Category Archives: Infectious Diseases

How Spanish flu nearly ripped apart Australia’s fledgling federation | Paul Daley

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A nation supposedly forged in the hellfire of war almost crumbled in the face of a virulent threat at home

Newly federated Australia, with its population not yet 5 million, was still enduring shocking fatalities on the European western front when its authorities began paying attention to the virulent strain of pneumonic influenza sweeping Britain.

Early Australian awareness of the “Spanish influenza” – an epidemic in Britain by mid to late 1918 – came with an acknowledgment that the new states grown of old colonies would need to stick together should the virus reach this isolated continent.

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Herd immunity: will the UK’s coronavirus strategy work?

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Ministers look to have given up on containment in favour of a novel approach some experts are wary of

Herd immunity is a phrase normally used when large numbers of children have been vaccinated against a disease like measles, reducing the chances that others will get it. As a tactic in fighting a pandemic for which there is no vaccine, it is novel – and some say alarming.

It relies on people getting the disease – in this case Covid-19 – and becoming immune as a result. Generally it is thought that those who recover will be immune, at least for now, so they won’t get it twice.

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Local elections and London mayoral race postponed for a year

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Elections delayed after officials said coronavirus crisis would affect campaigning and voting

Local elections and the London mayoral election have been postponed for a year to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. The government made the decision to push back the 7 May elections after the Electoral Commission said the health crisis would have an impact on campaigning and voting.

“We will bring forward legislation to postpone local, mayoral and police and crime commissioner elections until May next year,” a government spokesman said.

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Inside an ICU: how long can we stay calm in the face of the coronavirus crisis?

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Now, more than ever, the NHS must prioritise care - not just for frail, elderly and vulnerable people but for staff too

There’s a strange mood in the intensive care unit (ICU) where I work at the moment. It’s one of controlled planning, paperwork and people pulling together in ways that on a normal day perhaps wouldn’t happen.

ICUs are as prepared as they can be. Locally business as usual has made way for preparations for caring for high numbers of patients. We are finding every ventilator we may have and identifying every suitably qualified member of staff. We will work together to fill gaps as best we can.

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How many will die of coronavirus in the UK? A closer look at the numbers

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What the statistics from the outbreak so far can tell us about infection and mortality rates

The startling spread of the coronavirus across the globe is causing understandable alarm. But though it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions about how many deaths may occur, the statistics do point to general trends that can get lost in the drama.

At present, one thing that does seem clear is that the vast majority of people who get the disease will survive.

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Revolutionary Guards to enforce coronavirus controls in Iran

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Streets, shops and public spaces to be cleared in next 24 hours after virus kills hundreds

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are to clear streets, shops and public places in the country within the next 24 hours, in a dramatic escalation of efforts to combat the spread of coronavirus.

The near-curfew follows growing exasperation among MPs that calls for Iranian citizens to stay at home had been widely ignored, as people continued to travel before the Nowruz new year holidays. Shops and offices have largely remained open.

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Coronavirus live news: Trump says UK may be included in travel ban as WHO calls Europe ‘centre of pandemic’

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Queen cancels engagements; Canadian prime minister self-isolates; UK cases rise by 208

Plans to close off Catalonia have been announced by the northeastern Spanish region’s president, Quim Torra, who called on the central government to help by authorising the closure of ports, airports and railways.

The evolution of the contagion calls for most drastic action. We need to restrict entry and exit to protect ourselves.

In Europe, Hungary is closing all schools and will continue education as best as it can via digital channels, its prime minister Viktor Orbán has said.

In a Facebook video, he said he expected the Hungarian economy to stall soon and it will have to be restarted; an effort the government will participate in.

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Global shortage of Covid-19 test kits hits Australia as other nations limit exports

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Australia’s chief medical officer says supply problems are a ‘temporary issue’ but one that is hampering testing in Australia and across the globe

A global shortage of Covid-19 testing kits is hitting Australia as other nations limit exports and keep equipment for their own use, the country’s chief medical officer has said.

State health ministers have reported shortages of reagents and kits used to conduct coronavirus tests in laboratories, as unprecedented demand for testing combines with limits on exports from other nations struggling to contain Covid-19.

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First Covid-19 case happened in November, China government records show – report

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Earliest case detected on 17 November, weeks before authorities acknowledged new virus, says Chinese media

The first case of someone suffering from Covid-19 can be traced back to 17 November, according to media reports on unpublished Chinese government data.

The report, in the South China Morning Post, said Chinese authorities had identified at least 266 people who contracted the virus last year and who came under medical surveillance, and the earliest case was 17 November – weeks before authorities announced the emergence of the new virus.

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Coronavirus pandemic reaches world leaders and disrupts global sporting events

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Justin Trudeau’s wife and diplomat at the UN test positive as Australian Grand Prix is cancelled and Arsenal and Chelsea teams affected

The coronavirus has reached the highest levels of government and the sporting world, with Canada’s prime minister isolating himself when his wife tested positive, the Arsenal manager and a Chelsea player being diagnosed and the Australian Grand Prix cancelled just hours before the event was due to start.

