The virus swept through a nursery school and an adjacent elementary school in the Milan suburb of Bollate with amazing speed. In a matter of just days, 45 children and 14 staff members had tested positive.
“This demonstrates that the virus has a sort of intelligence. … We can put up all the barriers in the world and imagine that they work, but in the end, it adapts and penetrates them,” lamented Bollate Mayor Francesco Vassallo.
Bollate was the first city in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the epicenter in each of Italy’s three surges, to be sealed off from neighbors because of virus variants that the World Health Organization says are powering another uptick in infections across Europe. The variants also include versions first identified in South Africa and Brazil.
Europe recorded 1 million new COVID-19 cases last week, an increase of 9% from the previous week and a reversal that ended a six-week decline in new infections, WHO said Thursday.
The spread of the variants is driving the increase, but not only,” said Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, citing “also the opening of society, when it is not done in a safe and a controlled manner.”
The variant first found in the U.K. is spreading significantly in 27 European countries monitored by WHO and is dominant in at least 10 countries: Britain, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Israel, Spain and Portugal.
It is up to 50% more transmissible than the virus that surged last spring and again in the fall, making it more adept at thwarting measures that were previously effective, WHO experts warned. Scientists have concluded that it is also more deadly.
“That is why health systems are struggling more now,” Kluge said. “It really is at a tipping point. We have to hold the fort and be very vigilant.”
Image Credit: Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse
Post by Amanda Scott, NA CEO. Follow her on twitter @tantriclens
Thanks to Heinz V. Hoenen. Follow him on twitter: @HeinzVHoenen
News
Is there a summer COVID-19 surge this year? Yep, it’s ramping up again
Hantavirus. Ebola. West Nile. Measles. And, of course, cyclospora — that stomach parasite making people miserable across the country. Americans have plenty to worry about this summer. But remember COVID-19? It may not be [...]
Natural Compound in Broccoli Could Help Treat a Rare, Incurable Neurological Disease
Swinburne researchers have discovered how broccoli could help treat an extremely rare and incurable disease that affects only about 200 Australians. A naturally occurring compound in broccoli is being investigated as a possible treatment [...]
Antibody recycling, FcRn and the next generation of biologics
FcRn plays a central role in regulating the half-life of IgG antibodies and albumin, making it a critical target in both antibody engineering and autoimmune disease therapy. This article explores the biology of FcRn, [...]
Ebola kills 2,300 in three months with no vaccine available for Congo’s deadliest ever outbreak
It’s Congo’s 17th outbreak, with a toll that has eclipsed that of the country’s 2018-2020 outbreak when 2,299 deaths out of 3,481 cases were recorded. The latest data shows 101 new cases and 33 [...]
Beyond an Agency: How AI, Creativity and Commercialization Are Converging Into a New Growth Model
At a moment when AI is forcing a fundamental rethink of how work gets done, the life sciences industry is grappling with a deeper question: what role should human creativity play in an increasingly [...]
New $60 Blood Test Detects Lung Cancer Without Costly DNA Sequencing
A simple blood test that detects chemical changes in DNA identified more than 90% of stage 2-4 lung cancers in an early study, without relying on costly DNA sequencing. Researchers at Tel Aviv University and collaborating [...]
Reducing drug development failures with human-relevant models and AI
Professor Joseph C. Wu of Stanford University explains how stem cells, human-relevant models and AI are helping researchers predict which drug candidates are most likely to succeed before clinical trials. Researchers now have access [...]
Half of vaccines are binned – ‘fridge-free’ versions could change that
Vaccines that do not need to be kept cool in a fridge have been successfully trialed in patients for the first time, say UK scientists. Currently, most vaccines need to be refrigerated or frozen [...]
Mushroom Mystery: The Fungus That Makes People See Tiny Humans
A mushroom sold in markets and served in restaurants in Southwest China has an unusual warning attached to it: cook it thoroughly, or you may start seeing tiny people. For decades, people have reported [...]
Artificial intelligence used to design brand new viruses
Artificial Intelligence has been used to design brand new viruses that are fully functional and can replicate in the laboratory, say US researchers. It is the first time whole genomes have been successfully designed [...]
Molecular Manufacturing: The Future of Nanomedicine – New book from NanoappsMedical Inc.
This book explores the revolutionary potential of atomically precise manufacturing technologies to transform global healthcare, as well as practically every other sector across society. This forward-thinking volume examines how envisaged Factory@Home systems might enable the cost-effective [...]
Moderna kicks off Phase I Ebola trial as Africa readies itself for research
If the Phase I trial is successful, Moderna plans to quickly initiate Phase II and Phase III trials of its Ebola vaccine. Moderna has initiated a Phase I trial of its mRNA Ebola vaccine [...]
3D Human Brain Tissue Model Replicates Alzheimer’s Pathology
Summary: Researchers introduced a highly reproducible three-dimensional human brain tissue model capable of replicating complex neurodegenerative processes in Alzheimer’s disease. Developed over nine years using human stem cells, the self-organizing tissue spheroids integrate functional neurons, [...]
A Common Sugar May Loosen Cancer Cells and Help Them Spread
Chemotherapy may kill most ovarian cancer cells, but the few that survive can turn dangerously active. By releasing fructose, they may help nearby tumor cells break free and spread. Researchers at The Wistar Institute [...]
COVID-19 can wake up dormant viruses in the body, large study confirms
Virus reactivations by SARS-CoV-2 could worsen initial symptoms and increase risk of Long Covid. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists noticed that a SARS-CoV-2 infection can “wake up” other, dormant viruses already present in [...]
Scientists Discover the Brain May Enter a New Biological Phase Between 50 and 75
A single-cell study reveals major changes in immune cells, genome organization, and gene regulation within the aging human hippocampus, offering important insights into brain aging and dementias associated with age. Between roughly ages 50 [...]
