COVID SCIENCE-Coronavirus may have reached U.S. last December; some cancer therapies may prolong infectiousness – Reuters

Dec 2 (Reuters) - The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

New coronavirus may have reached the U.S. last December

The new coronavirus may have been circulating in the United States last December, well before the first COVID-19 case was diagnosed on Jan. 19, a new analysis of donated blood reveals. Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked for COVID-19 antibodies in archived samples of blood donations collected by the American Red Cross from Dec. 13, 2019 to Jan. 17 from non-identifiable donors in nine states (California, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin). Of the 7,389 blood donors, 106 had antibodies specific to the new virus. There were samples found with COVID-19 antibodies from all nine states, according to a report of the study published on Tuesday in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The findings suggest the virus may have been present in western states as early as Dec. 13 and in eastern states as early as Dec. 30, according to a press statement from Dr. Susan Stramer, vice president of Scientific Affairs at the American Red Cross. It is not possible from these findings to determine whether these potential early COVID-19 infections were due to community spread or were travel related, she said. (bit.ly/33C401l)

Some cancer therapies may prolong COVID-19 infectiousness

COVID-19 patients who received cancer treatments that suppress their immune system may remain contagious and able to spread the coronavirus for two months or more, according to a study published on Tuesday in The New England Journal of Medicine. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommends that COVID-19 patients with compromised immune systems be isolated for up to 20 days after symptoms appear. In the new study, researchers analyzed sputum and swab samples from 20 immunosuppressed cancer patients infected with the new coronavirus. They found that three were contagious for more than three weeks after their symptoms began, including one who remained contagious for 61 days. The three patients had received either a stem-cell transplant or therapy with genetically engineered immune cells called CAR T-cells within the previous six months. Current public health recommendations for COVID-19 patients with weak immune systems are based on limited data and may need to be revised, the researchers said. While only a small proportion of cancer patients with COVID-19 are likely to remain contagious for prolonged periods, "it's a residual risk that we need to address," said coauthor Mini Kamboj from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. "We need to keep an open mind about how (much) longer immunocompromised patients could pose an infection risk to others." (bit.ly/3lsx6Gv)

Lingering pain after COVID-19 may be nerve injuries

Patients with lingering pain after COVID-19 may have nerve injuries, according to a report published on Tuesday in Radiology. The researchers said lingering pain in COVID-19 survivors can be due to nerve dysfunction caused by the virus itself or it may be a side effect of treatment received in the hospital. These could include nerve issues arising from being positioned in a way that helped the lungs recover but put pressure on other body parts, or from pressure on a nerve from blood that pooled after blood clot prevention. High-tech imaging methods like magnetic resonance and ultra high-resolution ultrasound can help identify the location and extent of nerve damage, the researchers found when they reviewed earlier study reports. "Clinicians should (suspect nerve injury) in COVID patients who are left with chronic pain and weakness, particularly since early diagnosis and appropriate treatment is crucial to prevent irreversible damage," coauthor Dr. Swati Deshmukh of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois told Reuters. During the pandemic, Deshmukh added, when patients come in with unexplained new nerve and muscle symptoms, doctors should consider testing them for COVID-19. (bit.ly/37tP2LS)

Open tmsnrt.rs/3a5EyDh in an external browser for a Reuters graphic on vaccines and treatments in development.

Reporting by Nancy Lapid, Marilynn Larkin, and Manas Mishra; Editing by Bill Berkrot

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COVID SCIENCE-Coronavirus may have reached U.S. last December; some cancer therapies may prolong infectiousness - Reuters