Stopping the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review on the Advances of Diagnosis, Treatment, and Control Measures

With the continued spread of COVID-19 across the world, rapid diagnostic tools, readily available respurposable drugs, and prompt containment measures to control the SARS-CoV-2 infection are of paramount importance. Examples of recent advances in diagnostic tests are CRISPR technology, IgG assay, spike protein detection, and use of artificial intelligence. The gold standard reverse transcription polymerase chain (RT-PCR) has also been upgraded with point-of-care rapid tests. Supportive treatment, mechanical ventilation, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) remain the primary choice, while therapeutic options include antivirals, antiparasitics, anti-inflammatories, interferon, convalescent plasma, monoclonal antibody, hyperimmunoglobulin, RNAi, and mesenchymal stem cell therapy. Different types of vaccines such as RNA, DNA, and lentiviral, inactivated, and viral vector are in clinical trials. Moreover, rapidly deployable and easy-to-transport innovative vaccine delivery systems are also in development. As countries have started easing down on the lockdown measures, the chance for a second wave of infection demands strict and rational control policies to keep fatalities minimized. An improved understanding of the advances in diagnostic tools, treatments, vaccines, and control measures for COVID-19 can provide references for further research and aid better containment strategies.

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Detecting Antibody-Labeled BCG MNPs Using a Magnetoresistive Biosensor and Magnetic Labeling Technique

Journal of Nano Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/jnanor.35.92 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 35 ◽

pp. 92-103

Author(s):

Teresa R.G. Barroso ◽

Verónica C. Martins ◽

Filipe Cardoso ◽

Susana Cardoso ◽

Jorge Pedrosa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Particles ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Spin Valve ◽

Health Concern ◽

Fringe Field ◽

Diagnostic Tools ◽

High Morbidity ◽

Magnetic Capture ◽

And Control ◽

Slow Growing

Tuberculosis is still a major global health concern, causing the estimated death of 1.5 million people per year and being associated with high morbidity. The development of point-of-care diagnostic tools for tuberculosis is mandatory, especially because the fast and accurate detection of the slow-growing Mycobacterium tuberculosis by the conventional diagnostic tests is difficult.The objective of this work was to develop the first steps to achieve a portable method for the diagnosis of tuberculosis, by a sandwich-immunoassay combined with magnetoresistive biochip technology.With the purpose of conjugating 250 nm streptavidin-coated magnetic nanoparticles with anti- M.tuberculosis biotinylated antibodies, Mycobacteriumbovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin was used as a surrogate for M. tuberculosis bacteria. After magnetic capture, target bacteria were brought in contact with the surface of the magnetoresistive biochip previously functionalized with a secondary anti-M. tuberculosis antibody. Magnetically labeled cells were detected by an array of spin-valve sensors, which change their electrical resistance in the presence of the fringe field of the magnetic particles. Optimization studies on the efficiency of the magnetic capture and further recognition of the bacteria by the secondary antibody on the biochip surface were conducted. The results on the magnetoresistive biochip showed a clear difference in the signal between specific and control (non-specific) sensors, suggesting the usefulness of this technique as a potential biorecognition tool for the development of a point-of-care diagnostic method for tuberculosis.

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Evaluation of the compliance of people with the containment measures and wearing-mask behaviours in different stages of COVID-19 pandemic: An observational study from Turkey

One Health & Risk Management ◽

10.38045/ohrm.2021.3.03 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 19-26

Author(s):

Erhan KAYA ◽

Hüseyin ÜÇER

Keyword(s):

