molecular biology at ETH and one of the study's lead authors. Their biochemical investigations have now shown that the bacterial pili recognize certain sugar chains on the surface of the uromodulin and bind to them extremely readily and strongly.
Next, the team examined uromodulin using cryo-electron tomography, an imaging technique that produces three-dimensional views of the structure of proteins and cells with no need for chemical modification or dehydration. This showed them that uromodulin forms long filaments consisting on average of around 400 individual protein molecules strung together. And that each link of this protein chain contains the characteristic pattern of sugar chains to which bacterial pili like to bind.
Fruitful collaboration
Cryo-electron tomography was also the team's chosen technique for investigating at a larger scale what effect these properties have—this time in the presence of the culprits, the uropathogenic E. coli bacteria. They discovered that the uromodulin filaments literally envelop the pathogen, and that a single uromodulin filament can dock with several pili of a bacterium. "This neutralizes the pathogens," Weiss explains: "Once the bacteria are shielded in this way, they can no longer bind to the cells in the urinary tract, which means they can't cause infection." Under an optical microscope, the team also noted the formation of large clumps of hundreds of uromodulin filaments and E. coli cells, which are then presumably simply excreted with the urine.
Finally, the researchers checked to see whether all these processes they had observed in the laboratory also occur in patients. They analyzed urine samples from infected patients provided by the Children's Hospital in Zurich and found exactly the same interactions between uromodulin and the pathogens. "Without interdisciplinary collaboration between different research groups and institutes, it would have been impossible to obtain this set of findings," stresses ETH Professor Martin Pilhofer, who led the electron tomography investigations.
Pointers for treatment and drug development
The research team's work offers pointers for how to treat and prevent urinary tract infections without using antibiotics. Until now, patients have often been given preparations that contain the sugar mannose. To a certain extent, these prevent the E. coli bacteria from attaching themselves to the cells of the urinary tract. "Thanks to our analyzes, we now know that the bacterial pili recognize not only mannose but also other sugars present on uromodulin," says Jessica Stanisich, doctoral student and another lead author of the study. "This might indicate that treatment with combined sugar supplements would be more effective."
The new findings also help in the development of new active substances, adds ETH Professor Rudi Glockshuber. This is because during an infection the uropathogenic E. coli attach themselves to the same sugar chains on the cell surfaces of the urinary tract as on uromodulin. Pharmaceutical companies are looking to identify new active substances that will prevent precisely these interactions—but this risks also disrupting the protective binding of uromodulin to the bacteria. "It would obviously be a highly undesirable side effect for a drug if that treatment simultaneously interfered with a natural protective function," Glockshuber says. However, the research team's analyzes have now shown that the bonds between bacteria and uromodulin are extremely stable and cannot be broken down by active substances—an important finding in the search for remedies for unpleasant urinary tract infections.
BACTERIA KIDNEY URINALYSIS

How human body clear UTI without taking drug

See the source image
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus two(SARS-COV2). when the person is infected the most common sign include fever, cough, shortness of breath.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the WHO China Country Office was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, on 31 December 2019. A novel coronavirus currently termed 2019-nCoV was officially announced as the causative agent by Chinese authorities on 7 January. 

