Archive for disease surveillance
The new COVID-19 virus variant: What you need to know
You’ve probably seen news reports about B.1.1.7, a newly discovered version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Now found in several countries, including the U.S., B.1.1.7 is quickly spreading around the world. Although B.1.1.7 seems to be more contagious, it doesn’t appear to lead to more serious illness. What else do we know about ... Read More
Rising global temperatures tied to rising antibiotic resistance
A new data analysis suggests that two rising public health threats — climate change and antibiotic resistance — are related. The study, spanning 2000 to 2016, doesn’t establish cause and effect. But its findings, in the journal Eurosurveillance, suggest that rising global temperatures could be helping to fuel increases in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Key takeaway Countries ... Read More
A global view of rheumatic disease during COVID-19
COVID-19 is bringing new challenges to many people with underlying rheumatic disease who already are immunocompromised by the very nature of their illnesses or the medications used to treat them. To help manage those uncertainties in the current climate, Boston Children’s Hospital is participating in two surveys: one collecting information from rheumatologists, the other directly ... Read More
Internet searches provide real-time estimate of Lyme disease risk
Lyme disease season is well underway. How much of a risk do we face for this tick-borne illness? A new method dubbed Lymelight, developed by researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital and Google, can accurately estimate Lyme disease risk in real time, down to the county level. Historically, estimates of Lyme disease have been based on ... Read More
More details on MIS-C, the post-COVID multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children
Boston Children’s Hospital and collaborators launched the national Overcoming COVID-19 study in April to track children, teens, and young adults hospitalized with COVID-19 across the U.S. In yesterday’s New England Journal of Medicine, investigators provides a fuller picture of the still-mysterious, life-threatening multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Key takeaways· The largest case series of ... Read More
Disparities in travel time to COVID-19 testing sites may bias case estimates
As the U.S. economy begins to reopen after two months of lockdown, states and counties are using local data on COVID-19 incidence to inform their plans. But a new analysis highlights an inconvenient truth. Geographic access to COVID-19 testing sites is as uneven as access to health care overall, meaning that local estimates of COVID-19 ... Read More
A snapshot of COVID-19 in children admitted to the PICU
Experts have recently warned of cases of serious inflammatory illness in children possibly related to COVID-19. But a report in JAMA Pediatrics this week reinforces the fact that serious complications have been rare in children with the new coronavirus, especially if they have no underlying health conditions. The new study represents the first cross-sectional, multi-hospital ... Read More
COVID-19 and a serious inflammatory syndrome in children: Unpacking recent warnings
On April 27, an alert circulated from the U.K. about multi-system inflammatory disease in children with COVID-19, based on a small rise in the number of critically ill children with this illness in England. Picked up by multiple media outlets, the alert cited features of toxic shock syndrome and incomplete Kawasaki disease, with some children ... Read More
Mobile ‘location’ data could help guide COVID-19 social distancing measures
How well are quarantines and social distancing working to slow the COVID-19 pandemic? When is it safe for us to return to school or work? The answers could lie, in part, in the “location” data that companies like Google collect from us every day. Last week, a group of epidemiologists, public health experts, and data ... Read More
COVID-19 and children: Understanding the science
As information on COVID-19 pours in from all kinds of sources, not all of them reliable, we wanted to bring you the facts about how children and teens appear to be responding to the infection. In recent weeks, several highly respected medical journals have published studies and commentaries based on observations in children and teens ... Read More