COVID-19 Roundup: MIS in Adult Patients, Paper Test
MIS in Adults
The CDC has identified symptoms similar to those seen in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) among adult patients infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Since June 2020, cases involving symptoms of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adult patients (MIS-A) have been reported. CDC included in their review 9 cases reported directly to CDC, 7 published cases, and 11 patients described in 3 case series published in peer-reviewed journals.
“These 27 patients had cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, dermatologic, and neurologic symptoms without severe respiratory illness and concurrently received positive test results for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, by polymerase chain reaction or antibody assays indicating recent infection,” CDC wrote.
“Further research is needed to understand the pathogenesis and long-term effects of this newly described condition. Ultimately, the recognition of MIS-A reinforces the need for prevention efforts to limit spread of SARS-CoV-2.”
Paper COVID-19 Test
A team of researchers from the CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in Delhi, India, have created an inexpensive test for COVID-19 made of paper that could work with similar speed to a pregnancy test.
The test uses Crispr technology is estimated to cost roughly $6.75 and could produce results within 1 hour, the researchers said. Following testing on roughly 2000 patients, the researchers reported a sensitivity and specificity of 96% and 98%, respectively.
COVID-19 Updates from CDC
As of October 2, 2020, the CDC has received reports of a total of 53,644,944specimens tested for SARS-CoV-2, of which, 4,292,225 (8.0%) were positive.
Levels of influenza-like illness (ILI) are typical for this time of year. Levels of COVID-19-like illness have decreased since the previous week, although 3 regions have reported increases in the percentage of positive specimens.
Overall, the cumulative COVID-19-associated hospitalization rate is 178.2 per 100,000, with the highest rates in individuals aged 65 years and older (481.5 per 100,000) and 50–64 years (266.3 per 100,000).
Percentages of deaths attributed to pneumonia, influenza, or COVID-19 is 6.4% for week 39, which is lower than the 9.5% seen the week before.
—Michael Potts
References:
- Morris SB, Schwartz NG, Patel P, et al. Case series of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults associated with SARS-CoV-2 Infection — United Kingdom and United States, March–August 2020. Published October 2, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6940e1
- India's new paper Covid-19 test could be a ‘game changer.’ BBC News. October 4, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-54338864
- COVIDView: a weekly surveillance summary of US COVID-19 Activity. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html.