Coronavirus

A 45-year-old woman in Kolkata has been diagnosed with human coronavirus HKU1 on Monday. The woman has been suffering from persistent fever, cough, and cold for the past 15 days. She is presently being treated at a private hospital in South Kolkata and her condition is stable for now. According to hospital authorities, it is an isolated…

A NEWLY discovered bat coronavirus found in China has raised pandemic fears, experts warn. Named HKU5-CoV-2, the virus was identified by scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which has been at the centre of the theory that Covid-19 leaked from a lab. Research published in Cell journal revealed the bug can enter cells using human ACE2…

Scientists in China have reported that they have identified a new coronavirus—HKU5-CoV-2—in bats, capable of infecting human cells through a mechanism similar to SARS-CoV-2 that triggered the Covid-19 pandemic five years ago. The discovery, reported in the journal Cell last week, has since triggered worries across the world. The latest findings have been reported by a team…

The world is holding its breath as unconfirmed reports suggest a mystery disease is ravaging China leading to overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums – but the nation is trying to downplay fears. China has long been identified as the source of the Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) virus which went on to spark a global pandemic after the first human patients…

The Union Health Ministry on Saturday convened a Joint Monitoring Group Meeting in view of rising cases of respiratory illnesses in China in the past few weeks. In an official release, the Ministry said it was closely monitoring the situation through all available options in China and has also asked the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide…

The world is holding its breath as unconfirmed reports suggest a mystery disease is ravaging China leading to overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums – but the nation is trying to downplay fears. China has long been identified as the source of the Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) virus which went on to spark a global pandemic after the first human patients…

Videos that have emerged on social media appear to show hospitals in China overwhelmed by the outbreak of human metapneumovirus (HMPV). Social media posts suggest that multiple virus outbreaks in China have left hospitals and cemeteries overcrowded. Along with HMPV, these include influenza A, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Covid-19. The looming threat of another pandemic, five years after…

From meerkats to macaques, social animals tend to live longer, take more time to reach maturity, and have more extended reproductive periods than their more solitary counterparts, according to research from the University of Oxford. Living in social groups comes with clear tradeoffs. On one hand, social animals can share resources, protect each other from predators, and…

Inflammation persisting despite recovery from acute Covid infection is thought to lie at the heart of long Covid. Doctors in India are grappling to diagnose and treat unexplained and persistent symptoms of long Covid patients due to limited guidelines, whereas researchers have flagged inadequate studies on the condition. With the World Health Organization declaring an end to…

Some reports and social media users have raised concerns over the new COVID variant – but what are official health authorities saying? The new COVID variant XEC has been found by UK health experts as they prepare for winter, when cases tend to increase. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has highlighted a slight increase in hospitalisations…