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Added on the 09/04/2016 15:35:31 - Copyright : Reuters - Next Media
A link between the Zika virus and neurological disorders deepens as scientists discover microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome may be the most obvious diseases caused by the virus.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrives to give evidence at Britain's Covid-19 inquiry. During the pandemic he was Britain's Finance Minister, and has faced criticism for his implementation of a scheme called 'Eat Out To Help Out'. Designed to revive demand for restaurants after they were closed in Covid lockdowns, the scheme has been criticised for potentially helping spread the disease, with senior scientists saying they weren't consulted. IMAGES
The WHO mission to China to uncover the origins of the coronavirus has failed to identify the animal source, but said there was no indication the sickness was in circulation in Wuhan before December 2019 when the first official cases were recorded. WHO foreign expert Ben Embarek, who was based in the WHO's Beijing office for two years from 2009, backs up the Chinese side's assertion saying there was no evidence of "large outbreaks in Wuhan" before then. SOUNDBITE
It's been widely noted that survivors of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 may suffer neurological damage long after other symptoms survive. It's believed that this brain damage isn't caused by the virus, but rather by the body's immune response to it. Now, UPI reports an international group of researchers has called for studies to explore the potential long-term effects of COVID-19 on the brain. Previous studies have documented brain inflammation, or encephalitis, in patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms. Some patients also suffered strokes. Postmortem MRI scans of patients who have died from COVID-19 have revealed lesions, or damage, in different regions of the brain. Researchers say it's becoming clear that the damage done by COVID-19 may have chronic, long-term consequences that could impact patients' quality of life.
The head of the EU's medicines regulator says there is no evidence that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine wouldn't protect against a new strain of the coronavirus found mainly in Britain. SOUNDBITE