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Coronavirus research highlights

A novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, has been identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness that originated in Wuhan, China, and which has spread to several other countries around the world.  Recent content from BMC and SpringerOpen journals relevant to coronavirus research, as well as additional commentary on this topic, is included below. 

BMC, as part of Springer Nature, encourages early sharing of research submitted to all our journals through preprints, and our In Review preprint service is available for many journals. We strongly urge authors submitting articles related to this emergency to BMC journals to share underlying interim and final research datasets relating to the outbreak as rapidly and widely as possible, including with public health and research communities and the WHO.

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  1. China issued strict nationwide guidelines to combat the COVID-19 outbreak in January 2020 and gradually loosened the restrictions on movement in early March. Little is known about how these disease control mea...

    Authors: Huan Wang, Markus Zhang, Robin Li, Oliver Zhong, Hannah Johnstone, Huan Zhou, Hao Xue, Sean Sylvia, Matthew Boswell, Prashant Loyalka and Scott Rozelle
    Citation: International Journal for Equity in Health 2021 20:35
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. In order to provide experiences for international epidemic control, this study systematically summarized the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prevention and control policies in Japan, Italy, China and Singa...

    Authors: Xiaohan Wang, Leiyu Shi, Yuyao Zhang, Haiqian Chen and Gang Sun
    Citation: International Journal for Equity in Health 2021 20:33
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Since severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was firstly reported in Wuhan City, China in December 2019, Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) that is caused by SARS-CoV-2 is predomi...

    Authors: Jianli Liu, Yuan Zhou, Chuanyu Ye, Guangming Zhang, Feng Zhang and Chunjuan Song
    Citation: Archives of Public Health 2021 79:8
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. It is essential to avoid admission of patients with undetected corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to hospitals’ general wards. Even repeated negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) ...

    Authors: Ulf Teichgräber, Amer Malouhi, Maja Ingwersen, Rotraud Neumann, Marina Reljic, Stefanie Deinhardt-Emmer, Bettina Löffler, Wilhelm Behringer, Jan-Christoph Lewejohann, Andreas Stallmach and Philipp Reuken
    Citation: Respiratory Research 2021 22:13
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. The Covid-19 pandemic has wrought disruption to everyday life and services, and emerging evidence suggests that those with eating disorders (EDs) are likely to experience marked distress and exacerbation of th...

    Authors: L. Vuillier, L. May, M. Greville-Harris, R. Surman and R. L. Moseley
    Citation: Journal of Eating Disorders 2021 9:10
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  6. During isolation, sharing physical activity experiences on social network sites (SNS) can enhance individual social connectedness. The objective of the present study was to examine the associations between sha...

    Authors: Yifan Zuo, Yudan Ma, Mu Zhang, Xiaoyuan Wu and Zhanbing Ren
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2021 17:10
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. Despite high level of health care need amongst people experiencing homelessness, poor access is a major concern. This is sometimes due to organisational and bureaucratic barriers, but also because they often f...

    Authors: Kelly Howells, Martin Burrows, Mat Amp, Rachel Brennan, Wan-Ley Yeung, Shaun Jackson, Joanne Dickinson, Julie Draper, Stephen Campbell, Darren Ashcroft, Tom Blakeman and Caroline Sanders
    Citation: International Journal for Equity in Health 2021 20:29
    Content type: Study protocol Published on:

  9. Acute macular neuroretinopathy (AMN) is a visual-deteriorating rare clinical entity with an uncertain etiology. We aimed to report a case of AMN and underlying disease of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

    Authors: Ghodsieh Zamani, Sajjad Ataei Azimi;, Ali Aminizadeh, Elham Shams Abadi, Mostafa Kamandi, Hasan Mortazi, Somayeh Shariat and Mojtaba Abrishami
    Citation: Journal of Ophthalmic Inflammation and Infection 2021 10:39
    Content type: Letter to the Editor Published on:

  10. COVID-19 has caused a global pandemic and the death toll is increasing. However, there is no definitive information regarding the type of clinical specimens that is the best for SARS-CoV-2 detection, the antib...

