Corona-zona

A recent article in the New York Times details problems one pharma company is having getting approval for a new post-infection COVID-19 treatment. This post is your TL;DR for that article. Existing monoclonal antibody treatments have lost effectiveness due to new variants, and the only option for universal treatment at this point is Paxlovid. However, Paxlovid has worrisome interactions with other drugs, meaning some people can't take it. A company called Eiger Biopharmaceuticals developed and requested emergency use authorization from the FDA for a drug called  pegylated interferon lambda. Interferons are proteins that signal to your immune system that there is an invader that needs to be eliminated.   Interferon drugs are tricky because they signal your immune system to attack, and most kinds have receptors throughout the body. However, the company found a type of interferon whose receptors are specific to the respiratory tract. This means the drug could be usefu...

  SARS-CoV-2 is a nasty bug. As we know, it can cause serious illness and death. But we also know a certain percentage of cases—about 7.5% according to the CDC —turn into "long COVID" where symptoms can persist for weeks, months, or even years. In July I blogged about research on places where the virus can hang out after acute symptoms subside. The leading candidate is the gut, with people shedding viral DNA in their feces months after the initial infection. Today I read a study published earlier this fall that looked at SARS-CoV-2's ability to reactivate viruses laying dormant in our systems. They looked at people who had lingering fatigue from myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). In the saliva of these people they found evidence of reactivation of herpesviruses 1-6 (HSV1, HSV2, VZV, EBV, CMV, HHV6), and human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K). This happened 3-6 months after a COVID-19 illness, even after mild/asymptomatic cases.  The researchers...

I know this is a coronavirus pandemic blog, so this us slightly off topic. But I thought readers might like to know that the first monkeypox case has been detected in Arizona here in Maricopa County. Y'know, in case you're feeling like you don't have enough to worry about these days. Some public health people are concerned about this and I'm not too sure why.  According to the CDC : Monkeypox spreads between people primarily through direct contact with infectious sores, scabs, or body fluids. It also can be spread by respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact. Monkeypox can spread during intimate contact between people, including during sex, as well as activities like kissing, cuddling, or touching parts of the body with monkeypox sores. At this time, it is not known if monkeypox can spread through semen or vaginal fluids. So it sounds hard to pick up without pretty direct contact with an infected person. Also said persons have the rash, so you can a...