The COVID wastewater ranges proceed to spike after the vacations as a brand new variant shortly spreads, whereas native researchers have discovered {that a} nasal spray would possibly defend in opposition to COVID an infection.
The Boston-area COVID wastewater information has surged to its highest ranges in two years, when the omicron variant had taken over.
Now, the JN.1 variant is the dominant pressure circulating throughout the area, resulting in increased COVID case counts as mirrored within the virus wastewater information.
The south-of-Boston COVID wastewater weekly common just lately spiked to 2,583 copies per milliliter, which was double from mid-December. The north-of-Boston common had gone as much as 2,743 copies per milliliter — triple from mid-December.
These virus wastewater ranges are the very best they’ve been since January of 2022 amid the omicron surge. That’s when the wastewater information hit their highest ever ranges, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported record-high case counts.
The JN.1 variant now accounts for 62% of variants, a soar from 44% in a earlier weekly report from the CDC.
Meanwhile, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in a brand new examine found a novel compound that protects in opposition to an infection by the virus that causes COVID.
If the compound is efficient as a nasal spray in a human medical trial, it might be the premise for a brand new drug to stop or deal with COVID — a attainable gamechanger, particularly for folks with weakened immune techniques.
“This approach has the potential to fill an important gap in our arsenal against COVID-19 and other viruses that cause severe respiratory and hemorrhagic diseases,” mentioned Loren Walensky, doctor and principal investigator of the Linde Program in Cancer Chemical Biology at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.
“Imagine being able to protect yourself from COVID-19 or other disruptive respiratory viruses with a simple nasal spray that you could use to avoid infection at a large gathering or after exposure to a close contact who turns out to test positive for SARS-CoV-2,” Walensky added. “That is the promise this work holds, not only for otherwise healthy individuals, but especially for immunocompromised patients who remain most at risk of severe infection.”
The compounds, referred to as stapled lipopeptides, efficiently deterred an infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and decreased the severity of COVID in exams with hamsters.
The researchers have now launched a human medical trial to take a look at the compound’s effectiveness as a nasal spray in people.
Because such compounds foil a mechanism utilized by many sorts of viruses to enter and infect cells, stapled lipopeptides might also be efficient in opposition to harmful and doubtlessly lethal viruses reminiscent of RSV and Ebola.
“Although vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and small molecule drugs have played a crucial role in protecting people from life-threatening COVID-19 infection, there remains a critical gap in the treatment arsenal,” Walensky mentioned.
“The constant evolution of the virus and the emergence of new variants has markedly decreased the effectiveness of immune-based approaches, requiring periodic reformulation of vaccines,” Walensky added. “What has been missing are fast-acting, easy-to-administer, and resistance-proof agents that can be used before or after exposure to the virus to directly prevent infection or reduce symptoms. Our study is an encouraging indication that stapled lipopeptides offer that potential.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”