Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Humans Lose Out To AI In Quickly Identifying An Outbreak, But What We Lack In Speed We Make Up For With Finesse
The Associated Press: Can AI Flag Disease Outbreaks Faster Than Humans? Not Quite
Did an artificial-intelligence system beat human doctors in warning the world of a severe coronavirus outbreak in China? In a narrow sense, yes. But what the humans lacked in sheer speed, they more than made up in finesse. Early warnings of disease outbreaks can help people and governments save lives. In the final days of 2019, an AI system in Boston sent out the first global alert about a new viral outbreak in China. (O'Brien and Larson, 2/20)
NPR: Hunt For New Coronavirus Treatments Includes Gene-Silencing And Monoclonal Antibodies
Viral infections can be very hard to treat. Just ask anyone who has a bad case of the flu. But that's not deterring research groups around the world from looking for an effective therapy against the new coronavirus, although they know it won't be easy. "Every virus is sort of like a dysfunctional family," says Dr. Mark Denison, a virologist at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. "They're dysfunctional in their own unique ways." (Palca, 2/19)
The Washington Post: How The New Coronavirus Can Kill People Or Sicken Them
No one knows exactly how or why the novel coronavirus leads to death in just a small percentage of patients — about 2 percent of those infected, according to preliminary numbers. Based on what we know about related illnesses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), experts hypothesize that the difference between a lethal infection and one that feels like a bad cold probably hinges on the interaction between the virus and a person’s immune system. (Johnson, 2/19)
WBUR: What's A 'Super-Spreading Event'? And Has It Happened With COVID-19?
Some have described this cluster as a "super-spreading event" — in which an individual infects an unusually high number of people. Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO's executive director for health emergencies, said last week that it's way "too early" to call it that — and that officials believe they caught the situation before it ignited a chain that could have spread COVID-19 throughout Europe.WHO doesn't want to use the term "super-spreader" because it stigmatizes individuals. (Huang, 2/19)
Reuters: Speed Science: The Risks Of Swiftly Spreading Coronavirus Research
One scientific post suggests links between the new coronavirus and AIDS, a second says it may have passed to people via snakes, while a third claims it is a pathogen from outer space. The emergence in China of a new human coronavirus that is causing an epidemic of flu-like disease has sparked a parallel viral spread: science – ranging from robust to rogue - is being conducted, posted and shared at an unprecedented rate. (Kelland, 2/19)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: Tulane Researchers Trying To Develop Coronavirus Vaccine At Primate Center
Researchers from the Tulane National Primate Research Center are entering the race to develop a vaccine and treatment for coronavirus, the center announced Wednesday.The center's director, Jay Rappaport, said the north shore research facility that's home to several thousand monkeys is well-positioned to find a vaccine for the fast-spreading virus that originated in Wuhan, a city of 11 million in China's Hubei province. (Woodruff, 2/19)
CNN: No US Coronavirus Cases Were Caught By Airport Temperature Checks. Here's What Has Worked
One of the enduring images of the current coronavirus outbreak is a space-age looking thermometer pointed at an airplane passenger. Eleven airports in the United States are using these temperature checks as part of expanded screening for novel coronavirus, and those measures might seem reassuring. If someone doesn't have a fever, it seems like they're fine -- right? Not so fast. (Cohen and Bonifield, 2/20)
Reuters: China Lab Says Conspiracy Theories Hurting Efforts To Curb Virus
An outbreak of disinformation in China and elsewhere has hurt global efforts to combat the new coronavirus, said a specialist infectious disease lab located at the epicenter of the epidemic -- and at the heart of a number of conspiracy theories. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the state-backed Wuhan Institute of Virology said "internet rumors" had "received close attention from all walks of life" and "caused great harm to our research staff on the front line of scientific research." (Stanway, 2/20)
