Monocle 24’s Tyler Brûlé is joined by Benno Zogg and Juliet Linley for a look at how the global press is covering the pandemic and whether the tone of the discussion needs a rethink. Plus: Andrew Mueller’s look at what we learnt this week.
Category Archives: Health
Hospitals & Coronavirus: Emergency Room Doctor Discusses Preparing For Cases In Miami Area (NEJM)
NEJM talks with Dr. Julian Flores, who works in a Broward County, Florida, emergency room.
When he was interviewed, the count of Covid-19 cases stood at 412, less than 12 hours later, the new number was 505. He’s expecting the wave to hit hard there. Broward is home to Fort Lauderdale (think spring break) and Pompano Beach (think aging retirees). Couple those demographics with a lack of easy testing for the virus, and you’ve got a worrisome situation.
Health: Scripps Research “DETECT” Wearable APP Study – A Viral Illness Early Warning System
When your heart beats faster than usual, it can mean that you’re coming down with a cold, flu, coronavirus, or other viral infection. That’s the conclusion of recent medical research.
So wearable devices that measure your resting heart rate—made by Apple, Fitbit, Garmin, and others—might help scientists spot viral outbreaks, and also give you more insight into your own health.
Scripps Research designed DETECT (Digital Engagement & Tracking for Early Control & Treatment), a study that will monitor your heart rate and allow you to record symptoms like fever or coughing.
Science: Coronavirus Pandemic Update And Nonanimal Testing Methods (Podcast)
On this week’s show, host Joel Goldberg gets an update on the coronavirus pandemic from Senior Correspondent Jon Cohen. In addition, Cohen gives a rundown of his latest feature, which highlights the relationship between diseases and changing seasons—and how this relationship relates to a potential coronavirus vaccine.
Also this week, from a recording made at this year’s AAAS annual meeting in Seattle, host Meagan Cantwell speaks with Alexandra Maertens, director of the Green Toxicology initiative at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, about the importance of incorporating nonanimal testing methods to study the adverse effects of chemicals.
Health: Diseases Rise And Fall With The Seasons – Will Coronavirus? (Video)
Scientists and doctors have observed for thousands of years that some diseases, like polio and influenza, rise and fall with the seasons. But why? Ongoing research in animals and humans suggests a variety of causes, including changes in the environment (like pH, temperature, and humidity) and even seasonal and daily changes to our own immune systems. Figuring out those answers could one day make all the difference in minimizing the impact of infectious disease outbreaks—such as COVID-19.
Medical Care: Federal Efforts To End “Surprise Billing” (NEJM Podcast)
Though U.S. legislation targeting the problem of surprise medical bills advanced out of key congressional committees in 2019 with support from leaders in both parties, Congress ultimately failed to pass a law to end such bills.
Erin Fuse Brown is an associate professor of law at Georgia State University. Stephen Morrissey, the interviewer, is the Executive Managing Editor of the Journal.
Health Podcast: “Aging And The Immune System” (Mayo Clinic Radio)
On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Jessica Lancaster, a Mayo Clinic immunologist, discusses aging and the immune system. Some people are at higher risk of getting very sick from COVID-19 because of their age or underlying health conditions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Adults 60 and older and those with an underlying health condition or a compromised immune system appear to develop serious illness more often than others. This interview was recorded March 19, 2020.
Learn more about immune system research at Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayo.edu/research/centers…
Covid-19: Chloroquine + Azithromycin (Z-Pack) – “First Line” Treatment For Early Symptom Patients
Chloroquine was shown in 2004 to be active in vitro against SARS coronavirus but is of unproven efficacy and safety in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. The drug’s potential benefits and risks for COVID-19 patients, without and with azithromycin, is discussed by Dr. David Juurlink, head of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.
From Wall Street Journal article:
Our experience suggests that hydroxychloroquine, with or without a Z-Pak, should be a first-line treatment. Unfortunately, there is already a shortage of hydroxychloroquine. The federal government should immediately contract with generic manufacturers to ramp up production. Any stockpiles should be released.
As a matter of clinical practice, hydroxychloroquine should be given early to patients who test positive, and perhaps if Covid-19 is presumed—in the case of ill household contacts, for instance. It may be especially useful to treat mild cases and young patients, which would significantly decrease viral transmission and, as they say, “flatten the curve.”
Health: Disinfectants Fighting Coronavirus – “From Clinical Space To The Mainstream” (WSJ)
As many businesses around the world struggle, a Canadian disinfectant company is increasing production to keep up with demand during the novel coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Ron Kolumbus/WSJ
Health Lecture: “Sleep Medicine, Art & Literature” By Professor Meir Kryger
Sleep medicine, art and literature – ars longa, vita brevis. Organised by the Sleep Medicine Section 4 February 2020.
Professor Meir Kryger, Author and Professor, Yale School of Medicine – Sleep Disorders & Effective Treatments.
Lecture: Sleep in art: A 7000 year odyssey
Intellicurious 