Observational Study ◽

Control Measures ◽

The People ◽

Medical Facilities ◽

Before And After ◽

Containment Measures ◽

Chisquare Test ◽

And Gender ◽

Collection Form ◽

And Control

Introduction. Protection measurements should be paid attention so that the regions affected to a great extent gain time for medical care and medical facilities can cope with increasing intensive care cases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the change in the rate of behaviours of people related to going out and wearing a mask during the pandemic in Turkey. Material and methods. This observational study investigated people’s behaviours of going out and mask-wearing in the province of Kahramanmaras in Turkey during 4 different periods with 14-day intervals before and after Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 48 hours camera record made in 4 different periods at 12 pedestrian crossings used intensively by people was examined. Two researchers recorded and examined the number and gender of the people using these pedestrian crossings and their wearing-mask behaviours on a data collection form. The obtained data were presented as tables and graphics, showing numbers and percentages. Appropriate mask-wearing according to gender was analysed by ChiSquare test. Results. The number of people using pedestrian crossings decreased by 70.19% for men and 87.07% for women compared to before the pandemic. When comparing the appropriate mask-wearing according to gender, it was concluded that women had a higher statistically significant rate on the appropriate mask-wearing compared to men (p<0.05).Conclusions. Compliance to mask-wearing and control measures was high at the beginning of the pandemic. A high percentage of women wore masks correctly. About 40 days after the pandemic started, people wore the mask less correctly.

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Characterising within-hospital SARS-CoV-2 transmission events: a retrospective analysis integrating epidemiological and viral genomic data from a UK tertiary care setting across two pandemic waves

10.1101/2021.07.15.21260537 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Benjamin B Lindsey ◽

Ch. Julián Villabona-Arenas ◽

Finlay Campbell ◽

Alexander J Keeley ◽

Matthew D Parker ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Workers ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Epidemiological Data ◽

Rapid Identification ◽

Control Measures ◽

Hospital Acquired Infections ◽

Prevention And Control Measures ◽

Hospital Acquired ◽

And Control ◽

Second Wave

Objectives - To characterise within-hospital SARS-CoV-2 transmission across two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design - A retrospective Bayesian modelling study to reconstruct transmission chains amongst 2181 patients and healthcare workers using combined viral genomic and epidemiological data. Setting - A large UK NHS Trust with over 1400 beds and employing approximately 17,000 staff. Participants - 780 patients and 522 staff testing SARS-CoV-2 positive between 1st March 2020 and 25th July 2020 (Wave 1); and 580 patients and 299 staff testing SARS-CoV-2 positive between 30th November 2020 and 24th January 2021 (Wave 2). Main outcome measures - Transmission pairs including who-infected-whom; location of transmission events in hospital; number of secondary cases from each individual, including differences in onward transmission from community and hospital onset patient cases. Results - Staff-to-staff transmission was estimated to be the most frequent transmission type during Wave 1 (31.6% of observed hospital-acquired infections; 95% CI 26.9 to 35.8%), decreasing to 12.9% (95% CI 9.5 to 15.9%) in Wave 2. Patient-to-patient transmissions increased from 27.1% in Wave 1 (95% CI 23.3 to 31.4%) to 52.1% (95% CI 48.0 to 57.1%) in Wave 2, to become the predominant transmission type. Over 50% of hospital-acquired infections were concentrated in 8/120 locations in Wave 1 and 10/93 locations in Wave 2. Approximately 40% to 50% of hospital-onset patient cases resulted in onward transmission compared to less than 4% of definite community-acquired cases. Conclusions - Prevention and control measures that evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic may have had a significant impact on reducing infections between healthcare workers, but were insufficient during the second wave to prevent a high number of patient-to-patient transmissions. As hospital-acquired cases appeared to drive most onward transmissions, more frequent and rapid identification and isolation of these cases will be required to break hospital transmission chains in subsequent pandemic waves

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The genesis of the second wave and the probable way forward for India

Indian Journal of Community Health ◽

10.47203/ijch.2021.v33i02.036 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 411-412

Author(s):

Rajeev Aravindakshan ◽

Siddharth Srivastava

Keyword(s):

Developed Countries ◽

Control Measures ◽

Preventive Strategies ◽

Containment Measures ◽

The Face ◽

Strict Enforcement ◽

Economic Slowdown ◽

Fear Mongering ◽

June July ◽

Second Wave

An unprecedented pandemic affecting 210 countries emerged in the watershed year of 2020 and involved India as well (1). We mined the number of daily cases of three equal periods of importance during the evolution of the pandemic in India, namely 1) initial lockdown (March-April 2020), 2) early days of unlocking (June-July 2020), and 3) second wave (March April 2021). Notice the March 2020 series in [Figure 1] and country-wise cases in [Figure 2], and we can observe that India was able to sustain itself against the first wave of the SARS Coronavirus-2 in a much better way compared to other developed countries. Social lockdown and other preventive strategies paid off even in the face of criticisms regarding lack of preparedness and economic slowdown due to strict enforcement of harsh measures. Soon, there were demands of decentralized control measures with more testing and local containment measures than the centrally dictated regimen. Lockdown was suggested for only local clusters with high positivity rather than a general clampdown (2). The June-July series in [Figure 1] represents the increasing numbers of cases resulting from suspicions, fear-mongering, and resultant relaxation in social restrictions as part of the phase-wise unlocking across the country.

