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Questions today about the risk of coronavirus nCoV-19 in #IBD patients on immunosuppressive therapies. We don't know a lot, as this is quite new. The most up-to-date information can be found at the CDC website cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…
It appears to be spread by respiratory droplets, generally when you inhale droplets from a cough or sneeze from a nearby person (usually within 6 feet). Do #IBD patients have increased risk for this respiratory virus?
By analogy to influenza, another respiratory virus spread by droplets that we know more about, #IBD patients have about a 50% increased risk of influenza. This risk goes up by about 20% more if you are on steroids. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30020478
Not a lot of effect of biologic medications (anti-TNFs like infliximab, adalimumab). These seem to increase the risk of mycobacterial, fungal, and bacterial infections in #IBD, but not so much for viruses.
Also not a lot of effect on respiratory viruses from the older immunosuppressants like Azathioprine and mercaptopurine, which do make #IBD patients more susceptible to viruses that stay in the body, like chickenpox -> shingles, Epstein Barr virus (mono), and HPV.
So at this point, it is reasonable to take the precautions that you would take for influenza: avoid folks who are coughing/sneezing, wash your hands, and in high-risk situations (especially on steroids) consider wearing a mask 2make it harder to inhale droplets from someone else.
And follow the CDC website about coronavirus as our information and knowledge changes cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…
Another website (and R package) with up-to-date data and maps. 383 new cases reported in Wuhan today (27Feb) bcloud.org/e/
R package at github.com/GuangchuangYu/…
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