What is real time RT-PCR
Real time Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain reaction(real time RT–PCR) is a nuclear-derived method for detecting the presence of specific genetic material in any pathogen, including a virus. Originally, the method used radioactive isotope markers to detect targeted genetic materials, but subsequent refining has led to the replacement of isotopic labelling with special markers, most frequently fluorescent dyes. This technique allows scientists to see the results almost immediately while the process is still ongoing, whereas conventional RT–PCR only provides results at the end of the process.
Real time RT–PCR is one of the most widely used laboratory methods for detecting the COVID-19 virus. While many countries have used real time RT–PCR for diagnosing other diseases, such as Ebola virus and Zika virus, many need support in adapting this method for the COVID-19 virus, as well as in increasing their national testing capacities.
How real time RT PCR works in COVID-19 detection
The sample is collected by nasal pharyngeal swab or oral pharyngeal swab, for nasal pharyngeal  the swab is inserted in the nostril and gently moved forward in the nasal pharynx and then rotated for a specified period of time to collect secretion containing the virus. then the swab is placed immediately in the sterile tube containing the viral transport media.
Because corona virus contain extra ordinary single stranded RNA genome, to detect this virus with PCR, RNA molecule must be converted into complementary DNA by reverse transcriptase. the obtained DNA is then amplified by real time RT-PCR, The sample is treated with several chemical solutions that remove substances such as proteins and fats and that extract only the RNA present in the sample. This extracted RNA is a mix of the person’s own genetic material and, if present, the virus’s RNA.
The RNA is reverse transcribed to DNA using a specific enzyme. then additional short fragments of DNA that are complementary to specific parts of the transcribed viral DNA are added. If the virus is present in a sample, these fragments attach themselves to target sections of the viral DNA. Some of the added genetic fragments are used for building DNA strands during amplification, while the others are used for building the DNA and adding marker labels to the strands, which are then used to detect the virus.
The mixture is then placed in an RT–PCR machine. The machine cycles through temperatures that heat and cool the mixture to trigger specific chemical reactions that create new, identical copies of the target sections of viral DNA. The cycle is repeated over and over to continue copying the target sections of viral DNA. Each cycle doubles the previous number: two copies become four, four copies become eight, and so on. A standard real time RT–PCR set-up usually goes through 35 cycles, which means that, by the end of the process, around 35 billion new copies of the sections of viral DNA are created from each strand of the virus present in the sample.
As new copies of the viral DNA sections are built, the marker labels attach to the DNA strands and then release a fluorescent dye, which is measured by the machine’s computer and presented in real time on the screen. The computer tracks the amount of fluorescence in the sample after each cycle. When a certain level of fluorescence is surpassed, this confirms that the virus is present. Scientists also monitor how many cycles it takes to reach this level in order to estimate the severity of the infection: the fewer the cycles, the more severe the viral infection is.

CORONA VIRUS

Laboratory detection of COVID-19 using Real Time RT-PCR

The COVID-19 pandemic is far from getting contained but it appears other health threats are slowly creeping in. Over in Milipitas, some mosquitoes collected tested positive for the West Nile virus. Crews from the Santa Clara County Vector Control now plan to spray mosquito control treatment in select parts of the region as a preventive measure.
The West Nile virus was originally discovered in 2003. More than 7,000 locals in the area have contracted the virus with 309 dying from it. There are no symptoms caused by the virus but may cause fever, headache and body aches. In extreme cases, the virus can leave people with severe neurological damage or death in some cases.
Similar to the coronavirus, the people at risk of contracting the West Nile virus are the ones aged over 50. People who also have some underlying medical condition such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and kidney-related disease are also at risk of contracting the disease.
Based on the latest reports, it appears that the virus is already spreading with Elk Grove and Illinois revealing mosquitoes also testing positive in their areas. Officials from the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito Vector Control District confirmed that their sample was taken from an area near Bond Road and Highway 99. The rise in cases is attributed to the warm weather, the time where the number of mosquitoes increase, CBS Sacramento reported.
For bug bite first aid, here are 7 must-have products. Pixabay
"It's important for residents to take these findings seriously and do everything they can to protect themselves," Gary Goodman, district manager, said.
In Illinois, the Des Plaines Valley Mosquito Abatement District collected a positive mosquito batch last May 31 from River Forest. The North Shore Mosquito Abatement District also collected a positive mosquito batch on June 5 in Evanston, KWQC reported.
No human cases have been reported so far but everyone is urged to take the necessary protective measures. This includes wearing insect repellent at all times. Locals are also urged to report dead birds and neglected pools.
FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY VIROLOGY