    Authors: Ling Li, Chianru Tan, Jia Zeng, Chen Luo, Shi Hu, Yanke Peng, Wenjuan Li, Zhixiong Xie, Yueming Ling, Xuejun Zhang, E. Deng, Haixia Xu, Jue Wang, Yudi Xie, Yaling Zhou, Wei Zhang…
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2021 19:30
    Content type: Research Published on:

  11. Limited data was available for rapid and accurate detection of COVID-19 using CT-based machine learning model. This study aimed to investigate the value of chest CT radiomics for diagnosing COVID-19 pneumonia ...

    Authors: Huanhuan Liu, Hua Ren, Zengbin Wu, He Xu, Shuhai Zhang, Jinning Li, Liang Hou, Runmin Chi, Hui Zheng, Yanhong Chen, Shaofeng Duan, Huimin Li, Zongyu Xie and Dengbin Wang
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2021 19:29
    Content type: Research Published on:

  12. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in an enormous dislocation of society especially in South Africa. The South African government has imposed a number of measures aimed at controlling the pan...

    Authors: Chijioke O. Nwosu and Adeola Oyenubi
    Citation: International Journal for Equity in Health 2021 20:21
    Content type: Research Published on:

  13. The surge of COVID-19 infections has prompted many countries to take unprecedented policy measures. In Belgium, the authorities implemented a nation-wide stay-at-home order for several months. Evidence of the ...

    Authors: Jeroen De Man, Veerle Buffel, Sarah van de Velde, Piet Bracke, Guido F. Van Hal and Edwin Wouters
    Citation: Archives of Public Health 2021 79:3
    Content type: Research Published on:

  14. Contextual factors including poverty and inequitable gender norms harm refugee adolescent and youths’ wellbeing. Our study focused on Bidi Bidi refugee settlement that hosts more than 230,000 of Uganda’s 1.4 m...

    Authors: Carmen H. Logie, Moses Okumu, Maya Latif, Daniel Kibuuka Musoke, Simon Odong Lukone, Simon Mwima and Peter Kyambadde
    Citation: Conflict and Health 2021 15:3
    Content type: Research Published on:

  15. Severe coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) presents with progressive dyspnea, which results from acute lung inflammatory edema leading to hypoxia. As with other infectious diseases that affect the respiratory tr...

    Authors: Natália F. Mendes, Carlos P. Jara, Eli Mansour, Eliana P. Araújo and Licio A. Velloso
    Citation: Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology 2021 17:5
    Content type: Short report Published on:

  16. During global pandemics, such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), crisis communication is indispensable in dispelling fears, uncertainty, and unifying individuals worldwide in a collective fight against he...

    Authors: Zhaohui Su, Dean McDonnell, Jun Wen, Metin Kozak, Jaffar Abbas, Sabina Šegalo, Xiaoshan Li, Junaid Ahmad, Ali Cheshmehzangi, Yuyang Cai, Ling Yang and Yu-Tao Xiang
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2021 17:4
    Content type: Commentary Published on:

  17. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Previous studies of infectious diseases showed that infectious diseases not only cause physical damage ...

    Authors: Ji Ho Lee, Hocheol Lee, Ji Eon Kim, Seok Jun Moon and Eun Woo Nam
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2021 17:3
    Content type: Research Published on:

  19. In a context where there is no treatment for the current COVID-19 virus, the combination of self-care behaviours together with confinement, are strategies to decrease the risk of contagion and remain healthy. ...

    Authors: Martín Martínez, Elkin O. Luis, Edwin Yair Oliveros, Pablo Fernández-Berrocal, Ainize Sarrionandia, Marta Vidaurreta and Elena Bermejo-Martins
    Citation: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2021 19:1
    Content type: Research Published on:

  21. Approximately 10% of patients with Covid-19 experience symptoms beyond 3–4 weeks. Patients call this “long Covid”. We sought to document such patients’ lived experience, including accessing and receiving healt...

