Even Animals Know How to Social Distance. And More New Virus Science

Compiled by veteran medical journalist Brian Owens, this roundup of some of the newest science on the COVID-19 pandemic, straight from the scientific journals, is presented by Hakai Magazine in partnership with The Tyee.

Even animals know how to social distance

While many humans have struggled with the concept of physical distancing for the past year, many species of animals do it instinctively to protect themselves from disease, which often requires major behavioural changes in highly social animals.

Chimpanzees, house finches and even lobsters are known to avoid or ostracize individuals infected with diseases or parasites. Many animals use cues like smell to detect sick individuals, and so are able to use physical distancing effectively and efficiently. Humans have to rely on less accurate visual or auditory cues, such as feverish appearance or coughing, making accurate and widely available diagnostic tests essential for controlling the spread of disease.

BioScience, Feb. 10, 2021

Winter outbreaks driven by what we did last summer

Relaxed pandemic control measures last summer are the biggest factor driving the current wintertime outbreaks of COVID-19, according to a computer simulation.

Researchers modelled a winter outbreak in New York City and found that while climate factors and the level of immunity in the population had a small effect on infection numbers, relaxed controls in the summer — and lower levels of adherence to those rules — would have led to an outbreak regardless of climate factors. They also found that if summer restrictions can keep transmission in check only at a level just below an outbreak, winter climate conditions could be enough to push it over the edge to uncontrolled spread.

Nature Communications, Feb. 8, 2021

COVID-19 is much deadlier than flu

The risk of death from COVID-19 is 3.5 times higher than from influenza, according to a study of patients in Ontario. Hospitalized COVID-19 patients also had 1.5 times greater use of intensive care, and 1.5 times longer hospital stays than patients admitted with influenza. While the virus affects older people and those with comorbidities most severely, it also causes serious illness in younger, healthier people. Most patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had few other illnesses, and 21 per cent were younger than 50. People under 50 also accounted for 24 per cent of admissions to intensive care.

Canadian Medical Association Journal, Feb. 10, 2021

Curling bonspiel outbreak highlights risks of sporting events

A curling bonspiel in Edmonton last March, which included a large number of doctors and other health-care workers, was the source of one of the first recorded large-scale outbreaks of COVID-19 in Canada. Now some of the doctors who took part in the event have published a study of that outbreak, which shows how sporting and social events can contribute to the spread of the disease.

Almost 75 per cent of the participants ended up with confirmed or probable COVID-19 infections, despite enhanced safety precautions like increased sanitation and discouraging handshakes. They found that transmission likely occurred from multiple individuals with minor nonspecific symptoms during the event, possibly during shared meals. The results have been used by Curling Canada to help develop its return-to-play plans.

CMAJ Open, Feb. 9, 2021

COVID-19-related depression linked to reduced activity

A survey of university students has found that during the pandemic, 61 per cent are at risk of clinical depression — twice the rate before the pandemic. The rise in depression came alongside major shifts in lifestyle habits such as physical activity and sleep. Disruptions to physical activity were the leading risk factor for depression during the pandemic: those who maintained their exercise habits were at significantly lower risk than those who experienced the large declines in physical activity. And when physical activity resumed in early summer, mental well-being did not automatically rebound.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Feb. 10, 2021

How the UK vaccination program will affect deaths and hospitalizations

The U.K.’s COVID-19 vaccination program, which has already vaccinated around 15 million people in the four highest priority groups, is already reducing daily deaths. However, it will likely take several weeks longer to begin reducing hospitalizations and intensive care admissions. This is due to the ages of the people in the priority groups. The average age of patients dying with COVID-19 is 83, while the average age of those hospitalized is 73, and those admitted to intensive care is 61. Since the vaccination priority groups mostly target people over 70, the first phase of vaccination will have a proportionally greater effect on deaths.

Anaesthesia, Feb. 11, 2021

Kids half as susceptible as adults

A mathematical model of COVID-19 transmission in Israel suggests that people under the age of 20 are about half as susceptible to COVID-19 infection as adults, and they are about one-third less likely to infect others. But the researchers also found that children are more likely than adults to get a false negative result on a COVID-19 test.

PLOS Computational Biology, Feb. 11, 2021

Transmission in Swedish schools was limited, but teachers were affected

In Sweden, lower-secondary schools, for students aged 14 to 16, stayed open during the early phase of the pandemic, while upper-secondary schools, for students 17 to 19, went online. A study has found that keeping the former schools open had little effect on the overall transmission of the virus, except among teachers. The infection rate doubled among lower-secondary teachers relative to upper-secondary ones, and it was 30 per cent higher among partners of lower-secondary teachers than among their upper-secondary counterparts.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Feb. 12, 2021

Humidity from masks may reduce severity of COVID-19

Face masks help control the spread of COVID-19 by reducing the amount of infectious particles people exhale and inhale, but they have also been linked to lower disease severity for those who do get infected. Masks substantially increase the humidity in the air that the mask-wearer breathes in, which may be protective because hydration of the respiratory tract is known to benefit the immune system by promoting the clearing of mucous and by producing proteins called interferons that fight against viruses.

Biophysical Journal, Feb. 11, 2021

Are pubs capable of effectively reducing the spread of COVID-19?

A study in the United Kingdom is raising questions about whether pubs can effectively implement policies to reduce transmission of COVID-19. Researchers conducted the study in a wide range of pubs that reopened after lockdown last spring and summer. They found that while the venues had made physical and operational modifications, practices were variable and a number of concerning incidents were seen — including close physical interactions between customers and with staff, which frequently involved alcohol intoxication and were rarely effectively stopped by staff.

Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Feb. 15, 2021