scholarly journals Risk Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 in Antarctic Wildlife

Author(s):  
Andrés Barbosa ◽  
Arvind Vansani ◽  
Virginia Morandini ◽  
Wray Grimaldi ◽  
Ralph E.T. Vanstreels ◽  
...  

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread rapidly to most parts of the world, causing high numbers of deaths and significant social and economic impacts. SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus with a suggested zoonotic origin and with the potential for cross-species transmission among animals. Antarctica can be considered the only continent free of SARS-CoV-2 although at the end of the 2019-2020 tourist season, at least one SARS-CoV-2 positive tourist visited the Antarctic Peninsula. Therefore, concerns have been expressed regarding the potential human introduction of this virus to the continent through the activities of research or tourism with potential effects including those related to human health, but also the potential for virus transmission to Antarctic wildlife. This reverse-zoonotic transmission risk to Antarctic wildlife is assessed considering the available information on host susceptibility, dynamics of the infection in humans, and contact interactions between humans and Antarctic wildlife. Measures to reduce the risk are proposed as well as the identification of knowledge gaps related to this issue.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-157
Author(s):  
Mohammad Mostafa Ansari Ramandi ◽  
Mohammadreza Baay ◽  
Nasim Naderi

The disaster due to the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) around the world has made investigators enthusiastic about working on different aspects of COVID-19. However, although the pandemic of COVID-19 has not yet ended, it seems that COVID-19 compared to the other coronavirus infections (the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [MERS] and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome [SARS]) is more likely to target the heart. Comparing the previous presentations of the coronavirus family and the recent cardiovascular manifestations of COVID-19 can also help in predicting possible future challenges and taking measures to tackle these issues.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-282
Author(s):  
Didik Priyandoko ◽  
◽  
Wahyu Widowati ◽  
Mawar Subangkit ◽  
Diana Jasaputra ◽  
...  

The 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread rapidly from its origin in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, to the rest of the world. The efficacy of herbal treatment in the control of contagious disease was demonstrated during the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Natural compound used for this study were isoflavone and myricetin. Molecular docking was performed to analyze binding mode of the compounds towards 12 proteins related to COVID-19. The prediction shows that isoflavone and myricetin have moderate probability of antiviral activity. All of the docked compounds occupied the active sites of the proteins related to COVID-19. Based on QSAR and molecular docking, interactions were predicted with 10 out of 12 potential COVID-19 proteins for myricetin and with 9 out of 12 proteins interactions for isoflavone. A potential disease alleviating action is suggested for isoflavone and myricetin in the context of COVID-19 infection.


The Analyst ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linlin Zhuang ◽  
Jiansen Gong ◽  
Ming Ma ◽  
Yongxin Ji ◽  
Peilong Tian ◽  
...  

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been surging rapidly around the world, which exposes humanity to unprecedented economic, social and...


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (03) ◽  
pp. 366-369
Author(s):  
Rooh Ullah ◽  
Muhammad Suleman Rana ◽  
Mehmood Qadir ◽  
Muhammad Usman ◽  
Niaz Ahmed

Pandemic of novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in China is now become global public health crisis. At present 87.64% of the world is infected by this deadly illness. The risk from this epidemic depends on the nature of the virus, including how well it transmits from person to person, and the complications resulting from this current illness. The novel coronavirus has killed thousands of people in China and other countries as well; its rate of mortality is increasing day by day. There is an urgent need to control the virus by developing vaccine or any other antiviral drugs to save the world from this deadly viral infection.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 164-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoting Pei ◽  
Xinwei Jiao ◽  
Dingli Lu ◽  
Di Qi ◽  
Shenzhen Huang ◽  
...  

Background: The novel coronavirus pneumonia has attracted considerable attention from the international community. With the spread of outbreaks around the world, the WHO characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. Methods: Relevant studies in PubMed were searched from January 1, 2020 to April 12, 2020, using the following search strategy: (“novel coronavirus pneumonia” OR “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2” OR “coronavirus disease 2019” OR “COVID-19” OR “novel coronavirus pneumonia”) AND (“ophthalmology” OR “ophthalmologist” OR “eye” OR “conjunctiva” OR “conjunctivitis” OR “corneal” OR “keratitis”). Results: SARS-CoV-2 can spread through aerosol and is detected in tears of patients with COVID-19 infection. Notably, some infected patients had conjunctivitis, and conjunctivitis was the first symptom in some patients later diagnosed to have COVID-19 infection. This would increase the risk for ophthalmologists through inpatient consultations or regular clinical practice. When dealing with seemingly regular ophthalmic patients, the vigilance of ophthalmologists and associated staff tends to be reduced. Conclusion: Ophthalmologists must continuously update their knowledge regarding COVID-19 and take effective measures to prevent COVID-19 transmission.


Author(s):  
Neha Saini ◽  
Prem Pandey ◽  
Mandar Shirolkar ◽  
Atul Kulkarni

Humanity is going through never seen before health crisis due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). There are 24.02 million cases and 0.82 million deaths worldwide as of 26th August 2020 due to deadly infection of COVID-19. The disease has been spreading exponentially (R-naught number: 3) and has challenged even the best healthcare infrastructure in the world. With the progression of the disease, the countries shifted the focus from cure to diagnosis and containment to flatten the curve. The review shows that the disease is spreading exponentially while the resources are still limited. We focus upon the probable vectors of the virus, different diagnostic methods with advantages & limitations, and the way forward. This review article covers the different diagnostic methods with more advantages, limitations, and the future sneak-peek into the forthcoming developments for the diagnostic processes such as RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase chain reaction).


PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tingting Hu ◽  
Ying Liu ◽  
Mingyi Zhao ◽  
Quan Zhuang ◽  
Linyong Xu ◽  
...  

In mid-December 2019, a novel atypical pneumonia broke out in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China and was caused by a newly identified coronavirus, initially termed 2019 Novel Coronavirus and subsequently severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of 19 May 2020, a total of 4,731,458 individuals were reported as infected with SARS-CoV-2 among 213 countries, areas or territories with recorded cases, and the overall case-fatality rate was 6.6% (316,169 deaths among 4,731,458 recorded cases), according to the World Health Organization. Studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 is notably similar to (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus) SARS-CoV that emerged in 2002–2003 and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) that spread during 2012, and these viruses all contributed to global pandemics. The ability of SARS-CoV-2 to rapidly spread a pneumonia-like disease from Hubei Province, China, throughout the world has provoked widespread concern. The main symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) include fever, cough, myalgia, fatigue and lower respiratory signs. At present, nucleic acid tests are widely recommended as the optimal method for detecting SARS-CoV-2. However, obstacles remain, including the global shortage of testing kits and the presentation of false negatives. Experts suggest that almost everyone in China is susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and to date, there are no effective treatments. In light of the references published, this review demonstrates the biological features, spread, diagnosis and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 as a whole and aims to analyse the similarities and differences among SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV to provide new ideas and suggestions for prevention, diagnosis and clinical treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nouar Qutob ◽  
Zaidoun Salah ◽  
Damien Richard ◽  
Hisham Darwish ◽  
Husam Sallam ◽  
...  

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the novel coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, continues to cause a significant public-health burden and disruption globally. Genomic epidemiology approaches point to most countries in the world having experienced many independent introductions of SARS-CoV-2 during the early stages of the pandemic. However, this situation may change with local lockdown policies and restrictions on travel, leading to the emergence of more geographically structured viral populations and lineages transmitting locally. Here, we report the first SARS-CoV-2 genomes from Palestine sampled from early March 2020, when the first cases were observed, through to August of 2020. SARS-CoV-2 genomes from Palestine fall across the diversity of the global phylogeny, consistent with at least nine independent introductions into the region. We identify one locally predominant lineage in circulation represented by 50 Palestinian SARS-CoV-2, grouping with genomes generated from Israel and the UK. We estimate the age of introduction of this lineage to 05/02/2020 (16/01/2020–19/02/2020), suggesting SARS-CoV-2 was already in circulation in Palestine predating its first detection in Bethlehem in early March. Our work highlights the value of ongoing genomic surveillance and monitoring to reconstruct the epidemiology of COVID-19 at both local and global scales.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunyu Li ◽  
Yuchen Zhu ◽  
Chang Qi ◽  
Lili Liu ◽  
Dandan Zhang ◽  
...  

Background: Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2), is now sweeping across the world. A substantial proportion of infections only lead to mild symptoms or are asymptomatic, but the proportion and infectivity of asymptomatic infections remains unknown. In this paper, we proposed a model to estimate the proportion and infectivity of asymptomatic cases, using COVID-19 in Henan Province, China, as an example.Methods: We extended the conventional susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered model by including asymptomatic, unconfirmed symptomatic, and quarantined cases. Based on this model, we used daily reported COVID-19 cases from January 21 to February 26, 2020, in Henan Province to estimate the proportion and infectivity of asymptomatic cases, as well as the change of effective reproductive number, Rt.Results: The proportion of asymptomatic cases among COVID-19 infected individuals was 42% and the infectivity was 10% that of symptomatic ones. The basic reproductive number R0 = 2.73, and Rt dropped below 1 on January 31 under a series of measures.Conclusion: The spread of the COVID-19 epidemic was rapid in the early stage, with a large number of asymptomatic infected individuals having relatively low infectivity. However, it was quickly brought under control with national measures.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-133
Author(s):  
Fabricia Oliveira Oliveira ◽  
Larissa Moraes dos Santos Fonseca ◽  
Roberto Badaró ◽  
Bruna Aparecida Souza Machado

In less than a year, the novel coronavirus rapidly changed the world scenario. To dealing with the fast spread of the disease, health associations coordinate data flows and issue guidelines to better mitigate the impact of the threat. Also, scientific groups around the world are working to ensure that all information about the mechanisms of the virus, transmission, and disease clinics is updated as the disease progresses. The objective of this study was to present the guidelines and recommendations for preventing, management strategies, clarifications about pandemics disinformation, and diagnosing COVID-19 infection in human specimens adopted from the main health centers and institutions in the world, such as WHO and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is important to highlight that the rapid and effective enforcement of existing international and national action plans, as well as parallel review and improvisation, is facilitating the affected countries to contain transmission and possibly delay the peak of outbreak and mortality.


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