    Authors: Emma Ladds, Alex Rushforth, Sietse Wieringa, Sharon Taylor, Clare Rayner, Laiba Husain and Trisha Greenhalgh
    Citation: BMC Health Services Research 2020 20:1144
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  22. Combating the COVID-19 pandemic is a major challenge for health systems, citizens and policy makers worldwide. Early detection of affected patients within the large and heterogeneous group of patients with com...

    Authors: Johannes Just, Marie-Therese Puth, Felix Regenold, Klaus Weckbecker and Markus Bleckwenn
    Citation: BMC Family Practice 2020 21:251
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  23. Dysregulation of transcription and cytokine expression has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety inflammatory diseases. The resulting imbalance between inflammatory and resolving transcriptional pro...

    Authors: Gregory Thomas, Elizabeth Frederick, Lisa Thompson, Raphael Bar-Or, Yetti Mulugeta, Melissa Hausburg, Michael Roshon, Charles Mains and David Bar-Or
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2020 18:452
    Content type: Research Published on:

  24. During the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Italian hospitals faced the most daunting challenges of their recent history, and only essential therapeutic interventions were feasible. From March to ...

    Authors: Giuseppe Astori, Martina Bernardi, Angela Bozza, Daniela Catanzaro, Katia Chieregato, Anna Merlo, Monica Santimaria, Roberto Barbazza, Giuseppe Amodeo, Rachele Ciccocioppo, Francesca Elice and Marco Ruggeri
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2020 18:451
    Content type: Research Published on:

  25. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most people had to cope with the restrictions of the lockdown, leaving them to their fears, insecurity and isolation. On the other hand, due to the unexpected ‘extra time’ there w...

    Authors: Arndt Büssing, Daniela Rodrigues Recchia, Rudolf Hein and Thomas Dienberg
    Citation: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2020 18:374
    Content type: Research Published on:

  26. The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed an enormous burden on health care systems around the world. In the past, the administration of convalescent plasma of patients having recovered from SARS and severe influenza ...

    Authors: Timothy Devos, Tatjana Geukens, Alexander Schauwvlieghe, Kevin K. Ariën, Cyril Barbezange, Myriam Cleeren, Veerle Compernolle, Nicolas Dauby, Daniël Desmecht, David Grimaldi, Bart N. Lambrecht, Anne Luyten, Piet Maes, Michel Moutschen, Marta Romano, Lucie Seyler…
    Citation: Trials 2020 21:981
    Content type: Study protocol Published on:

    The Correction to this article has been published in Trials 2020 21:1024

  27. Currently, the world is in the seventh month of the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally, infections with novel SARS-CoV-2 virus are continuously rising with mounting numbers of deaths. International and local public h...

    Authors: Mitko Madjunkov, Michal Dviri and Clifford Librach
    Citation: Journal of Ovarian Research 2020 13:140
    Content type: Review Published on:

  28. Since December 2019, the outbreak of coronavirus pneumonia was observed in China and quickly propagate in all of the world. Nowadays, many trials are underway on this disease in which the efficacy of various t...

    Authors: Maryam Azimi and Fatemeh Sadat Hasheminasab
    Citation: Trials 2020 21:978
    Content type: Study protocol Published on:

  29. Previous studies have focused on the clinical characteristics of hospitalized patients with the novel 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Limited data are available for convalescent patients. This study aimed...

    Authors: Siqin Zhang, Lin Liu, Bin Yang, Rou Li, Jianhua Luo, Jing Huang, Yanjun Long, Ying Huang, Jianping Zhou, Yan Zha and Xiangyan Zhang
    Citation: Respiratory Research 2020 21:314
    Content type: Research Published on:

  30. The clinical characteristics and outcomes of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pneumonia are different in Hubei compared to other regions in China. But there are few comparative studies on the differences ...

    Authors: Chang Wang, Lizhi Zhou, Juan Chen, Yong Yang, Tianlong Huang, Min Fu, Ya Li, Daniel M. George and Xiangyu Chen
    Citation: Respiratory Research 2020 21:313
    Content type: Research Published on:

  31. On March 13, 2020, Uganda instituted COVID-19 symptom screening at its international airport, isolation and SARS-CoV-2 testing for symptomatic persons, and mandatory 14-day quarantine and testing of persons tr...

