Identification of the novel KI polyomavirus in the respiratory tract of an Italian patient

ABSTRACT We have previously reported on a system for large-scale molecular virus screening of clinical samples. As part of an effort to systematically search for unrecognized human pathogens, the technology was applied for virus screening of human respiratory tract samples. This resulted in the identification of a previously unknown polyomavirus provisionally named KI polyomavirus. The virus is phylogenetically related to other primate polyomaviruses in the early region of the genome but has very little homology (<30% amino acid identity) to known polyomaviruses in the late region. The virus was found by PCR in 6 (1%) of 637 nasopharyngeal aspirates and in 1 (0.5%) of 192 fecal samples but was not detected in sets of urine and blood samples. Since polyomaviruses have oncogenic potential and may produce severe disease in immunosuppressed individuals, continued searching for the virus in different medical contexts is important. This finding further illustrates how unbiased screening of respiratory tract samples can be used for the discovery of diverse virus types.

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Being aware of the neurological manifestations of COVID-19 infection

Zinc supplementation improves heme biosynthesis in rats exposed to lead ◽

10.18051/univmed.2021.v40.187-189 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 40 (3) ◽

pp. 187-189

Author(s):

Basak Atalay

Keyword(s):

Respiratory Tract ◽

Sore Throat ◽

Strong Evidence ◽

Initial Presentation ◽

The Novel ◽

Neurologic Manifestations ◽

Neurological Manifestations ◽

Impaired Consciousness ◽

Atypical Symptoms ◽

Novel Coronavirus

The novel coronavirus disease- 2019 (COVID-19) is first reported from China, and unfortunately, no longer restricted, and spreads in all geographies.(1) The main symptoms of COVID-19 infection are respiratory tract related. Infected patients usually have symptoms such as fever, sore throat, and fatigue, and they may have atypical symptoms like headache, seizure, anosmia, stroke, and even impaired consciousness. Strong evidence of an association between COVID-19 infection and neurological manifestations has been reported. Besides, the neurologic manifestations may be the initial presentation of COVID-19 infection.

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Status of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 infection

International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology ◽

10.18203/2319-2003.ijbcp20203153 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 1301

Author(s):

Savita Ramesh Shahani ◽

Lokesh R. Shahani

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trials ◽

Tract Infection ◽

Respiratory Tract ◽

Rna Virus ◽

International Committee ◽

The Novel ◽

Human Respiratory Tract ◽

Novel Virus ◽

Dose Dependent

COVID-19 causing virus is a single stranded RNA virus which has spread across the globe causing human respiratory tract infection. The novel virus which started from Wuhan was named as Wuhan coronavirus or 2019 novel corona virus (2019-nCov) by the Chinese researchers. The international committee on taxonomy of viruses named the virus as SARS-CoV-2 and the disease as COVID-19. There is preliminary in vitro evidence of the ability of CQ and HCQ to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 activity. Various small group clinical studies conducted in china indicated efficacy of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in Covid-19 cases but results were inconclusive. Based on these studies national agencies in various countries issued guidelines mentioning that chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine are only to be used in clinical trials or emergency use programs. However, USFDA does not recommend use of both these drugs for treatment of COVID-19 cases. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are known to produce dose dependent toxicity including fatal arrhythmias therefore its possible benefit has to be assessed against its risk. Large number of international and national studies are ongoing to assess exact status of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for treatment and prophylaxis of COVID-19 infection. Based on these results ICMR recommend to use hydroxychloroquine for prophylaxis of COVID-19 in India and hydroxychloroquine has been is included in schedule H1 hence they can be sold by pharmaceutical chemists only strictly with a valid prescription and require record to be maintained but chloroquine is still under schedule H which require to be sold with prescription.

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Population Bottlenecks and Intra-host Evolution During Human-to-Human Transmission of SARS-CoV-2

Frontiers in Medicine ◽

10.3389/fmed.2021.585358 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Daxi Wang ◽

Yanqun Wang ◽

Wanying Sun ◽

Lu Zhang ◽

Jingkai Ji ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Respiratory Tract ◽

Stochastic Dynamics ◽

The Novel ◽

Population Bottlenecks ◽

Human Respiratory Tract ◽

Human Coronavirus ◽

Active Viral Replication ◽

Host Evolution ◽

Replication Activity

The emergence of the novel human coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, causes a global COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. Here, we have characterized and compared viral populations of SARS-CoV-2 among COVID-19 patients within and across households. Our work showed an active viral replication activity in the human respiratory tract and the co-existence of genetically distinct viruses within the same host. The inter-host comparison among viral populations further revealed a narrow transmission bottleneck between patients from the same households, suggesting a dominated role of stochastic dynamics in both inter-host and intra-host evolutions.

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