Mock drills were held at health facilities across India on Tuesday to check operational readiness to deal with any spurt in COVID-19 infection, with Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya saying the country has to remain alert and prepared as cases are rising in the world.
Previous studies suggested that molnupiravir is effective at reducing hospital admissions in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 and WHO recommends its use for patients with the highest risk of hospital admission. However, studies have so far been conducted in largely unvaccinated populations and prior to the emergence of the Omicron variant.
These new findings, published in the journal eBioMedicine, may explain why people who have recovered from COVID are at risk of reinfection - especially with Omicron and its sub variants. The study also found that vaccination is very effective in creating and boosting antibodies in the blood, which prevent severe disease, but had very little effect on nasal IgA levels.
The researchers studied microbiomes by measuring populations of microorganisms in stool samples taken from 60 subjects. The study group consisted of 20 COVID-19 patients, 20 healthy donors and 20 COVID-19-recovered subjects. They found major differences in the population numbers of 55 different species of bacteria when comparing the microbiomes of infected patients with the healthy and recovered patients.
After the SARS-CoV-2 infection had passed, however, the researchers detected specific antibodies in the saliva that suggested that three latent viruses had been strongly reactivated, one of them being EBV.
State Tuberculosis officer Dr Dharmendra Gahvai said that symptoms of Covid-19 infection and tuberculosis are almost similar.
The researchers said an increase in such fungi in Covid-19 patients is concerning and calls for further investigations of likely underlying causes that can alter nasal and gut microbiome after a Covid infection
Individuals who are genetically predisposed if they get exposed to risk factors, their chances of developing inflammatory arthritis increases and auto-immune diseases increase," Dr Kumar stated.
Records of the non-communicable disease office show that cases of heart attack have increased from 1716 during the pre-pandemic year 2019-20 to 3235 in 2021-22. In the financial year 2020-21, 1077 cases of heart attack were reported in the district.
The researchers noted that, overall, COVID-19 has contributed to more than 40 million new cases of neurological disorders worldwide. Other than having a COVID infection, specific risk factors for long-term neurological problems are scarce.
Myanmar has confirmed more than 80,000 new cases of Covid-19, and more than 130 new deaths from Covid-19 during the country's fourth Covid-19 wave which started at the end of January this year, official data showed.
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