Califonia:west Nile virus found in milptus mosquitoes

Many people turn to 'Dr. Google' to self-diagnose their health symptoms and seek medical advice, but online symptom checkers are only accurate about a third of the time, according to new Edith Cowan University (ECU) research published in the Medical Journal of Australia today.
The study analysed 36 international mobile and web-based symptom checkers and found they produced the correct diagnosis as the first result just 36 per cent of the time, and within the top three results 52 per cent of the time.
The research also found that the advice provided on when and where to seek health care was accurate 49 per cent of the time.
It has been estimated that Google's health related searches amount to approximately 70,000 every minute. Close to 40 per cent of Australians look for online health information to self-treat.
Lead author and ECU Masters student Michella Hill said the findings should give people pause for thought.
"While it may be tempting to use these tools to find out what may be causing your symptoms, most of the time they are unreliable at best and can be dangerous at worst," she said.
Online symptom checkers ask users to list their symptoms before presenting possible diagnoses. Triage advice is about whether—or how quickly—the user should see a doctor or go to hospital.
The 'cyberchondria' effect
According to Ms Hill, online symptom checkers may be providing a false sense of security.
"We've all been guilty of being 'cyberchondriacs' and googling at the first sign of a niggle or headache," she said.
"But the reality is these websites and apps should be viewed very cautiously as they do not look at the whole picture—they don't know your medical history or other symptoms.
"For people who lack health knowledge, they may think the advice they're given is accurate or that their condition is not serious when it may be."
When to see a doctor
The research found that triage advice, that is when and where to seek healthcare, provided more accurate results than for diagnoses.
"We found the advice for seeking medical attention for emergency and urgent care cases was appropriate around 60 per cent of the time, but for non-emergencies that dropped to 30 to 40 per cent," Ms Hill said.
"Generally the triage advice erred on the side of caution, which in some ways is good but can lead to people going to an emergency department when they really don't need to."
A balance
According to Ms Hill, online symptom checkers can have a place in the modern health system.
"These sites are not a replacement for going to the doctor, but they can be useful in providing more information once you do have an official diagnosis," she said.
"We're also seeing symptom checkers being used to good effect with the current COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the UK's National Health Service is using these tools to monitor symptoms and potential 'hot spot' locations for this disease on a national basis."
Lack of quality control
Ms Hill points to the lack of government regulation and data assurance as being major issues behind the quality of online symptom checkers.
"There is no real transparency or validation around how these sites are acquiring their data," she said.
"We also found many of the international sites didn't include some illnesses that exist in Australia, such as Ross River fever and Hendra virus, and they don't list services relevant to Australia."
'The quality of diagnosis and triage advice provided by free online symptom checkers and apps in Australia' was published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
More information: Michella G Hill et al, The quality of diagnosis and triage advice provided by free online symptom checkers and apps in Australia, Medical Journal of Australia (2020). DOI: 10.5694/mja2.50600
Journal information: Medical Journal of Australia
NEW TECHNOLOGY NEWS RESEARCH

Google's medical diagnosis and advices are "almost" always wrong: New study

 

An investigation of a major coronavirus outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier may reveal clues as to how Covid-19 affects younger adults.

 

This is the first major look at Covid-19 infections among healthy young adults that the CDC has released, More than 1,000 of the ship's nearly 4,900-member crew tested positive for Covid-19 following the outbreak. After spending weeks at a port in Guam, the ship returned to sea last month.
The majority -- nearly 60% -- of sailors in the study who had antibodies had neutralizing ones, "a promising indicator of at least short-term immunity.
Most reported mild or no symptoms, and those who took preventive measures -- such as face masks and social distancing -- were less likely to become infected.
What we saw was that most of the infections were actually mild, in addition to those that were asymptomatic, And this is perhaps different from studies of older Americans, or maybe even those who were hospitalized already, and certainly much different from those with underlying health conditions. With a number of young people reporting mild, atypical, or no symptoms from the virus, "symptom-based surveillance might not detect all infections.