On Thursday night, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Justin Trudeau’s wife, announced she had been diagnosed with Covid-19 after returning from the UK. Her symptoms were mild and she began two weeks of isolation. Her husband also began isolation and was “in good health with no symptoms”.

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UK government’s coronavirus advice – and why it gave it

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The action plan’s recommendations differed significantly from measures imposed in other countries

Coronavirus – all the developments

Boris Johnson delivered the government’s coronavirus action plan under the new “delay” phase, flanked by the UK’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, and chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, on Thursday. Here are the next steps in different areas, and the justifications they gave for them.

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Donald Trump is the very worst person to handle the coronavirus crisis

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The president responded to the pandemic with denial and blaming foreigners. His incompetence and selfishness will be lethal

Coronavirus is the first major crisis Donald Trump has faced that is not of his own making. People who know what it is like to be in charge when disaster strikes have warned us this moment would come eventually – and we can now see why they were so terrified.

Trump in a time of coronavirus is a lethal combination. Everything about the president – his reliance on his gut instincts in place of expertise, his overwhelming selfishness, and his unfailing tendency to lash out at others when things go wrong – make him the worst person imaginable to hold the world’s most powerful job in the face of pandemic.

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Coronavirus: what happens to people’s lungs when they get Covid-19?

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Respiratory physician John Wilson explains the range of Covid-19 impacts, from no symptoms to severe illness featuring pneumonia

What became known as Covid-19, or the coronavirus, started in late 2019 and early 2020 in the Chinese city of Wuhan as a cluster of pneumonia cases with an unknown cause.

The cause of the pneumonia was found to be a new virus – severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or Sars-CoV-2. The illness caused by the virus is Covid-19.

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Ireland school closures reveal stark contrast to UK Covid-19 response

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Critics of UK coronavirus measures call for joint strategy on island of Ireland

Ireland is shutting schools, colleges and childcare facilities to delay the spread of coronavirus in contrast to the UK which is keeping education institutions open, exposing a stark divergence in response to the crisis.

Irish authorities said the shutdown would begin at 6pm on Thursday and last at least until 29 March as part of a series of restrictions, including a ban on mass gatherings, that will be kept under review.

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What is a pandemic and does it change the approach to coronavirus?

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The WHO has declared the Covid-19 outbreak to be a pandemic. But what does that mean?

Declaring a pandemic has nothing to do with changes to the characteristics of a disease, but is instead associated with concerns over its geographic spread. According to the World Health Organization, a pandemic is declared when a new disease for which people do not have immunity spreads around the world beyond expectations.

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British-Iranian prisoner tells of coronavirus chaos in Iranian jail

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Anoosheh Ashoori appeals for UK to do more to help secure his temporary release

A British-Iranian political prisoner being held in Tehran on spying charges has sent a recorded message saying that the jail he is in was in chaos because of coronavirus and appealing for the UK government to do more to help secure his temporary release.

Anoosheh Ashoori was transferred three days ago within Evin prison to ward four, one of the wards he claims housed coronavirus victims previously. Ashoori was sentenced two years ago to 10 years in jail on charges of spying for Israel, a charge he vehemently denies.

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Chinese officials push conspiracy theory coronavirus originated abroad

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Theory is gaining traction online in China that Covid-19 came from the US

One of the most popular topics on the Chinese microblog Weibo on Thursday was a one-minute clip of a US congressional hearing this week on how the country was dealing with the coronavirus.

In the video posted by the People’s Daily, Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is asked whether there may have been deaths attributed to influenza that could actually have been the result of Covid-19. Redfield responds in the affirmative: “Some cases have been actually diagnosed that way in the United States today.”

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Can a face mask stop coronavirus? Covid-19 myths busted

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The truth about how you can catch coronavirus, who is most vulnerable and what you can do to avoid infection

Wearing a face mask is certainly not an iron-clad guarantee that you won’t get sick – viruses can also transmit through the eyes and tiny viral particles, known as aerosols, can penetrate masks. However, masks are effective at capturing droplets, which is a main transmission route of coronavirus, and some studies have estimated a roughly fivefold protection versus no barrier alone (although others have found lower levels of effectiveness).

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Vulnerable prisoners ‘exploited’ to make coronavirus masks and hand gel

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Inmates making masks and hand sanitiser to ease shortages are among most vulnerable to Covid-19, prison reformers warn

Prison labour is being used to shore up supplies of face masks and hand gels in Hong Kong and the USA as campaigners warn that inmates are among the most vulnerable to Covid-19 infections.

Women inmates at the Lo Wu prison in Hong Kong have reportedly been asked to work night shifts to make 2.5m face masks a month after a huge rise in demand according to Reuters.

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