Mostly Microbes and Infection

  The word ‘endemic’ has become one of the most misused of the pandemic. Many of the errant assumptions made encourage a misplaced complacency. A disease (e.g. malaria ) can be endemic as well as widespread & deadly.

Study reports 4 factors present early during coronavirus infection that correlate with increased risk of having Long Covid weeks later. 1. Levels of coronavirus RNA 2. Presence of autoantibodies 3. Reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus 4. Type 2 diabetes

Long-COVID symptoms less likely in vaccinated people, Israeli data say. People who have had both SARSCoV2 coronavirus infection & doses of Pfizer vaccine were much less likely to report Long Covid symptoms than people who were unvaccinated when infected.

A study found that 13 of Omicron 's mutations were rarely if ever found in other coronaviruses, suggesting they should have been harmful to Omicron's ability to infect. Instead, when acting in concert, the mutations work together to improve infectivity.

A tarantula-killing parasite is named for actor Jeff Daniels. Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi kills tarantulas, like Daniels did in the 1990 cult classic Arachnophobia. It is just one of >25,000 species of nematodes that have been discovered & named.

Study found that compost & compost-enriched soils contain high concentrations of Aspergillus fumigatus spores. Study "suggests that handling compost presents a public health risk when individuals are exposed to large numbers of aerosolized spores."

Amending long-established processes to include fresh perspectives is challenging, but Lisa Loseto is trying to find a path forward.

• It's more than a bad cold • You could get Long Covid • You would spread disease to children

Scientists show that bacteria from human gut microbiome inhibit SARS-CoV-2 . Three bacterial metabolites inhibit viral infection. The natural bacterial metabolites resemble drugs that US FDA has approved & that are being explored as treatments for COVID19 .

  Study shows that MRSA appeared in hedgehogs in pre-antibiotic era. The hedgehog dermatophyte Trichophyton erinacei produces two β-lactam antibiotics that provide a natural selective environment for MRSA.