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Tools and Techniques for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)/COVID-19 Detection

Clinical Microbiology Reviews ◽

10.1128/cmr.00228-20 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Seyed Hamid Safiabadi Tali ◽

Jason J. LeBlanc ◽

Zubi Sadiq ◽

Oyejide Damilola Oyewunmi ◽

Carolina Camargo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Imaging Techniques ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Disease Spread ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Diagnostic Tools ◽

Specimen Collection ◽

Recent Developments ◽

And Control

SUMMARY The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory disease coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has led to millions of confirmed cases and deaths worldwide. Efficient diagnostic tools are in high demand, as rapid and large-scale testing plays a pivotal role in patient management and decelerating disease spread. This paper reviews current technologies used to detect SARS-CoV-2 in clinical laboratories as well as advances made for molecular, antigen-based, and immunological point-of-care testing, including recent developments in sensor and biosensor devices. The importance of the timing and type of specimen collection is discussed, along with factors such as disease prevalence, setting, and methods. Details of the mechanisms of action of the various methodologies are presented, along with their application span and known performance characteristics. Diagnostic imaging techniques and biomarkers are also covered, with an emphasis on their use for assessing COVID-19 or monitoring disease severity or complications. While the SARS-CoV-2 literature is rapidly evolving, this review highlights topics of interest that have occurred during the pandemic and the lessons learned throughout. Exploring a broad armamentarium of techniques for detecting SARS-CoV-2 will ensure continued diagnostic support for clinicians, public health, and infection prevention and control for this pandemic and provide advice for future pandemic preparedness.

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Role of COVIDsafe app and control measures in Australia in combating COVID-19 pandemic

Transforming Government People Process and Policy ◽

10.1108/tg-01-2021-0004 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Hafiz Syed Mohsin Abbas ◽

Xiaodong Xu ◽

Chunxia Sun

Keyword(s):

Linear Regression ◽

Policy Development ◽

Control Measures ◽

Content Type ◽

Demonstration Analysis ◽

Emergency Response System ◽

Containment Measures ◽

The Government ◽

And Control

Purpose COVID-19 (C19) has been destroying the world's health and emergency response system for almost the past year. Policymakers and health practitioners are trying their best to save the public through various policy development and initiatives in this regard. This study aims to examine the containment measures and their impacts on Australia's C19 situation in Australia's COVIDsafe app background. Design/methodology/approach This study investigates the role of the Australian Government's (AG) Health Containment (HC) and Stringency response (SR) in combating the C19 situation in Australia. The time horizon has been taken from January to October 2020 and applied Linear Regression with graphical demonstration analysis by STATA-18 version and MS Word chart features. Findings By applying linear regression and graphical demonstration, statistics revealed that AG made various policy developments during the C19 pandemic. However, due to inconsistent and unsustainable measures, the second C19 wave hit Australia much harder than the first wave. COVIDsafe app has been a vital AG in this regard; however, it did not show its progress during the second wave due to privacy issues. After the more focused and aggressive research and development measures, AG overcame the App drawbacks and controlled the situation, demonstrating 92% recovered statistics from C19. Practical implications The study concludes that AG should enforce many prudent policy measures and distinct E-government features in the COVIDsafe app and make it secure so people will use it in probable forthcoming C19 waves. Originality/value This study has examined the Government of Australia's containment measures in the background discussion of the COVIDsafe app.

