Covid for Doctors

THE SEMMELWEIS REFLEX

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semmelweis_reflex

WILL AUSTRALIA CHOOSE TO PREVENT COVID DEATHS?

Video by John Snow Project. February 2023.

DEATHS FROM ROAD FATALITIES VS COVID INFECTIONS

https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/covid-19-mortality-australia-deaths-registered-until-31-january-2024

https://datahub.roadsafety.gov.au/progress-reporting/monthly-road-deaths#:~:text=Key%20statistics,last%20year%20(119%20deaths).

https://www.bitre.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/rda_sep2024.pdf

COVID-19: HOW SARS-COV-2 BINDS

Video by Sensu. July 2021.

ACUTE COVID

Lamers MM, Haagmans BL. SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. Nat Rev Microbiol. (2022) 20:270-284.

Zhu Y, Sharma L, Chang D. Pathophysiology and clinical management of coronavirus disease (COVID-19): a mini-review. Front Immunol. (2023) 14:1116131.

ACE2 RECEPTORS

Bourgonje AR, Abdulle AE, Timens W et al. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), SARS-CoV-2 and the pathophysiology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). J Pathol. (2020) 251(3):228-248.

Hikmet F, Méar L, Edvinsson Å et al. The protein expression profile of ACE2 in human tissues. Mol Syst Biol. (2020) 16(7):e9610.

Salamanna F, Maglio M, Landini MP et al. Body Localization of ACE-2: On the Trail of the Keyhole of SARS-CoV-2. Front Med. (2021) 7:594495.

MECHANISMS FOR OTHER COMMON VIRUSES

Volpe S, Irish J, Palumbo S et al. Viral infections and chronic rhinosinusitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol. (2023) 152(4):819-826.

DEATHS FROM INFLUENZA VS COVID

https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/deaths-due-covid-19-influenza-and-rsv-australia-2022-november-2024

https://www.actuaries.digital/2024/12/17/mortality-in-first-eight-months-of-2024-2-higher-than-predicted/

LONG COVID

Chu L, Bishof K, Dumes AA et al. The 2024 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Long COVID Definition: What Clinicians Need to Know. J Gen Intern Med. (2025)

Ely EW, Brown LM, Fineberg HV. Long Covid Defined. N Engl J Med. (2024) 391(18):1746-1753.

Ewing AG, Joffe D, Blitshteyn S et al. Long COVID clinical evaluation, research and impact on society: a global expert consensus. Ann Clin Microbiol Antimicrob. (2025) 24(1):27.

Ewing AG, Salamon S, Pretorius E et al. Review of organ damage from COVID and Long COVID: a disease with a spectrum of pathology. Med Rev. (2024) 5(1):66-75.

Ma Y, Deng J, Liu Q et al. Long-Term Consequences of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. (2023) 16;20(2):1613.

O'Mahoney LL, Routen A, Gillies C et al. The risk of Long Covid symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled studies. Nat Commun. (2025) 16:4249.

LONG COVID MECHANISMS

Immunology of Long COVID. Yale School of Medicine, updated 17 September 2024.

Davis HE, McCorkell L, Vogel JM et al. Long COVID: major findings, mechanisms and recommendations. Nat Rev Microbiol. (2023) 21:133-146.

Durstenfeld MS, Weiman S, Holtzman M et al. Long COVID and post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and treatment: A Keystone Symposia report. Ann N Y Acad Sci. (2024) 1535:31-41.

Iwasaki A, Putrino D. Why we need a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of long COVID. Lancet Infect Dis. (2023) 23(4):393-395.

Kell DB, Laubscher GJ, Pretorius E. A central role for amyloid fibrin microclots in long COVID/PASC: origins and therapeutic implications. Biochem J. (2022) 479(4):537-559.

Kruger A, Joffe D, Lloyd-Jones G et al. Vascular pathogenesis in acute and long covid: current insights and therapeutic outlook. Semin Thromb Hemost. (2024) 51(3):256-271.

Pretorius E, Venter C, Laubscher GJ et al. Prevalence of symptoms, comorbidities, fibrin amyloid microclots and platelet pathology in individuals with Long COVID/Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). Cardiovasc Diabetol. (2022) 21(1):148.

