Joanna Schellenberg
Joanna Schellenberg is professor of epidemiology and international health at LSHTM
Location Currently in France
Activity
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This is an active area of research and this article describes the methodology behind one of these datasets- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-020-0448-0.pdf . Collecting data during an outbreak is challenging and this process is particularly complex for CoVID-19 due to variations in testing strategies and case definitions between countries.
With...
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It is difficult to estimate how quickly the virus spread as there is variation in how countries are testing for SARS-CoV2. Some countries have estabilshed intrastructure for testing at a community level while other countries have prioritised testing for hospitalised individuals. This makes it difficult to accurately estimate the speed of viral transmission...
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If you are coughing/sneezing, the best advice is to stay at home, away from people who you could potentially spread the infection to. Where that is not possible, it is advised to cough into your elbow instead of your hand as in most cultures, we use our hands more than our elbows so there is a higher chance of spreading a pathogen using your hands than your...
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37.3 was the cut-off point used by Chinese authorities. 37.8 is based on NHS guidance - https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/infections-and-poisoning/fever-in-adults. The low threshold of 37.3 was likely due to China using a case definition that prioritised sensitivity over specificity. These epidemiological concepts will be explained later on...
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There has been very recent research on this topic. One paper in the New England Journal of Medicine - https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2004973 - reports that in artificial aerosols live virus was still detectable in the air after several hours. This sort of aerosol might be produced from some hospital procedures.
Importantly, in a separate study...
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According to the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, "there is currently no strong evidence that ibuprofen can make coronavirus (COVID-19) worse" but research is ongoing so they also advise that "patients who have confirmed COVID-19, or believe they have COVID-19, should take paracetamol in preference to ibuprofen."