Health
Prof. Andrea Crisanti: “Active surveillance is crucial in containing the epidemic”
Interview on corona virus and what is the best approach to fight epidemic with Andrea Crisanti, professor of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology and director of the Department of Molecular Medicine at the University of Padua. From your experience in Italy what should have been the best approach to fight epidemic? I have been repeating since ...
Prof. Marion Koopmans: “We will see more of this if we topple natural balances”
Interview on the COVID-19 pandemic with WHO expert Prof. Marion Koopmans, Virologist and Veterinary, Director of Virosciences, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam. She was appointed, together with six other leading European experts, as a member of the advisory panel on COVID-19 of the European Commission. How is your assessment: did this virus come as a surprise? This ...
How to Achieve the “Nuova Normalità”?
Interview with Walter Ricciardi, Professor of General and Applied Hygiene at the Catholic University, Advisor to the Italian government for Italy’s relationships with international health organisations. How was the Italian response to the spread of Covid-19 organised? From an institutional point of view, in Italy, there are two entities dealing with public health: the central ...
Prof. Alexander Kekulé : “The EU needs a trustworthy appointee for pandemics and an epidemiological expert council”
Interview on the Corona crisis with Professor Alexander Kekulé, virologist and epidemiologist. Prof. Kekulé is Director of the Institute for Biosecurity Research (IBS) and Director of the Institute for Medical Microbiology at Martin Luther University in Halle, Germany. Europe has become the epicentre of the Corona crisis — were governments too slow to act, and ...
ESMH selection: sources of information about Coronavirus
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the need for reliable sources of information on the virus and ensuing crisis is more important than ever. To this end, the European Science-Media Hub has compiled a list of such sources, ranging from recognised official international webpages providing daily updates, to data and maps, as well as a selection ...
Misinformation in science : how false medical news on social media miseducates our society
Social media platforms have taken a leading role in our everyday lives and have changed the way we obtain health information online. The most recent topic fueling disinformation is the novel Coronavirus. However, it is not the only one.
The new coronavirus – the opinion of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
In the last days, an increasing number of COVID-19 cases has been confirmed in various countries around the world, e.g. South Korea and Iran. In the EU extraordinary measures are being taken to limit the outbreak. On 23 February, the ECDC issued a statement on the rapid increase of COVID-19 in Italy. On 24 Febuary, ...
The new corona virus – reactions of leading European researchers
At a time of dramatic news of widespread infections in China from the new corona virus, COVID-19, virologists in the top European institutes are intensively working to understand more about the novel disease.
Coronavirus : a pandemic scare turning into an infodemic
Pandemics have the potential to exacerbate underlying social tensions. And at times of crises — when emotions run high — online rumours spread particularly wide and fast.
Re-engineering pharmaceutical research for better patient outcomes
A so-called ‘productivity crisis’ has been ascribed to the pharmaceutical research and development industry. Despite increases in investment and funding, this has not corresponded to increases in the approval of novel drugs. Why do so many drugs fail to receive approval, and what other means should we be focusing on for the benefit of patients?