ASYMPTOMATIC ORGAN DAMAGE

Proal AD, VanElzakker MB, Aleman S et al. SARS-CoV-2 reservoir in post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). Nat Immunol. (2023) 24:1616-1627.

Samanci B, Ay U, Gezegen H et al. Persistent neurocognitive deficits in long COVID: Evidence of structural changes and network abnormalities following mild infection. Cortex. (2025) 187:98-110.

Xie Y, Al-Aly Z. Risks and burdens of incident diabetes in long COVID: a cohort study. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. (2022) 10(5):311-321.

Xu E, Xie Y, Al-Aly Z. Risks and burdens of incident dyslipidaemia in long COVID: a cohort study. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. (2023) 11(2):120-128.

LONG COVID PREVALENCE

Long COVID in Australia - a review of the literature. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 16 December 2022.

Lopez-Leon S, Wegman-Ostrosky T, Ayuzo del Valle NC et al. Long-COVID in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analyses. Sci Rep. (2022) 12:9950.

COVID AND THE BRAIN

Douaud G, Lee S, Alfaro-Amagro F et al. SARS-CoV-2 is associated with changes in brain structure in UK Biobank. Nature. (2022) 604:697-707.

Hampshire A, Azor A, Atchinson C et al. Cognition and Memory after Covid-19 in a Large Community Sample. N Engl J Med. (2024) 390:806-18.

AEROSOL PHYSICS

Duval D, Palmer JC, Tudge I et al. Long distance airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2: rapid systematic review. BMJ. (2022) 377:e068743.

Greenhalgh T, Jimenez JL, Prather KA et al. Ten scientific reasons in support of airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Lancet. (2021) 397:1603-1605.

Jimenez JL, Marr LC, Randall K et al. What were the historical reasons for the resistance to recognizing airborne transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic? Indoor Air. (2022) 32:8:e13070.

Nikuri P, Maalouf A, Geneid A et al. Aerosol transmission and exposure in non-invasive ventilation. Sci Rep. (2025) 15:14058.

Randall K, Ewing ET, Marr L et al. How Did We Get Here: What Are Droplets and Aerosols and How Far Do They Go? A Historical Perspective on the Transmission of Respiratory Infectious Diseases (2021). Available at SSRN.

Tang JW, Marr LC, Li Y et al. COVID-19 has redefined aerosol transmission. BMJ. (2021) 373:n913.

Wang CC, Prather KA, Sznitman J et al. Airborne transmission of respiratory viruses. Science. (2021) 373. eabd9149.

INFECTIVITY

Differentiation between asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission, and the period of time persistent positive cases are infectious. National Health and Medical Research Council, 14 July 2020.

Boucau J, Marino C, Regan J et al. Duration of shedding of culturable virus in SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (BA.1) infection. N Engl J Med. (2022) 387:275-277.

HOSPITAL ACQUIRED INFECTION

Healthcare-associated infection in Victoria, surveillance report 2021-22. Victorian Healthcare Associated Infection Surveillance Coordinating Centre, July 2023.

MITIGATION STRATEGIES

MASKS

Greenhalgh T, MacIntyre CR, Baker MG et al. Masks and respirators for prevention of respiratory infections: a state of the science review. Clin Microbiol Rev. (2024) 37:e00124-23.

VENTILATION

Morawska L, Allen J, Bahnfleth W et al. Mandating indoor air quality for public buildings. Science. (2024) 383:1418-1420.

CO2 MONITORS

Iwamura N, Tsutsumi K. SARS-CoV-2 airborne infection probability estimated by using indoor carbon dioxide. Environ Sci Pollut Res. (2023) 30:79227-79240.

AIR PURIFIERS

What is a HEPA filter? Environmental Protection Agency, updated 4 September 2024.

Frydas IS, Kermenidou K, Karypidou M et al. SARS-CoV-2 airborne detection within different departments of a COVID-19 hospital building and evaluation of air cleaners in air viral load reduction. J Aerosol Sci. (2025) 187:106587.

Morris AC, Sharrocks K, Bousfield R et al. The Removal of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Other Microbial Bioaerosols by Air Filtration on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Surge Units. Clin Infect Dis. (2022) 75(1):e97-e101.

AUSTRALIAN VACCINATION GUIDELINES

COVID-19 vaccine advice and recommendations. Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, updated 20 November 2024.