Infectious Diseases

John A. Sellick Jr., DO, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, was quoted in stories about melioidosis, the rare bacterial infection that the CDC recently issued a warning about. Despite the uncertainty of how these patients in the U.S. got melioidosis, infectious disease experts say you shouldn’t be too worried about this. “Most of us infectious disease doctors have never seen a case,” Sellick said.

The Washington Post interviewed Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, for a story about concerns many people who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine are expressing following a South Africa trial that looked at the effectiveness of the J&J vaccine. “Data suggest Johnson & Johnson is a very solid vaccine that protects against the delta variant. It may not match up as well against the mRNA vaccine, but we need a lot more data on both of these vaccines.”

Spectrum news quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, in a story reporting that Erie County hospitals are seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases, which Russo attributes largely to the delta variant. “The delta variant is by far the most infectious,” he said. “In fact, its infectivity rivals that of chickenpox, and it’s due to acquiring mutations that allow it to both attach better and shed more virus for a more prolonged period of time.”

A Buffalo News story reporting that there will likely be several more weeks of rising COVID-19 cases includes interviews with Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, and Manoj J. Mammen, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. On a recent day, 70 people were hospitalized with COVID in Western New York. A year earlier to the day, that number was only 29. “At that time, the county was in lockdown in terms of commercial and scholastic and other activities. People, behavior-wise, were just not interacting with each other at all,” Mammen said. “Now we have almost normal business and scholastic and personal interactions. I think that’s the difference.” Added Russo: “For the most part, if you’re fully vaccinated, your concern should be less, but not zero. It doesn’t mean your behavior should be reckless.”

Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, told the Buffalo News that COVID-19 symptoms that linger after recovery are a reality for some patients. “The sicker you are, the more likely you are to have these symptoms that persist after recovery,” he said. “However, certain individuals who had mild symptoms still have these persistent symptoms. We need to think of it as not just being a virus that affects our respiratory tract. This virus can affect any organ in the body.”

An article on the what Delta variant of COVID-19 means for the next chapter of the ongoing pandemic quoted Timothy F. Murphy, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and senior associate dean for clinical and translational research. “When we recalculate the percent of the population that we will need to have vaccinated in order to substantially reduce the amount of circulating virus, the number is going to be higher than 70 percent,” said Murphy. “It’s probably going to be in the 85 percent or 90 percent rate, to get what is called herd immunity.”

John A. Sellick Jr., DO, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, was quoted in a story about the “Delta Plus” variant of the coronavirus, first detected in April in India’s state of Maharashtra. “As of now, [the symptoms] seem to the same as [those] of the Delta variant and earlier coronavirus strains,” he said.

Multiple news outlets quoted John A. Sellick Jr., DO, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, in stories on whether nosebleeds are a sign of COVID-19. Sellick says nosebleeds definitely are not a main symptom of COVID-19, but adds “we’re at the time of year where people get nosebleeds anyway, due to allergies and being in air conditioning.”

John A. Sellick Jr., DO, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, noted that any links tying constipation to COVID-19 are not very strong. “Given how prevalent constipation is in the general population of the U.S. (afflicting an estimated at 42 million people), it's difficult to say if COVID-19 actually causes the condition or if it's a coincidence when it does happen in COVID-19 patients.”

Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, was quoted in stories about the rise of COVID-19 infections, including in children. “There’s actually data out there that if adults get vaccinated, to a degree, that decreases COVID cases in children,” he said.

Multiple news outlets reached out to John A. Sellick Jr., DO, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, for help explaining why the Delta variant is so dangerous. The Delta variant has several mutations on its spike protein, the crown-like piece of the virus that latches onto a person’s cells, he said. Thus, Delta “binds very tightly,” compared to other variants, Sellick said, allowing it to “stay attached very well” once it gets ahold of cell receptors.”

Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, was quoted in stories on mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for U.S. service members. The exact date for mandatory vaccinations will depend on when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully licenses the available vaccines. As of July 28, the vaccines available in the U.S. all have an “emergency use authorization.” To get full FDA approval, the government agency requires six months of safety data from users, said Russo.

The Daily Mail in England quoted John Sellick, professor of medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, from a Washington Post story reporting that COVID-19 variant B.1.621, which originated in Colombia, has been found in South Florida. As of now, experts are unsure of any unique qualities the unnamed variant could have. “The only time it becomes important is if it gives virus selective advantage, which we've seen with delta variant,” Sellick said. “We'll see with this one. . . . What we have to see is two weeks from now, or four weeks from now, is this going to do another trick and wind up being more?”

Yahoo! interviewed Thomas Russo, chief of infectious diseases in the Jacobs School, for a story explaining the CDC’s new masking guidance. Russo urges people to keep this in mind: “The honor system has failed. Mask mandates will hopefully get the unvaccinated to wear masks. But, at the end of the day, vaccination is our ticket out of this.”

A Newsweek story reporting that the Department of Defense is now requiring people, regardless of vaccination status, to wear masks inside all of its facilities quotes UB infectious disease expert Thomas Russo, who spoke about the process of FDA approval for the vaccines, which is expected soon. WBFO also interviewed Russo in a story about the possibility of the indoor masking requirement returning to Erie County. Russo said the spread of COVID-19 has largely been through the unvaccinated. “We've been using the honor system and it’s clear that at least in certain parts of the country, in certain venues the honor system really hasn't been getting that done,” Russo said. “So the mask mandates is primarily about making sure that the unvaccinated wear masks in high risk scenarios where we know this virus spreads very well.”