Sunday Times E-Paper

Covid-19 may cause loss of brain tissue; Delta variant fuels steep infection rise

June 19, (Reuters) - Covid-19 survivors may have loss of brain tissue Even mild cases of Covid- 19 may lead to loss of brain tissue, according to findings from a long- term study involving 782 volunteers.

As part of the ongoing UK study, participants underwent brain scans before the pandemic. For a before-and-after comparison, researchers invited 394 Covid-19 survivors to come back for follow-up scans as well as 388 healthy volunteers.

Most of the Covid- 19 survivors had had only mild-to-moderate symptoms, or no symptoms at all, while 15 had been hospitalised. Among the Covid19 survivors, researchers saw “significant” loss of gray matter in regions of the brain related to smell and taste - the left parahippocampal gyrus, left orbitofrontal cortex and left insula.

Some of the affected brain regions are also involved in the memory of experiences that evoke emotional reactions, the researchers noted in a report ahead of peer review.

The changes were not seen in the group that had not been infected. The authors said more research is needed to determine whether Covid- 19 survivors will have issues in the longer term with their ability to remember emotion-evoking events. They also do not yet know whether the loss of gray matter is a result of the virus spreading into the brain, or some other effect of the illness.

Delta variant fuels steep rise in England

The rapid spread of the extremely contagious Delta coronavirus variant, first identified in India, has driven a 50% rise in Covid- 19 cases in England since May, researchers at Imperial College London said in their latest report.

Covid- 19 prevalence “is increasing exponentially, driven by younger ages ... and it appears to be doubling every 11 days. Clearly, that is bad news,” Steven Riley, lead author of the report, said.

At the beginning of May, according to the researchers estimates, around 60% of positive Covid- 19 swab tests were due to the Delta variant. By June 7, that had climbed to around 90%.

Although the Delta variant has been shown to substantially reduce the effectiveness of one dose of vaccine against mild infection, two doses still provide good protection against severe disease, according to early evidence. The World Health Organization said the Delta variant is becoming the globally dominant variant of the disease.

Many countries forced to suspend vaccine programme: WHO

GENEVA, June 19, (AFP) - A “huge number” of poorer countries have had to suspend their coronavirus vaccination programmes due to a lack of doses, the WHO said.

The shortages often meant people who have received one dose of Covid-19 vaccine have to wait too long before they can get their second jab.

“We have a huge number of countries that have had to suspend their rollout of their second doses of vaccine,” said Bruce Aylward, the WHO's frontman for the international Covax scheme which provides vaccine doses to poorer countries.

The countries affected by this problem are spread throughout the Indian subcontinent, sub- Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, the WHO expert said.

Countries around India, like Nepal and Sri Lanka, have been “particularly hit hard” and face “a severe wave of disease”, he added.

The Serum Institute of India ( SII), producing AstraZeneca doses, was supposed to be the backbone of Covax's supply chain -- but India restricted exports to combat its own devastating coronavirus surge.

On Monday, the WHO warned that coronavirus is moving faster than the vaccines, and that the G7 nations' vow to provide a billion doses for poorer nations is simply not enough.

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2021-06-20T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-20T07:00:00.0000000Z

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