‘Like No Pathogen Humanity Has Ever Seen’, Science

A paper in Nature this week reports that Chinese scientists discovered RNA of the virus in tiny droplets in Wuhan hospitals, raising the possibility of airborne transmission. The range of clinical manifestations in patients that test positive for COVID-19 remains a public health challenge, with some remaining asymptomatic while others die quickly. Despite the more than 1,000 papers that are published every week, a Science articles concludes that a “clear picture is elusive, as the virus acts like no pathogen humanity has ever seen.”

The CDC this week added six new symptoms that may be linked with COVID-19. These include chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and a loss of taste or smell – in addition to previously listed symptoms (fever, cough and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing).

The number of cases in Russia has surged past 100,000 following a record daily increase that included its Prime Minister testing positive. The Prime Minister of Japan has also suggested the country is likely to extend the state of emergency past May 4. Yesterday, Chile announced that it will back away from plans to distribute immunity cards following warnings by the WHO of the lack of evidence of ‘sufficient immunity’ to COVID-19 that would prevent reinfection. In its daily briefing, the WHO also has urged countries to be vigilant and to avoid prematurely lifting control measures as early evidence of sero-epidemiological data suggests a significant proportion of infected people may have been missed by surveillance measures.