 Most tested positive for antibodies

The report, published Tuesday, included a sample of 382 service members, with a median age of 30. According to the report, three-fourths were male. Nearly 60% of them tested positive for antibodies, and among them, 59% had also developed neutralizing antibodies by the time their blood samples were taken. Neutralizing antibodies bind to the virus, potentially disabling it from attacking human cells. In a handful of participants, these antibodies were detected more than 40 days after their symptoms began. However, because the data come from a single point in time, they note that longer studies will be needed to definitively show whether and how long these antibodies might protect against the virus.

 Lower infection rate in those who took protective measures

 

Those who took preventive measures were also less likely to become infected. Sailors who wore face coverings were less likely to become infected (55.8% versus 80.8%), as were those who avoided common areas (53.8% versus 67.5%) and practiced physical distancing (54.7% versus 70.0%). Symptoms more closely associated with Covid-19 in this sample were loss of taste or smell, muscle pain, fever and chills. Two were hospitalized among the 238 in the study confirmed to have been infected with the virus. Officials are working to "tailor our public health practices to the unique characteristics of this adversary whose secret weapon, as you know, is the ability to be transmitted by an individual before they know they're infected.

  Credit CNN.

 

Clues about Covid-19 among the young and healthy


The malaria disease burden remains a major impediment to economic development over many regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Large-scale insecticide treated net (ITN) distribution campaigns over the previous 15 years have reduced malaria cases by an estimated 40%. However, progress has plateaued; between 2014 and 2016 global incidence remained essentially the same. This a strong indication that current control measures are insufficient and additional novel strategies to control Anopheles mosquito populations or their capacity  to transmit Plasmodium parasites are needed if we are to make further inroads in reducing malaria incidence.
The outcome of vector–pathogen interactions can be influenced by symbiotic microbes. Notably, symbionts can prevent disease vectors from transmitting pathogens that are agents of human disease. This can be developed into a novel vector management strategy; symbionts are disseminated into vector populations to limit their capacity to transmit human disease.
In a research done, Scientists found that microsporidia MB, a fungi-like organism which occurs naturally in malaria-carrying mosquitoes, stops malaria transmission, but does not kill the mosquito. Researchers found this symbiotic microsporidia at moderate levels in wild Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes in Kenya. When these mosquitoes were fed Plasmodium falciparum-infected blood, the microsporidia prevented the formation of oocysts in the mosquito. Sporozoites, the form of the parasite that are injected into humans during a blood meal, develop within oocysts. Disrupting oocyst formation, therefore, disrupts malaria transmission. The problem is that microsporidia MB is found in less than 10% of wild Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes in Kenya, with greatest prevalence after peak rainfall. The aim now is to design ways to increase the presence and dissemination of this microsporidia so it can disrupt transmission.
MALARIA PARASITOLOGY

Breakthrough: Microbe found to block malaria transmission

Protozoans: Useful and Harmful Protozoans
you may have seen some of these unicellular organisms in the drop of pond water you observed under the microscope. They are traditionally looked upon as animals, because most protozoans are animal-like. 'Protozoa', in fact, means 'the first animal'. Even protozoans like Euglena, which contain chlorophyll and can photosynthesise, lack a cell wall.
The others are either saprophytic or parasitic. Some live in freshwater, some in salt water, and some in the soil. Many live in the bodies of animals and plants. Protozoans are the link in the food chain between unicellular algae and small aquatic organisms. In other words, they eat algae and are eaten by small fish and other organisms. They reproduce by binary fission.

Perhaps you remember that Amoeba engulfs food with the help of pseudopodia. It is the simplest of protozoans, found in the soil and freshwater bodies. Paramoecium is another freshwater protozoan found in ponds and ditches. It has hair-like projections, called cilia, which help it swim. They also help to direct food and water into the oral groove of this organism.
Useful protozoans:
1. Protozoans serve as food for many small aquatic organisms. Zooplankton are tiny protozoans which live in the sea. They form the principal diet of blue whales, who gulp them in with sea water.
2. They are the ultimate decomposers in nature, as they feed on bacteria and fungi, which decompose dead organic matter. They are, thus, useful in the treatment of sewage.
3. Some protozoans live in the body of other organisms and help them. Termites, for example, have protozoans living in their body. The protozoans digest the cellulose in the wood eaten by termites and convert it into carbohydrates that the termites can use.
Harmful protozoans:
Some protozoans cause diseases. The protozoan Entamoeba histolytica causes amoebiasis (amoebic dysentery) in human beings, Giardia causes giardiasis (dysentery), while Plasmodium causes malaria. trypanosome, a parasitic protozoan which lives in the bloodstream of human beings, cattle and other animals, causes a dangerous disease called sleeping sickness.
MICROBIOLOGY PROTOZOA

