Scientists gather virtually to share findings on virus

At the world’s first major COVID19 conference, held virtually on Friday, global infectious disease and public health experts unveiled new research on the disease spreading around the globe.

Topics ranged from promising antiviral drugs to gender differences when it comes to following health guidelines.

Here are some of the most relevant takeaways from the conference, which was hosted by Bay Area HIV/AIDS leaders.

S.F. homeless shelter cases: UCSF presented a study dissecting the coronavirus outbreak at the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s MultiService Center South, San Francisco’s largest homeless shelter, with 340 beds.

On April 5, two of the shelter’s residents tested positive for the virus, three and four days after developing symptoms. Over the next two days, contact tracing and testing of anyone with symptoms in the shelter discovered seven more cases. The city started conducting mass testing on April 8 and three days later had shut the shelter down and moved everyone to hotel rooms.

The atrisk shelter residents were mostly male with a median age of 54. One in 4 had a comorbidity that made them vulnerable to severe COVID19. Of the 149 residents tested, 101 reported positive. Of those, 53 were asymptomatic. Twelve were treated in the emergency room but then released, eight were hospitalized, and one died. Of 61 staff tested, 10 reported positive.

At Friday’s conference, author Dr. Elizabeth Imbert said the study “reinforces the risks of congregate living” among the vulnerable homeless population. She warned that simply screening for symptoms wasn’t enough to contain an outbreak and that public health response shouldn’t focus only on bedmates and close contacts since cases were spread throughout the shelter. Another challenge was contact tracing, a key public health tool: Only half of the residents who tested positive could be reached to find out who else they might have exposed.

Remdesivir: A worldwide study analyzed which COVID19 patients are helped by remdesivir, the antiviral treatment drug by Bay Area company Gilead Sciences.

The clinical trial enrolled patients at 55 sites in eight countries, most in the U.S. After a median followup of 10 days, 256 of the 397 patients receiving the drug daily had improved and 44 had died. Worse outcomes were seen among patients who were over age 65, Asian, had a need for high oxygen support or enrolled in northern Italy, where hospitals were overwhelmed at the time, said study author Dr. Kristen Marks from Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City.

Mothers and babies: Two small studies investigated whether women transmit the virus or antibodies to their babies, either in utero or through breast milk. It’s still a relatively unknown topic.

Researchers in a study of 31 pregnant women in northern Italy found the virus and antibodies in umbilical cord blood, placenta and milk. Two of the babies tested positive for the virus and both quickly recovered. Although rare, virus transmission from mothers to babies in utero is possible, study author Claudio Fenizia at the University of Milan said.

Another small study of 15 women, all of whom had recovered from COVID19 in New York City, discovered a strong antibody immune response in the breast milk of most of the subjects. Study author Rebecca Powell, from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said the topic warrants more study with a larger sample size to see whether breast milk has enough antibodies to be purified and used therapeutically for COVID19 patients.

Men vs. women: A John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study revealed that women nationwide are more likely to perceive COVID19 as a threat and follow public health guidelines.

The study conducted an online survey of 806 respondents, roughly half women and half men, in March. A significantly greater proportion of women practiced frequent handwashing and social distancing.

Handwashing was associated with being female, having seniors living in the household and greater response efficacy. Social distancing was correlated with education, trust in information and a perceived higher threat from COVID19.

Study author Grace Yi said that a genderbased approach may help guide prevention during the pandemic.