Growing Evidence Points to Airborne COVID-19 Transmission

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to hog the spotlight of local and international news, as evidence of airborne transmission keeps piling up and a new report indicates previously unreported consequences of infection. Cases in Mexico and abroad continue rising and now surpass 12.2 million across the globe.

In other news, Mexico Health Review spoke with Cecilia Bravo, President of ANAFAM, on the impact of current medication purchasing schemes in healthcare and with Carlos Hernández, Director General of Beckman Coulter, on the current trends of cancer detection.

COVID-19 in Mexico and the World

Mexico continues grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic as cases approach the 300,000 mark and deaths surpass 30,000. Worse than that, the country broke its own record of daily cases with 7,280 new detected cases on Thursday.

In international news, Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro tested positive for COVID-19 and said that he was taking hydroxychloroquine to treat the disease. This controversial malaria-drug has been discouraged for the treatment of COVID-19 by health organizations as it has proven no effectiveness against the latter disease, but severe side effects do appear.

Researchers point to a growing body of evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is airborne, meaning that it can be transmitted through exhaled air. Scientists from the University of Maryland urged the medical community to acknowledge the potential risk of airborne transmission.

Another group of researchers from the University College of London also warned that COVID-19 could cause brain damage. The group studied 43 cases where patients suffered nerve damage, brain dysfunction or strokes.