An antiobiotic-resistant gene that was initially discovered in India has been spotted in the Arctic region, some 16,000 kms away. The genetic bug's far-flung encroachment reveals how rapid and fast-moving the spread of antibiotic resistance has become. The bug was discovered in a remote terrain with almost no population save for some research groups and is said to have been carried over by migratory birds according to findings published in the Environmental International journal.

Chinese vaccine maker&nbsp;CanSino Biologics&nbsp;has initiated discussions with Russia, Brazil, Chile and Saudi Arabia to launch phase 3 trials of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine candidate. The announcement came from CanSino's&nbsp;co-founder who revealed the trial with start 'pretty soon' at&nbsp;an anti-viral drug development conference in China.&nbsp;
CanSino's&nbsp;Ad5-nCov&nbsp;vaccine candidate was the&nbsp;first in China to start human testing in March but has lagged behind its local competitors since then. Two other Chinese vaccine candidates developed by Sinovac&nbsp;Biotech and Sinopharm&nbsp;are already approved for phase 3 clinical trials.&nbsp;

Scientists analysing the immune response of Covid-19 patients and health workers in the UK say that immunity from Covid-19 may only last for a few months. Researchers from King's College London have found that 60% of patients showed a potent antibody response at the height of their infection but&nbsp;only 17% retained the same potency three months later. These findings, which are yet to be peer-reviewed, could have an impact on vaccine development as well as the pursuit of herd immunity. The level of antibodies also differed based on the severity of the infection, researchers said.&nbsp;

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has announced that it has commenced a Post Marketing Surveillance study on its&nbsp;drug&nbsp;FabiFlu to closely monitor its efficacy and safety in 1,000 Covid-19 patients. The company also shared that it is reducing the price of the oral antiviral by 27%.&nbsp;The new MRP&nbsp;has come down to ₹75 per tablet from the earlier ₹103 per tab.&nbsp;Glenmark has managed to keep the pricing of FabiFlu lower as compared to its price in other countries. The price reduction has been made possible through benefits gained from higher yields and better scale as both the active ingredient and formulations are made at Glenmark's&nbsp;facilities in India, shared the company.&nbsp;

According to a new scientific paper by the University of Rochester, bats are immune to the Covid-19 virus. The research credits their ability to control body inflammation that gives them their rock-solid immunity. Bats are able to prevent the multiplication of the virus in their bodies, the report states. The research adds that their ability to fly gives them the perfect immuno-response. The mammals are able to get used to 'sudden ups and downs' and metabolism changes in their bodies. The researchers have also attributed their environment as a reason for their stronger immunity. Bats' immunities are at a 'never-ending' war with various viruses and pathogens that exist in the environment, say experts. The review was published in the journal&nbsp;Cell Metabolism.&nbsp;

Russia has become the first nation in the world to successfully complete the clinical trials of a&nbsp;Covid-19 vaccine. The trials were held at the Center for Clinical Research on Medications at Sechenov University. According to Russian news agencies, the trial proved that the vaccine is safe and the volunteers will be discharged on the 15th and 20th of July. However, it has not been ascertained yet when the vaccine will enter its commercial production stage. According to the World Health Organisation, currently there are 21 vaccines under key trials.&nbsp;

Billionaire businessman and SpaceX and Tesla CEO&nbsp;Elon Musk has spilled some details about Neuralink, his startup that is developing a brain-machine interface technology. Founded in 2016, Neuralink is focused on creating a neural interface, an Artificial Intelligence symbiosis through a chip implanted in the brain. Musk claims that the technology could be used to treat addiction and depression and is both great and terrifying. In a tweet, he said that more details about Neuralink will be revealed on August 28th.

