COVID-19 Pathology This paper from France (2024-08-02) reported that they found SARS-CoV-2 in semen. They got positive tests from 11% of subjects who’d had mild COVID-19 infections. In one man’s semen, they were able to find replication-competent virus (i.e. it wasn’t just virus RNA fragments) after 90 days! Transmission This preprint from USA (2024-07-31) (also… Continue reading 2024-08-03 General
Category: Transmission
2024-07-30 General
COVID-19 Long COVID This paper from Italy (2024-07-15) reports that children with Long COVID have elevated levels of P-selectin compared to controls. P-selectin is a protein in cells which call other players in the immune system to help counter an infection. This preprint from USA (2024-07-25) reports that they can tell Irritable Bowel Syndrome from… Continue reading 2024-07-30 General
2024-07-14 General/BC
COVID-19 Personal Recommendation Y’know how I sung the praises of the Readimask a few weeks ago? I need to admit that I’ve had some trouble with a gap forming under my chin, especially in hot (i.e. sweaty) weather. I still like the Readimasks, and have fixed the problem for me with a piece of medical… Continue reading 2024-07-14 General/BC
2024-06-19 General
Unsolicited Product Recommendation I realized that I forgot to gush about the Readimasks fully in the last General post. They are a little expensive. HOWEVER, they gave a great seal (though see below) and were EXTREMELY comfortable. I do not have dangerously sensitive skin — I don’t go into anaphylactic shock when I touch latex… Continue reading 2024-06-19 General
2024-06-15 General
COVID-19 The blog has been on hiatus for three weeks and I am feeling overwhelmed. I hope to put out several General postings this week to chip away at the backlog. Personal Story The reason for the hiatus was that I went on vacation to the East Coast of the US for three weeks. This… Continue reading 2024-06-15 General
2024-05-17 General
COVID Long COVID This article from Poland (2024-05-08) reports on a conference presentation which found that people with Long COVID have much lower immunoglobulin gamma antibodies against the nucleocapsid. They theorize that could mean the virus (or viral components) could hang around longer in the body. This paper from Italy (2024-05-07) found that children with… Continue reading 2024-05-17 General
2024-05-10 General
COVID-19 Long COVID This press release from USA (2024-05-08) says that they are starting two programs with two trials each: Me, I would like to see more drug trials and fewer physio&hope trials. >:-( This paper from UK (2024-04-30) found that the percentage of kids who got Long COVID went up after Omicron. Pre-Omicron, 12%-16%… Continue reading 2024-05-10 General
2024-05-04 General
I’m going to split blog postings into COVID-19 sections and H5N1 sections for now. I might someday split them into separate postings. Psychology Many years ago, I heard this George Carlin joke: “Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?” It… Continue reading 2024-05-04 General
2024-04-26 General
This article reports that BC’s Ministry of Health will switch to monthly COVID reports after the May 2 update. I will obviously cut back on BC posts in the summer; I haven’t decided how much I will cut back on the General posts. H5N1 H5N1 is starting to hit the news, and I will post… Continue reading 2024-04-26 General
2024-04-19 General
Pathology Why do kids and old people have such different reactions to COVID-19? This paper from UK (2024-04-15) says that kid and adult epithelial cells (which line mucous membranes) are different. In particular, cells in elderly people had more of the receptors which SARS-CoV-2 uses to get into the cells, and kids’ cells generated more… Continue reading 2024-04-19 General