AJTMH July updates

Below is an update of COVID-19 articles published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (AJTMH). We've highlighted below those that we think may of interest for your reporting.

The Origin of COVID-19 - and Why It Matters: Embargoed until July 22, 2020 at 5:00 PM ET. Email press contact for a copy of the study.

This new perspective offers credible, scientific authority to the narrative and ongoing exploration of how COVID-19 began. The exploration of the origins argues that available data establishes that our current pandemic virus emerged directly or indirectly from bats prevalent in Asia.

The authors point out that scientists have warned since at least 2007 about the emergence and re-emergence of SARS-like viruses, yet few preventive actions have been taken. They call for "vigorous scientific, public health, and societal actions, including significantly increased funding for basic and applied research addressing disease emergence, to prevent this tragic history from repeating itself."

Keep Politics out of Funding Decisions for Medical Research and Public Health: Embargoed until July 22, 2020 at 5:00 PM ET. Email press contact for a copy of the editorial.

Members of American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's Executive Committee wrote an editorial on the value of science and the ways that the current administration is undermining efforts to protect and improve human health. Recent decisions by the White House are detrimental to human health, especially during the pandemic. The authors urge the President to reinstate essential funding to research coronaviruses and to continue the United States' relationship with the World Health Organization.

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You can read additional COVID-19 articles published in AJTMH here.