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  EU, WHO sound alarm over 2nd wave of coronavirus crisis

  Agence France-Presse . Stockholm, Sweden | Updated at 12:10pm on October 24, 2020

  The European Union’s disease control agency had joined frantic health workers to sound the alarm over a coronavirus surge across the continent, as the World Health Organisation warned of an ‘exponential’ rise in infections...

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  Primary findings show Chinese COVID-19 vaccine candidate safe

  Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha / Xinhua . London | Updated at 02:05pm on October 17, 2020

  A Chinese COVID-19 vaccine candidate based on the inactivated whole SARS-CoV-2 virus is safe and elicits an antibody response, according to the findings from a small early-phase randomised clinical trial published Thursday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal...

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  Coronavirus infection can cause memory damage: Study

  United News of Bangladesh / Xinhua . Sao Paulo | Updated at 11:13am on October 17, 2020

  SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has the capacity to affect brain tissue and the structure of the cortex, a region of the brain responsible for functions such as memory, consciousness, and language, according to a Brazilian study released on Thursday. According to the study, the coronavirus can affect astrocytes, the most abundant cells in the central nervous system, which perform functions such as providing support and nutrients for neurons and regulating the concentration of neurotransmitters and other substances, such as potassium. ‘We demonstrated for the first time that the coronavirus infects and replicates in astrocytes and this can decrease the viability of neurons,’ said Daniel Martins de Souza, a professor at the Institute of Biology at the University of Campinas. ‘The infection of this cell type was confirmed through experiments done with brain tissue from 26 patients who died from COVID-19,’ the study said. According to Martins de Souza, scientists used a technique known as immunohistochemistry, which involves using antibodies to detect certain antigens in a tissue sample. The presence of the virus was confirmed in 26 of the samples studied, and in five of them, certain alterations were found that suggested possible damage to the central nervous system. Eighty-one other patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms were also studied. The results showed a third of them exhibiting neurological or neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as memory impairment, fatigue, headache, anxiety, and others, 60 days after acquiring the disease. The study was conducted by scientists from Unicamp and the University of Sao Paulo, with collaboration from scientists at the National Laboratory of Biosciences, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and the D'Or Institute...

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  WHO slams herd immunity idea

  Agence France-Presse . Paris | Updated at 12:39pm on October 13, 2020

  China rushed Tuesday to test an entire city of nine million within days after a minor coronavirus outbreak, as the WHO warned that letting the...

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  COVID-19 test positivity rate rises in a week

  Staff Correspondent | Updated at 08:32pm on October 03, 2020

  COVID-19 test positivity rate increased in the 30th week of infections, compared to the previous week, although the weekly number of cases dropped thanks to...

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  Immune system ‘remembers’ coronavirus for at least 6 months

  Agence France-Presse . Paris | Updated at 11:22am on January 19, 2021

  People may be able to fight off reinfection for at least six months after they recover from COVID-19 thanks to cells that can ‘remember’ the...

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  ACC detects 62 people’s link with PK Halder

  Staff Correspondent | Updated at 05:53pm on January 14, 2021

  The Anti-Corruption Commission has detected connections of 62 people with former NRB Global Bank managing director Prashanta Kumar Halder and it has so far frozen...

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  WHO says British virus variant now in 50 countries

  Agence France-Presse. Geneva | Updated at 06:01pm on January 13, 2021

  The coronavirus mutation first found in Britain has now spread to 50 territories, according to the World Health Organisation, while a similar South African-identified strain...

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  Despite vaccines, no COVID-19 herd immunity in 2021: WHO

  Agence France-Presse . Geneva | Updated at 10:20am on January 12, 2021

  Despite vaccines against COVID-19 being rolled out in a number of countries, the World Health Organisation warned on Monday that herd immunity would not be...

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  Facebook partners with Bangladeshi organisations on mental health

  United News of Bangladesh . Dhaka | Updated at 02:02pm on January 08, 2021

  Facebook has said it is making it easier for users in Bangladesh to connect with helplines by partnering with local organisations in an effort to...