Originally Posted by Bwana:
Once again, don't come in this thread with some kind of political agenda, or you will be shown the door. If you want to go that route, there is a thread about this in DC.
Originally Posted by Dartgod:
People, there is a lot of good information in this thread, let's try to keep the petty bickering to a minimum.
We all have varying opinions about the impact of this, the numbers, etc. We will all never agree with each other. But we can all keep it civil.
Thanks!
Click here for the original OP:
Spoiler!
Apparently the CoronaVirus can survive on a inanimate objects, such as door knobs, for 9 days.
California coronavirus case could be first spread within U.S. community, CDC says
By SOUMYA KARLAMANGLA, JACLYN COSGROVE
FEB. 26, 2020 8:04 PM
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating what could be the first case of novel coronavirus in the United States involving a patient in California who neither recently traveled out of the country nor was in contact with someone who did.
“At this time, the patient’s exposure is unknown. It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States,” the CDC said in a statement. “Community spread means spread of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown. It’s also possible, however, that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected.”
The individual is a resident of Solano County and is receiving medical care in Sacramento County, according to the state Department of Public Health.
The CDC said the “case was detected through the U.S. public health system — picked up by astute clinicians.”
Officials at UC Davis Medical Center expanded on what the federal agency might have meant by that in an email sent Wednesday, as reported by the Davis Enterprise newspaper.
The patient arrived at UC Davis Medical Center from another hospital Feb. 19 and “had already been intubated, was on a ventilator, and given droplet protection orders because of an undiagnosed and suspected viral condition,” according to an email sent by UC Davis officials that was obtained by the Davis Enterprise.
The staff at UC Davis requested COVID-19 testing by the CDC, but because the patient didn’t fit the CDC’s existing criteria for the virus, a test wasn’t immediately administered, according to the email. The CDC then ordered the test Sunday, and results were announced Wednesday. Hospital administrators reportedly said in the email that despite these issues, there has been minimal exposure at the hospital because of safety protocols they have in place.
A UC Davis Health spokesperson declined Wednesday evening to share the email with The Times.
Since Feb. 2, more than 8,400 returning travelers from China have entered California, according to the state health department. They have been advised to self-quarantine for 14 days and limit interactions with others as much as possible, officials said.
“This is a new virus, and while we are still learning about it, there is a lot we already know,” Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “We have been anticipating the potential for such a case in the U.S., and given our close familial, social and business relationships with China, it is not unexpected that the first case in the U.S. would be in California.”
It is not clear how the person became infected, but public health workers could not identify any contacts with people who had traveled to China or other areas where the virus is widespread. That raises concern that the virus is spreading in the United States, creating a challenge for public health officials, experts say.
“It’s the first signal that we could be having silent transmission in the community,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. “It probably means there are many more cases out there, and it probably means this individual has infected others, and now it’s a race to try to find out who that person has infected.”
On Tuesday, the CDC offered its most serious warning to date that the United States should expect and prepare for the coronavirus to become a more widespread health issue.
“Ultimately, we expect we will see coronavirus spread in this country,” said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “It’s not so much a question of if, but a question of when.”
According to the CDC’s latest count Wednesday morning, 59 U.S. residents have tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus — 42 of whom are repatriated citizens from a Diamond Princess cruise. That number has grown by two since Messonnier’s last count Tuesday, although the CDC was not immediately available to offer details on the additional cases.
More than 82,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported globally, and more than 2,700 people have died, with the majority in mainland China, the epicenter of the outbreak.
But public health leaders have repeatedly reminded residents that the health risk from the novel coronavirus to the general public remains low.
“While COVID-19 has a high transmission rate, it has a low mortality rate,” the state Department of Public Health said in a statement Wednesday. “From the international data we have, of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, approximately 80% do not exhibit symptoms that would require hospitalization. There have been no confirmed deaths related to COVID-19 in the United States to date.”
CDC officials have also warned that although the virus is likely to spread in U.S. communities, the flu still poses a greater risk.
Gostin said the news of potential silent transmission does not eliminate the possibility of containing the virus in the U.S. and preventing an outbreak.
“There are few enough cases that we should at least try,” he said. “Most of us are not optimistic that that will be successful, but we’re still in the position to try.”
I don't disagree, but the number of compounds with in vitro efficacy that never pan out is huge. This does have the advantage of being a pretty safe and affordable drug, but Ivermectin has some issues with solubility and cytotoxicity, so it may need a new delivery system. [Reply]
Originally Posted by farmerchief:
Hmm, we use ivermectin for worms and lice in cattle, I’ve got some in the cabinet. Hate to think about taking that stuff! Uggh
It is used for human deworming too. A topical version is used for rosacea. The brand name is Soolantra. [Reply]
If only we were like China. We could use threat of death to make people comply.
