Health

Most coronavirus infections are mild, says Chinese study

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — Most people infected by the new coronavirus in China have mild symptoms, with older patients and those with underlying conditions most at risk from the disease, according to a study by Chinese researchers. The disease has now killed nearly 1,900 people and infected more than 72,000 in China since it first emerged in the central city of Wuhan late last year. A paper published in the Chinese Journal of Epidemiology […]

UK team tests novel coronavirus vaccine on mice

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — A team of British scientists believe they have become the first to start animal testing of a vaccine for the new coronavirus that has killed more than 900 people. Researchers at Imperial College London said their ultimate goal was to have an effective and safe way of halting the SARS-like strain’s spread by the end of the year. “At the moment we have just put the vaccine that we’ve generated […]

Scientists race to develop vaccine for new coronavirus

  by Catherine Lai Agence France Presse SINGAPORE (AFP) — Scientists from the United States to Australia are using new technology in an ambitious, multi-million-dollar drive to develop a vaccine in record time to tackle China’s coronavirus outbreak. The new virus has spread rapidly since emerging late last year in China, killing more than 800 people in the mainland and infecting over 37,000. Cases have been reported in two dozen other countries. Coming up with […]

Pangolin Suspect #1 as direct source of coronavirus outbreak

  by Paul RICARD and Brigitte CASTELNAU Agence France Presse Chinese researchers investigating the animal origin of the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China said Friday the endangered pangolin may be the “missing link” between bats and humans, but other scientists said the search may not be over. An earlier study — since discredited — pointed to snakes, and there remain numerous candidate species in the Wuhan wildlife market thought to be ground zero of the […]

Massive genome study unlocks secrets of how cancers form

By Sara HUSSEIN Agence France-Presse Tokyo, Japan (AFP) — A massive, decade-long study sequencing the genomes of dozens of cancers has revealed the secrets of how tumors form and may pave the way for better and more targeted treatment. The Pan-Cancer Project brought together over 1,300 researchers globally to tackle the mammoth task of sequencing the genomes of 38 types of cancer in nearly 2,800 patients. Their work produced a host of new discoveries — from […]

HIV drugs touted as weapon in war on coronavirus

  BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — As doctors scramble to contain the fast-spreading coronavirus, a potent brew of anti-retroviral and flu drugs has emerged as a possible defence against the mysterious sickness that has killed hundreds. But the science is inconclusive on whether they are actually effective and experts say successful treatment could take years. Here is what we know — and don’t know — about the drugs deployed against the SARS-like virus. – Why anti-retrovirals? […]

Herbal remedies for the coronavirus spark debate in China

by Jing Xuan TENG BEIJING, China (AFP) — A claim by Chinese scientists that a liquid made with honeysuckle and flowering plants could help fight the deadly coronavirus has sparked frenzied buying of the traditional medicine, but doubts quickly emerged. As the death toll from the SARS-like pathogen sweeping the country continues to rise, shoppers have swamped pharmacies in search of “Shuanghuanglian”. The rush came after influential state media outlet Xinhua reported Friday that the […]

Coronavirus: What we know about first death outside China

MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The Philippines has reported the first death outside China in the virus epidemic that has killed more than 300 people and spread to 24 nations. The 44-year-old Chinese man who died in the Philippines was from Wuhan, the city that has been ground-zero for the epidemic. Here is what we know — and don’t know — about him: Where he visited The man and a 38-year-old Chinese woman also from Wuhan, […]

China’s health commission warns of “walking source of infection”- patients without fever but have nCoV

  (Eagle News) — People who have either no symptoms of the novel coronavirus or have not developed them yet seem to be able to spread the virus, according to China’s Director of the National Health Commission Ma Xiaowei. Based on new information and research on the latest coronavirus strain, the 2019-nCoV, Ma said that the spread of the epidemic is “relatively fast” and there are cases, even those from outside China, where patients have […]

The highly contagious novel coronavirus: How it is transmitted

  (Videographics showing how the new coronavirus can be transmitted. Courtesy Agence France Presse)   (Eagle News) — The 2019 novel coronavirus or 2019 nCOV can easily spread from human to human, and the transmission can be via “aerosol droplets in the air released by sneezing or coughing” or by touching a surface which has the virus.” In this videographics provided by Agence France Presse, it shows that the virus is “most contagious when there […]

Turn back time: how quitting smoking reverses lung cell damage

by Sara HUSSEIN TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Smokers can effectively turn back time in their lungs by kicking the habit, with healthy cells emerging to replace some of their tobacco-damaged and cancer-prone ones, a new study shows. Smokers have long been told their risk of developing diseases like lung cancer will fall if they can quit, and stopping smoking prevents new damage to the body. But a study published Thursday in the journal Nature found […]

CDC faces challenge of Coronavirus outbreak in US

  By Arlene Ocampo and Jessieca Bautista EBC Washington D.C.Bureau WASHINGTON, DC (Eagle News) – The latest and primary concern in the international and domestic medical world today is the rapid outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. From its origin in Wuhan, China, the virus, scientifically named 2019-nCoV, has spread to about 18 locations around the world including Europe and the United States. Most of those who have been infected were associated with travel from […]