Durante las últimas semanas el mundo ha observado con cautela al menos tres nuevas variantes del virus que causa COVID-19. Estas variantes surgen como parte de un proceso natural por el que pasan todos los virus, y es el de cambiar o mutar.
La variante que ha causado más preocupación se conoce como B.1.1.7 y fue identificada por primera vez en el Reino Unido. Aunque no se ha encontrado que cause una enfermedad más severa, la B.1.1.7 sí es altamente contagiosa o transmisible.
El remdesivir, un medicamento originalmente desarrollado para combatir el contagio de Ébola, fue autorizado para administrarse únicamente como tratamiento de emergencia en pacientes graves hospitalizados con COVID-19, en tanto continúa la investigación sobre su eficacia en general contra el virus SARS-CoV-2.
Our friends from The Explorers Guide to Biology and iBiology have created this illustrated guide that explains how soap and water destroy the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19. You can download the PDF for free HERE.
Es normal tener miedo ante algo desconocido. Y no es para menos, el nuevo coronavirus ha cruzado fronteras sin pedir permiso y casi sin darnos cuenta. Hemos sentido su impacto a nivel mundial tanto en la salud pública como en la economía. La palabra pandemia nos hace recordar tiempos difíciles, como lo fue el virus de influenza H1N1 en el 2009, el cual se expandió a 214 países y cobró cerca de 18,000 vidas confirmadas (aunque se estimaron alrededor de 200,000). El gobierno de Puerto Rico no ha sido eficiente en su respuesta, pero eso era esperado. Sin embargo, a nivel individual y comunitario, es primordial convertir el miedo en acción. Y que seamos el refuerzo que necesita el sistema de salud pública.
Viruses have been protagonists of many diseases and epidemics throughout the history of humanity. The novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus causing the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is no exception to these scientific and public health challenges. COVID-19 has been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a pandemic due to the number of cases reported worldwide. In such a scenario, the general community has become interested in learning more about what this virus is, what we know so far, and how it compares to other viruses.
After the Puerto Rico earthquakes, health sciences researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Yale School of Public Health, the University of Puerto Rico and The Hispanic Council created this infographic on infant feeding practices. We thank Andrea López-Cepero for sharing them with us!
Before I started studying pharmacy, my mother used to tell me often that she did not feel quite right, she was always tired and had been recently gaining some weight without any apparent trigger or change in eating habits. It never occurred to me that these symptoms were the onset of hypothyroidism. After being diagnosed, my mother joined the number of people suffering from the thyroid, along with my grandmother and grandfather and many other Puerto Ricans.
Last semester, I did an internship at the Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Clinic of the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, where we specialize in treating patients with chronic respiratory disease. Soon after starting my clinical rotation, I noticed the large number of visits from Puerto Ricans, especially women. Alarmed, I decided to investigate the reasons for this trend, and I went to the library to find more information about the subject.