Harmful and wonderful Prtotozoa

As if the COVID-19 pandemic isn't scary enough, the flu season is not far away. How severe will the flu season be as it converges with the COVID-19 outbreak? What can we do to prepare?
Dr. Benjamin Singer, a Northwestern Medicine pulmonologist who treats COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit, outlines the best defense against influenza, which also may protect against coronavirus.
In an editorial that will be published May 29 in the journal Science Advances, Singer, an assistant professor of pulmonary and critical care and biochemistry and molecular genetics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, examines the epidemiology and biology of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza to help inform preparation strategies for the upcoming flu season.
He outlines the following four factors that could determine the severity of the upcoming flu season:
1. Transmission: Social distancing policies designed to limit the spread of COVID-19 are also effective against the flu. If COVID-19 cases begin to spike in the fall of 2020, re-tightening social distancing measures could help mitigate early spread of the flu to flatten the curves for both viruses.
2. Vaccination: As we await vaccine trials for COVID-19, we should plan to increase rates of vaccination against the flu, particularly among older adults who are more susceptible to both the flu and COVID-19.
3. Co-infection: We need widespread availability of rapid diagnostics for COVID-19 and other respiratory pathogens because co-infection with another respiratory pathogen, including the flu, occurred in more than 20% of COVID-19-positive patients who presented with a respiratory viral syndrome early in the pandemic.
4. Disparities: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted unconscionable disparities among African Americans, Latinx and Native Americans so we must galvanize public health efforts aimed to limit viral spread, increase vaccination rates, deploy rapid diagnostics and expand other health care services for vulnerable populations, including communities of color, the poor and older adults.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that the 2019-2020 seasonal influenza epidemic resulted in tens of millions of cases and tens of thousands of deaths.
"Even in non-pandemic years, the flu and other causes of pneumonia represent the eighth-leading cause of death in the United States, and respiratory viruses are the most commonly identified pathogens among hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia," Singer said.
CORONA VIRUS

What will happen when COVID-19 pandemic and flu season meet?