American pharma&nbsp;company Gilead Sciences Inc has said that&nbsp;additional data from a late-stage study shows that its antiviral drug&nbsp;remdesivir significantly improved clinical recovery of critically ill Covid-19 patients. The company said&nbsp;74.4% of remdesivir-treated patients recovered by Day 14 versus 59% of patients on standard care Dr. Susan Olender from Columbia University said in the Gilead statement to Reuters that the analysis 'draws from a real-world setting and serves as an important adjunct to clinical trial data even though it is not as vigorous as a randomized controlled trial.'&nbsp;In contrast, a University of Pittsburgh&nbsp;medical professor said it is a 'joke' to compare&nbsp;clinical trial data with observational data and conclude anything definitive about death risk.&nbsp;

Nearly 5.5 crore unintended pregnancies, 18 lakh unsafe abortions and 30,000 maternal deaths were prevented thanks to the use of contraceptives in India in 2019, said Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.&nbsp;In a virtual meeting on World Population Day, Vardhan&nbsp;also credited&nbsp;substantial investment in the family planning programme for this feat.&nbsp;
India's crude birth rate has reduced from 21.8 in 2011 to 20 in&nbsp;2018, while the total fertility rate has declined from 2.4 in 2011 to 2.2 in 2018, Vardhan&nbsp;said in a statement.&nbsp;The health minister emphasised that family planning provides dignity to women, especially who are poor and marginalised.

Chinese researchers have found a link between elevated blood sugar levels without a previous diabetes&nbsp;diagnosis with higher Covid-19&nbsp;death risk in a study. A team including scientists from Tongji&nbsp;Medical College China examined fasting blood glucose (FBG) level of Covid-19 patients at the time of admission in reference to their 28-day mortality. Publishing their results in the journal&nbsp;Diabetologia, the team found that patients in the highest FBG group were 2.3 times more likely to die than those in the lowest. Based on the findings, they recommend&nbsp;blood sugar testing and control for Covid-19 patients, even those who don't have a history of diabetes.&nbsp;

India's drug regulator has approved itolizumab, used to treat skin condition psoriasis, for restricted&nbsp;emergency use for the treatment of Covid-19 patients facing moderate to acute respiratory problems.&nbsp;
The drug is manufactured and marketed by India's Biocon Ltd and has now been repurposed for Covid-19, the indigenous pharma&nbsp;company said.&nbsp;The firm presented the phase II clinical trial results to the drug regulator which were deliberated upon by the Subject Expert Committee of the DCGI's office.&nbsp;The use of the medicine is subject to some conditions including the requirement of informed consent of patients, a risk management plan and usage restricted to a hospital setup.

A new study on over 92,000 patients in Brazil suggests that an&nbsp;inactivated trivalent flu shot could help prevent people from getting infected with severe Covid-19 by improving immunity. However, the study has not been peer reviewed yet and is still in its pre-print phase. The researchers found that the flu shot can reduce mortality by 20 percent when taken before the onset of Covid-19 and by 27 percent when a vaccine was given after the onset of the infection.&nbsp;This non-specific&nbsp;immunity has been seen with other vaccines like&nbsp;MMR and BCG. The study also mentions certain similarities between the coronavirus and the flu virus.&nbsp;So, chances are that our immune system recognises both these viruses through similar receptors.

Two experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) are spending two days in the Chinese capital to kick off a larger mission to investigate the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.&nbsp;A health and an epidemiology expert are setting the&nbsp;scope and terms of reference' for the mission which aims to understand how the virus jumped from an animal host to a human body, said a UN statement.
Experts believe that the virus may have originated from bats, before possible being carried by a civet cat or an armadillo-like pangolin and then made its way to the human population in the Wuhan&nbsp;fresh food market.&nbsp;More than 120 nations called for an investigation into the origins of the virus at the World Health Assembly in May.&nbsp;

A study, published in the&nbsp;American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, has identified differences in lung physiology and immune function in children that may explain why they are less susceptible&nbsp;to severe Covid-19 illness than adults.&nbsp;The study suggests that children naturally have less ACE2 in the lungs than adults.&nbsp;These molecules&nbsp;acts as doors that allow the novel&nbsp;coronavirus&nbsp;into cells. Moreover, the&nbsp;lung tissue in children naturally has a higher concentration of regulator T-cells,&nbsp;capable of fighting off or limiting inflammation.&nbsp;The findings from the study require further examination, researchers have said.