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Nanobiosensors as new diagnostic tools for SARS, MERS and COVID-19: from past to perspectives

Microchimica Acta ◽

10.1007/s00604-020-04615-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 187 (12) ◽

Author(s):

Riccarda Antiochia

Keyword(s):

State Of The Art ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Respiratory Illness ◽

Diagnostic Tools ◽

The Novel ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Critical Comparison ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

And Control ◽

Affinity Biosensors

AbstractThe severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and novel coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) epidemics represent the biggest global health threats in the last two decades. These infections manifest as bronchitis, pneumonia or severe, sometimes fatal, respiratory illness. The novel coronavirus seems to be associated with milder infections but it has spread globally more rapidly becoming a pandemic. This review summarises the state of the art of nanotechnology-based affinity biosensors for SARS, MERS and COVID-19 detection. The nanobiosensors are antibody- or DNA-based biosensors with electrochemical, optical or FET-based transduction. Various kinds of nanomaterials, such as metal nanoparticles, nanowires and graphene, have been merged to the affinity biosensors to enhance their analytical performances. The advantages of the use of the nanomaterials are highlighted, and the results compared with those obtained using non-nanostructured biosensors. A critical comparison with conventional methods, such as RT-PCR and ELISA, is also reported. It is hoped that this review will provide interesting information for the future development of new reliable nano-based platforms for point-of-care diagnostic devices for COVID-19 prevention and control.

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Comparing the Scope and Efficacy of COVID-19 Response Strategies in 16 Countries: An Overview

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17249421 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (24) ◽

pp. 9421

Author(s):

Liudmila Rozanova ◽

Alexander Temerev ◽

Antoine Flahault

Keyword(s):

Data Analysis ◽

Case Studies ◽

Control Measures ◽

Policy Tools ◽

Response Strategies ◽

Containment Measures ◽

Future Data ◽

Response Measures ◽

Comparison And Analysis ◽

And Control

This article synthesizes the results of case studies on the development of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and control measures by governments in 16 countries. When this work was conducted, only 6 months had passed since the pandemic began, and only 4 months since the first events were recognized outside of China. It was too early to draw firm conclusions about the effectiveness of measures in each of the selected countries; however, the authors present some efforts to identify and classify response and containment measures, country-by-country, for future comparison and analysis. There is a significant variety of policy tools and response measures employed in different countries, and while it is still hard to directly compare the different approaches based on their efficacy, it will definitely provide many inputs for the future data analysis efforts.

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Response to the COVID-19 Epidemic: The Chinese Experience and Implications for Other Countries

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17072304 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (7) ◽

pp. 2304 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Wei Liu ◽

Xiao-Guang Yue ◽

Paul B. Tchounwou

Keyword(s):

Control Measures ◽

Business Community ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

The Novel ◽

Multiple Systems ◽

The Public ◽

Community Technology ◽

Containment Measures ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

And Control

The ongoing outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that occurred in China is rapidly spreading globally. China’s bond and strict containment measures have been proved (in practice) to significantly reduce the spread of the epidemic. This was obtained through the use of emergency control measures in the epidemic areas and the integration of resources from multiple systems, including business, community, technology, education, and transportation, across the country. In order to better understand how China has managed to reduce the public health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic, this editorial systematically reviews the specific measures for infection prevention and control of the disease. The best practices for COVID-19 eradication in China provide evidence-based strategies that could be replicated in other countries.

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Influence of compliance with protection measures to prevent contagion by Covid-19 during the first wave in the district of Barranca [Influencia del acatamiento de las medidas de protección para prevenir el contagio por Covid-19 durante la primera ola en el distrito de Barranca]

Journal of Global Education Sciences ◽

10.32829/ges.v3i1.220 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 16

Author(s):

Dante Cruz Nieto ◽

Ronald Rodriguez Espinoza ◽

William Guzmán Sánchez ◽

Juan Ipanaqué Roña ◽

Ronald Ramos Pacheco ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Control Measures ◽

Ministry Of Health ◽

Protection Measures ◽

Maximum Value ◽

Protection And Control ◽

And Control ◽

Second Wave

The objective is to determine how compliance with the protection measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus influences the district of Barranca. The markets and banks were evaluated during the months from March to October 2020, taking as a sample 100 randomly selected people. Compliance with protection measures in the markets occurred gradually, being the month of August where the use of masks was observed in 100%, and in October 95% use of alcohol, 65% use of visors and 58% distancing. In banks, the use of masks reached 100% as of June, in September the use of disinfectant alcohol was 100%, 71% in visors and in October 100% distancing was obtained. It was compared with the results issued by the Ministry of Health, reaching a maximum value of 738 positives in August and a maximum of 33 deaths in June. Despite the protection regulations being complied with, the number of infections increased. However, it is necessary to efficiently intensify protection and control measures in order to avoid a second wave of infections.

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