Some Walmarts and Targets are limiting how many people are allowed in at a time and people who have to wait outside will be in designated areas 6 feet apart from each other. Wild. This is in Jacksonville btw. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Setsuna:
If only we were like China. We could use threat of death to make people comply.
Some Walmarts and Targets are limiting how many people are allowed in at a time and people who have to wait outside will be in designated areas 6 feet apart from each other. Wild. This is in Jacksonville btw.
Grocery stores in Texas have been doing this for about 2 weeks, so no surprise the big box stores are now doing it.
Biggest problem is shoppers that like to wander around vs. going in and getting what they need and getting out [Reply]
Originally Posted by Setsuna:
If only we were like China. We could use threat of death to make people comply.
Some Walmarts and Targets are limiting how many people are allowed in at a time and people who have to wait outside will be in designated areas 6 feet apart from each other. Wild. This is in Jacksonville btw.
This has been going on all over the country for several weeks.
Florida should have been among the first to join in these practices, not among the last. [Reply]
Okay, buckle up, cause this is going to be a long, somewhat speculative ride:
The main regulatory pathway in our body that controls BP is called RAAS (renin angiotensin aldosterone system). Renin is secreted by the kidneys and it converts angiotensinogen to angiotensin. Angiotensin is coverted by angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) to angiotensin II. Angiotensin II increases vasopressin production, vasoconstriction of arterial and venuous smooth muscle, and aldosterone secretion. All of these lead to an increase in BP.
Now, as a positive feedback loop would lead to runaway BP escalation and stroke, MI, or hemorrhage, it is necessary that our bodies have regulatory systems to counteract these changes. One of those enzymes is ACEII. It converts angiotensin II into angiotensin 1-7 and 1-9, both of which have cardioprotective and BP lowering effects and (IIRC) a reduction in inflammatory processes.
While I know that this drug is designed to modulate the ACE2 system, I haven't come across information stating exactly how it does it. I would assume that it operates as a partial/full agonist of ACE2. If that is the case, then you could in effect occupy those receptors, but only if it exhibits competitive agonism with some degree of being irreversible.
The benefits would be this: imagine the cell receptor like a USB port. In this case, the USB port is the ACE2 receptor. APN01 fits in and it has a copy of Malware Bytes installed. The virus also fits, but it's loaded with malware. If you occupy all of the USB ports with the APN01, the virus would have nowhere to go (assuming it only has one attachment site). If you occupy enough of the ports, the virus may not have enough to establish a foothold. If you occupy some of the ports and the cellular pathway initiated by the agonism of ACE2 results in anti-inflammatory processes being ramped up, you can mitigate the deleterious effects of the virus (ARDS, etc.).
At this point, I know very little about the drug, but I would have a few questions:
1) What is your delivery system? You can't give proteins orally in almost all cases due to massive degradation in the GI tract due to pH and proteases.
2) How scalable is this? Could this be done with nanoparticles (lipid, gold, liposomes)? Biologics are extremely difficult to produce in large quantity.
3) What is its prior efficacy? It looks like it has been previously used for pulmonary arterial hypertension. I'm not sure where it stalled exactly (Phase III, perhaps?), but if it's not activating ACE2 enough to exhibit BP lowering effects, is it going to be able to do enough to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 entry or reduce the inflammatory processes? Maybe we're lucky and it's like Viagra, another failed BP med whose MOA led to other positive effects.
It's an interesting concept, but much is unknown. [Reply]
Some of models (including IHME model that White House watches) are showing some signs of slowing, including New York, New England. Places that are still very worrisome: Detroit, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami. Georgia and Texas need close watching coming days. #StopTheSpreadpic.twitter.com/SFxRHFIw2g
— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) April 3, 2020
Some of models (including IHME model that White House watches) are showing some signs of slowing, including New York, New England. Places that are still very worrisome: Detroit, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami. Georgia and Texas need close watching coming days. #StopTheSpreadpic.twitter.com/SFxRHFIw2g
— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) April 3, 2020
An Illinois official sped on a highway to get to a meet-up in a McDonald's parking lot, where she handed off a $3.4 MILLION CHECK to buy N95 masks from China with 20 minutes to spare, beating other bidders. https://t.co/267fo2kpUA
An Illinois official sped on a highway to get to a meet-up in a McDonald's parking lot, where she handed off a $3.4 MILLION CHECK to buy N95 masks from China with 20 minutes to spare, beating other bidders. https://t.co/267fo2kpUA