Singapore-based Strides Pharma Global PTE&nbsp;Limited, a subsidiary of Strides Pharma Science, has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for Butalbital, Acetaminophen, Caffeine, and Codeine Phosphate capsules used to treat headaches. In a press statement, the company shared that the product is a generic version of Teva's Fioricet with Codeine capsules. The product, known to provide relief from muscle contraction headache, will be marketed by Strides Pharma in the US market.

Russia said Wednesday that a remote Far Eastern region near Mongolia had begun testing rodents for bubonic plague after cases of the disease were confirmed in Mongolia and China. Public health officials have appealed to residents of the mountainous Tuva and Altai regions not to hunt or eat marmots after two bubonic plague cases were confirmed in Mongolia last week. Both cases involved brothers who had eaten marmot meat. The WHO has said it is also monitoring a case of bubonic plague in China after being notified by the authorities in Beijing.

US-based&nbsp;Lupin Pharmaceuticals has announced that it is&nbsp;voluntarily recalling all batches of Metformin Hydrochloride Extended tablets, as part of an ongoing dialogue with the FDA. Analysis of the diabetes drug revealed that&nbsp;certain tested batches were above the Acceptable Daily Intake Limit for the impurity NDMA. The statement explained,&nbsp;NDMA is a known environmental contaminant and found in water and foods, including meats, dairy products and vegetables. The company, however,&nbsp;said that all&nbsp;Metformin products manufactured and marketed in India have been tested for NDMA levels and are safe as per relevant regulatory norms.

American researchers have developed an air filter&nbsp;that can trap the virus responsible for spreading&nbsp;Covid-19 and kill it instantly. The team from the University of Houston and Medistar&nbsp;Corp&nbsp;reported that in their virus tests, 99.8% of the novel SARS-CoV-2 was killed in a single pass through the filter they developed. The team published their findings in the journal Materials Today Physics. An author from the paper said, 'the filter could be useful in airports and aeroplanes, office buildings, schools and cruise ships' to control virus spread. The filter is made from&nbsp;commercially available nickel foam heated to about 392 degrees Fahrenheit.&nbsp;

Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) claim that the number of Covid-19 cases recorded per day in India may rise to&nbsp;2.87 lakh by early 2021 if a vaccine or treatment isn&rsquo;t developed soon. Although USA&nbsp;is currently the worst-hit in the world, the team from MIT's&nbsp;School of Management says that India will surpass US soon. According to their prediction, daily new cases will be second highest in the US by Feb 2021 at 95,000 per day, followed by South Africa, Iran and Indonesia.&nbsp;
The same study also claims that the actual number of cases is 12 times higher and death rate is 50 per cent than the reported numbers. Even so, all nations are still below herd immunity levels.&nbsp;

A man from Brazil with AIDS has shown no sign of the disease for over a year since he stopped HIV medicines. He was given an intense drug therapy aimed at targeting the hidden, dormant virus in the body. Dr. Ricardo Diaz of the University of Sao Paulo conducted a study to test ways in which the reservoir established by the virus can be removed. Scientists cautioned that the case needs independent verification and too soon to speculate about a possible cure. If confirmed, it will be the first time HIV has been eliminated in an adult without a bone marrow or stem cell transplant. The man had been taking a standard three-drug combo to suppress his virus. In September 2015, Diaz added&nbsp;dolutegravir,&nbsp;maraviroc&nbsp;and&nbsp;nicotinamide&nbsp;to his treatment.&nbsp;After nearly a year, the patient went back to the standard three drugs for two more years, then stopped all HIV medicines in March 2019. The virus has not been found in his blood and tissue samples since then. Tests show that the man has lost nearly all antibodies to HIV. However, the same treatment did not work for four other patients.

A Spanish study published in The Lancet journal has cast doubt over the feasibility of herd immunity, when enough people become infected with a virus to stop its spread, as a way of tackling the&nbsp;Covid-19&nbsp;pandemic.&nbsp;For herd immunity to work, at least 70% of a population needs to be immune to protect the uninfected people, experts say. The study of over 60,000 people has found that only 5% of the Spanish population has developed antibodies. Most of the population remains largely unexposed to the virus even in highly populated areas, according to researchers including those from the National Centre for Epidemiology in Spain.

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Genetic bug discovered in Delhi resurfaces in the Arctic region

Jan 29, 2019 16:30 IST

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