    Authors: Richard Migisha, Benon Kwesiga, Bernadette Basuta Mirembe, Geofrey Amanya, Steven N. Kabwama, Daniel Kadobera, Lilian Bulage, Godfrey Nsereko, Ignatius Wadunde, Tonny Tindyebwa, Bernard Lubwama, Atek A. Kagirita, John T. Kayiwa, Julius J. Lutwama, Amy L. Boore, Julie R. Harris…
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:114
    Content type: Research Published on:

  32. The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to cause high morbidity and mortality in crisis-affected populations. Delivering COVID-19 treatment services in crisis settings will likely entail complex trade-offs bet...

    Authors: Sylvia Garry, Nada Abdelmagid, Louisa Baxter, Natalie Roberts, Olivier le Polain de Waroux, Sharif Ismail, Ruwan Ratnayake, Caroline Favas, Elizabeth Lewis and Francesco Checchi
    Citation: Conflict and Health 2020 14:80
    Content type: Research in practice Published on:

  34. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) emerged from China in December 2019 and has presented as a substantial and serious threat to global health. We aimed to describe the clinical, epide...

    Authors: Abbas Al Mutair, Saad Alhumaid, Waad N. Alhuqbani, Abdul Rehman Z. Zaidi, Safug Alkoraisi, Maha F. Al-Subaie, Alanoud M. AlHindi, Ahmed K. Abogosh, Aljwhara K. Alrasheed, Aya A. Alsharafi, Mohammed N. Alhuqbani, Njoud A. Alhowar, Samer Salih, Mogbil A. Alhedaithy, Jaffar A. Al-Tawfiq, Haifa Al-Shammari…
    Citation: European Journal of Medical Research 2020 25:61
    Content type: Research Published on:

  35. To assess the efficacy of ivermectin in addition to standard treatment compared to standard treatment alone in reducing hospitalizations in the COVID-19 patient population.

    Authors: Julio Vallejos, Rodrigo Zoni, Maria Bangher, Silvina Villamandos, Angelina Bobadilla, Fabian Plano, Claudia Campias, Evangelina Chaparro Campias, Fernando Achinelli, Hector A. Guglielmone, Jorge Ojeda, Fernanda Medina, Diego Farizano Salazar, Gerardo Andino, Natalia E. Ruiz Diaz, Pablo Kawerin…
    Citation: Trials 2020 21:965
    Content type: Letter Published on:

  36. Coronavirus disease COVID-19 has become a public health emergency of international concern. Together with the quest for an effective treatment, the question of the post-infectious evolution of affected patient...

    Authors: AN Frix, L. Schoneveld, A. Ladang, M. Henket, B. Duysinx, F. Vaillant, B. Misset, M. Moutschen, R. Louis, E. Cavalier and J. Guiot
    Citation: Respiratory Research 2020 21:309
    Content type: Letter to the Editor Published on:

  37. Male sex and older age have been reported to be associated with worse outcomes from COVID-19. It was postulated that estrogens may play a role in reducing the severity of the disease and may therefore offer a ...

    Authors: Jacob O’Brien, Kevin Y. Du and Chun Peng
    Citation: Journal of Ovarian Research 2020 13:137
    Content type: Research Published on:

    The Correction to this article has been published in Journal of Ovarian Research 2021 14:58

  39. Pharmacological therapies of proven efficacy in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are still lacking. We have identified IFNβ-1a as the most promising drug to be repurposed for COVID-19. The rationale relies ...

    Authors: Emanuele Bosi, Carlo Bosi, Patrizia Rovere Querini, Nicasio Mancini, Giliola Calori, Annalisa Ruggeri, Cecilia Canzonieri, Luciano Callegaro, Massimo Clementi, Francesco De Cobelli, Massimo Filippi and Marco Bregni
    Citation: Trials 2020 21:939
    Content type: Study protocol Published on:

  40. The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have altered emergency workflows established to optimize the outcome of patients with large-vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke.

