The Thin End

The virus vector for COVID-19 pandemic is a novel zoonotic coronavirus,  SARS-CoV-2,  most likely originating from bats.  One problem in combating the virus is that we know so little about it.  We don't know, for example, whether any immunity developed in humans will last, or how long it will last.  Nor do we know to what extent it jumps from species to species.  Is it possible that our livestock, or our domestic pets,  will become infected?   Whether SARS-CoV-2 can also infect other animal species is being investigated by various research institutes worldwide. The Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI) started infection studies in pigs, chickens, fruit bats, and ferrets several weeks ago.  First results show that fruit bats and ferrets are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, whereas pigs and chickens are not. The susceptibility of ferrets in particular is an important finding, as they could be used as model animals for human infection...

There is some good news on the horizon.  The government might meet its target of 100,000 tests for COVID-19 by the end of the month. Testing is vital to bringing us all out of lockdown, getting people back to work, and gradually returning to normality. The US company producing the tests here in the UK has ramped up the facilities for its manufacture.  But initially, the tests will be for the antigen, indicating whether someone has got the virus.  We also need to test for the presence of antibodies, showing whether someone has had the infection and has developed an immunity. Meeting the testing target offers hope that the lockdown can be released gradually, perhaps first, with those who have recovered from the virus. Slowly, people can get back to work, getting the economy moving once again and critically enabling key health workers to return to the frontline. One thing the lockdown has demonstrated is just who our key workers really are.  The many we...