Contagion Live News Network: Italian Doctors Report Kawasaki Syndrome in Pediatric COVID-19 Cases

Hello and thank you for joining Contagion. I’m assistant editor Grant Gallagher, here with a review of our coverage on May 14, 2020.

A rare inflammatory disease typically affecting children 5 and under has been tentatively connected to the coronavirus. The Kawasaki Disease Link in Children, something that has been the subject of speculation for some time now, has had the first confirmatory evidence published. The reports come from hospitals in northern Italy.

We also featured part 1 of an interview with Dr.Adam Brufsky, a medical oncologist, who brings his outside expertise to discuss the potential role of hyperglycemia in severity of COVID-19. Dr Brufsky has contributed articles to several peer reviewed journals, working with experts native to the infectious disease field, and the theories he discusses in this multi-part interview could change the way we understand SARS-CoV-2.

In other news, the FDA Approved the first Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Trial for Severe COVID-19 Care. This randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 1/2a trial will assess patients hospitalized at Florida and South Dakota institutions.

We also covered Adolescent Hepatitis C Novel Oral Therapies, which may allow more cost-effective treatment of HCV.

And lastly, Moderna’s messenger RNA Vaccine candidate mRNA-1273 has been granted Fast Track designation by the US FDA.

For more on all of these stories and other infectious disease news, visit contagionlive.com.