What Do We Know About the EU.1.1 COVID Variant?
The CDC is tracking a handful of new COVID variants, including the EU.1.1 variant, which now makes up an estimated 1.7% of U.S. COVID cases. EU.1.1 is an XBB sublineage related to the XBB.1.5 variant that currently accounts for an estimated 27% of COVID cases in the country. So how worrisome is this variant? Experts […]
Genetic Risk Score Predicts Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy
With new genetic variants identified for preeclampsia and gestational hypertension, researchers created polygenic risk scores (PRS) that may better identify candidates for prophylactic low-dose aspirin among pregnant mothers. There were 18 independent genetic loci significantly associated with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs) — 12 of them new (i.e., MTHFR-CLCN6, WNT3A, NPR3, PGR, and RGL3) — […]
Why the Now-Dominant BQ COVID Strains Are Cause for Concern
The latest circulating COVID-19 variants have shown greater immune escape, which will likely lead to increasing cases over the coming months, experts said. New Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 together now make up more than half of all COVID cases in the U.S. (30.9% and 31.9%, respectively), according to the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, representing […]
Blood Type Tied to Early-Onset Stroke Risk
Two variants in ABO, a known stroke locus, were linked with early-onset ischemic stroke risk, a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) showed. The variants tagged blood type subgroups O1 and A1, and effect sizes were significantly larger in early-onset (under age 60) than late-onset stroke, reported Braxton Mitchell, PhD, MPH, of University of Maryland […]
CDC: Handful of Swine Flu Cases Detected in Humans in Multiple States
Five cases of human infection with flu variants normally spread only in pigs were reported to CDC in August, the agency announced in a Health Alert Network advisory on Tuesday. Cases were detected in West Virginia, Oregon, and Ohio, and all of the individuals have since recovered. According to the CDC, four of the infections […]
CDC: Two Distinct Monkeypox Strains Detected in U.S.
Gene sequencing efforts suggest that two different monkeypox variants are spreading in the U.S., raising the possibility that the virus has been circulating longer than experts initially thought, CDC officials said on Friday. Currently, there have been 20 monkeypox cases identified in 11 U.S. states, all in adults, Jennifer McQuiston, DVM, deputy director of CDC’s […]
Opinion | Our Lab Testing Capacity Is Getting Dangerously Low
Continued mutations in SARS-CoV-2 mean new and emerging variants, a sign that COVID-19 isn’t going away anytime soon, despite a relaxing of public health measures around the country. And due to the increased availability of at-home antigen-based testing, published case counts are likely being underreported by public health officials, making a COVID-19 resurgence more difficult […]
Omicron Resists Pfizer Vaccine But Causes Less Severe Disease: Study
Latest Coronavirus News TUESDAY, Dec. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) Compared to previous coronavirus variants, Omicron appears to cause less severe illness, but is more resistant to the Pfizer vaccine, researchers at South Africa’s largest health insurer report. The team at Discovery Health analyzed 211,000 positive coronavirus cases during the country’s fourth wave, including […]
Time for Targeted PSA Screening for Men With Rare Pathogenic Variants?
Men with certain pathogenic variants had a higher incidence of prostate cancer versus age-matched controls, and may be candidates for targeted prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening, according to findings from the IMPACT trial. In the international, prospective study, men with confirmed pathogenic variants in mismatch repair (MMR) genes who underwent one screening round had a higher […]