The World Health Organization said Monday it had temporarily suspended clinical trials of hydroxychloriquine as a potential treatment for COVID-19 being carried out across a range of countries as a precautionary measure.
The decision came after publication last week of a study in The Lancet which indicated that using the drug on COVID-19 patients could increase their chances of dying, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference.
Tedros said that the executive group of the so-called Solidarity Trial, in which hundreds of hospitals across several countries have enrolled patients to test several possible treatments for the novel coronavirus, had as a precaution suspended trials using that drug.
"The Executive Group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the Solidarity Trial while the safety data is reviewed by the Data Safety Monitoring Board," Tedros said.
"The other arms of the trial are continuing," he stressed.
Hydroxychloroquine is normally used to treat arthritis but pronouncement from public figures including US President Donald Trump—who announced last week he is taking the drug—has prompted governments to bulk buy the medicine.
Brazil's health minister also recommended last week using hydroxychloroquine, as well as the anti-malarial chloroquine, to treat even mild COVID-19 cases.
The Lancet study found that both drugs can produce potentially serious side effects, particularly heart arrhythmia.
And neither drug benefitted patients hospitalised with COVID-19, according to a Lancet study, which looked at the records of 96,000 patients across hundreds of hospitals.
Tedros stressed Monday that the two drugs "are accepted as generally safe for use in patients with autoimmune diseases or malaria."
WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan told Monday's briefing that the WHO-backed Solidarity Trial had been looking only at the effects of hydroxychloroquine and not chloroquine.
The decision on suspending enrolment for trials using hydroxychloroquine was "a temporary measure", she said.
"We're just acting by precaution," WHO emergencies chief Michael Ryan agreed.
'Dangerous assumption'?
The COVID-19 pandemic, which began late last year in China, has killed nearly 350,000 people worldwide and infected almost 5.5 million, according to an AFP tally using official sources.
While there is still no approved treatment or vaccine for the novel coronavirus, drastic measures that at one point saw half of humanity under lockdown have pushed down transmission rates in a number of countries.
As many nations begin to gradually lift restrictions, the WHO on Monday stressed the need to keep up with physical distancing measures and to scale up efforts to test and detect cases.
"All countries need to remain on high alert," WHO expert Maria Van Kerkhove said, stressing that "even countries that have seen a decline in cases must remain ready."
She warned that studies using antibody tests to determine how many people have been infected and might have some level of immunity "indicate that a large proportion of the population remains susceptible."
"The virus will take the opportunity to amplify if it can," she said.
Ryan agreed, urging countries to "continue to put in place ... a comprehensive strategy to ensure that we continue on a downward trajectory and that we don't have an immediate second peak."
He warned against the idea that the pandemic might move in natural seasonal waves, stressing that the reason transmission is going down in a number of countries was the drastic measures put in place.
"My concern right now is that people might be assuming that the current rapid infections represents a natural seasonality," he said.
"Making an assumption that it is on a downward trajectory, and the next danger point is sometime in October or November, I think that would be a dangerous assumption."
"If we take the pressure off the virus then the virus can bounce back," he said.
CORONA VIRUS DRUGS RESEARCH

WHO suspends hydroxychloroquine trial as COVID-19 treatment

Regions of Italy with higher family fragmentation and a high number of residential nursing homes experienced the highest rate of COVID-19 infections in people over age 80, according to a new study published May 21, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Giuseppe Liotta of the University of Rome, Italy, and colleagues.
Italy has been one of the countries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers have speculated that this is due to Italy's age demographics as well as the connectedness of the older and younger generations and high rate of intergenerational contact. If true, this would suggest that regions with larger households would have more severe COVID-19 outbreaks in older adults.
In the new study, researchers used publicly available data published by each Italian administrative region as well as daily situation reports on COVID-19 published by the Italian Ministry of Health and spanning February 28 through March 31, 2020. All household and population data was extracted between April 1 and 7, 2020.
Across Italian regions, the COVID-19 incidence rate ranged from 0.27% to 4.09% of the population being affected. The mean number of household members ranged from 2.02 to 2.58; the percentage of one member households ranged from 28.5 to 40.9; and percentage of COVID-19 cases that occurred in people over age 80 ranged from 4.3 to 23.6. A model that reflected the percent of the population over age 80, days since 50 cases were registered, percentage of nursing home beds in the total population, and mean number of household members was best able to predict the COVID-19 incidence among older people in each region, with an adjusted R-squared value of 0.695 (p<0.001). A lower mean number of household members and higher number of nursing home beds was associated with more COVID-19 cases in older adults. The study was limited by the fact that age-specific infection rates were not available and the number of COVID-19 tests varied enormously by regions.
The authors add: "Variables associated with social isolation are risk factors forincrease in the proportion of cases in Italian patients aged >80 yearsamong the total number of cases." Professor Liotta also notes that "nursing homes bed rate is one of the determinants of SARS-CoV-2 infection rate among the individuals aged>80 in Italy."
More information: Liotta G, Marazzi MC, Orlando S, Palombi L (2020) Is social connectedness a risk factor for the spreading of COVID-19 among older adults? The Italian paradox. PLoS ONE 15(5): e0233329. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233329
Journal information: PLoS ONE
CORONA VIRUS RESEARCH

Social isolation linked to more severe COVID-19 outbreaks

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