    Authors: Steffen Tiedt, Felix J. Bode, Timo Uphaus, Anna Alegiani, Klaus Gröschel and Gabor C. Petzold
    Citation: Neurological Research and Practice 2020 2:44
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  41. Flexor tendon injuries most commonly occur following a penetrating injury to the hand or wrist. These are challenging injuries and the standard treatment is surgical repair under general or regional anaesthesia.

    Authors: Grant S. Nolan, Ailbhe L. Kiely, Tomas Madura and Alexia Karantana
    Citation: Systematic Reviews 2020 9:264
    Content type: Protocol Published on:

  42. The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is posing a serious challenge to the health-care systems worldwide, with an enormous impact on health conditions and loss of lives. Notably, obesity and its related com...

    Authors: Antonio Paoli, Stefania Gorini and Massimiliano Caprio
    Citation: Journal of Translational Medicine 2020 18:441
    Content type: Review Published on:

  43. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which has rapidly spread worldwide. Several human randomized clinical trials assessing potential vaccines...

    Authors: Steven Kwasi Korang, Sophie Juul, Emil Eik Nielsen, Joshua Feinberg, Faiza Siddiqui, Giok Ong, Sarah Klingenberg, Areti Angeliki Veroniki, Fanlong Bu, Lehana Thabane, Allan Randrup Thomsen, Janus C. Jakobsen and Christian Gluud
    Citation: Systematic Reviews 2020 9:262
    Content type: Protocol Published on:

  44. Welfare states around the world restrict access to public healthcare for some migrant groups. Formal restrictions on migrants’ healthcare access are often justified with economic arguments; for example, as a m...

    Authors: Nora Gottlieb, Ursula Trummer, Nadav Davidovitch, Allan Krasnik, Sol P. Juárez, Mikael Rostila, Louise Biddle and Kayvan Bozorgmehr
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:113
    Content type: Commentary Published on:

  45. Zilucoplan (complement C5 inhibitor) has profound effects on inhibiting acute lung injury post COVID-19, and can promote lung repair mechanisms that lead to improvement in lung oxygenation parameters. The purp...

    Authors: Jozefien Declercq, Cedric Bosteels, Karel Van Damme, Elisabeth De Leeuw, Bastiaan Maes, Ans Vandecauter, Stefanie Vermeersch, Anja Delporte, Bénédicte Demeyere, Marnik Vuylsteke, Marianna Lalla, Trevor Smart, Laurent Detalle, René Bouw, Johannes Streffer, Thibo Degeeter…
    Citation: Trials 2020 21:934
    Content type: Letter Published on:

  46. The last months have left no-one in doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic is exerting enormous pressure on health systems around the world, bringing to light the sub-optimal resilience of even those classified as h...

    Authors: Charbel El Bcheraoui, Heide Weishaar, Francisco Pozo-Martin and Johanna Hanefeld
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:112
    Content type: Commentary Published on:

  47. Comparing health care parameters of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients with and without concurrent coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2 infection), may be helpful in terms of optimizing clinical an...

    Authors: Daniel Richter, Christos Krogias, Jens Eyding, Dirk Bartig, Armin Grau and Ralph Weber
    Citation: Neurological Research and Practice 2020 2:48
    Content type: Letter to the editor Published on:

  49. In response to the COVID-19 epidemic, caused by a novel coronavirus, it was of great importance to rapidly collect as much accurate information as possible in order to characterize the public health threat and...

    Authors: Nina Van Goethem, Aline Vilain, Chloé Wyndham-Thomas, Jessika Deblonde, Nathalie Bossuyt, Tinne Lernout, Javiera Rebolledo Gonzalez, Sophie Quoilin, Vincent Melis and Dominique Van Beckhoven
    Citation: Archives of Public Health 2020 78:121
    Content type: Methodology Published on:

    The Correction to this article has been published in Archives of Public Health 2021 79:147

  50. Early evidence indicates increased mental health burden arising from COVID-19 and related control measures. The study aim was to examine concern about COVID-19 and its association with symptoms of mental disor...

    Authors: Nino Makhashvili, Jana Darejan Javakhishvili, Lela Sturua, Ketevan Pilauri, Daniela C. Fuhr and Bayard Roberts
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:111
    Content type: Research Published on: