scholarly journals Review of the Microbiological Diagnostic Approaches of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ada Melo-Vallès ◽  
Clara Ballesté-Delpierre ◽  
Jordi Vila

On March 12, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic following the exponential increase of SARS-CoV-2 cases. The rapid spread of the virus is due to both its high infectivity and the free circulation of unrecognized infectious cases. Thus, diagnostic testing is a key element to prevent further dissemination of the virus. Urged by WHO's call, laboratories worldwide have been working on nucleic acid tests protocols and immunoassays that became available, albeit poorly validated, within a comparatively short time. Since then, external studies evaluating these diagnostic tests have been published. The present study is a review of the COVID-19 diagnostic approaches, discussing both direct and indirect microbiological diagnoses. A compendium of the literature on commercial assays kits available to date is provided together with the conclusions drawn as well as RT-PCR protocols published by the WHO. Briefly, diagnostic accuracy varies according to time elapsed since symptom onset and evolves together with understanding of the COVID-19 disease. Taking into account all these variables will allow determining the most adequate diagnostic test to use and how to optimize diagnostic testing for COVID-19.

2020 ◽  
pp. 276-289
Author(s):  
Mobina Fathi ◽  
Kimia Vakili ◽  
Niloofar Deravi

Around the end of December 2019, a new beta-coronavirus from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China began to spread rapidly. The new virus, called SARS-CoV-2, which could be transmitted through respiratory droplets, had a range of mild to severe symptoms, from simple cold in some cases to death in others. The disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 was named COVID-19 by WHO and has so far killed more people than SARS and MERS. Following the widespread global outbreak of COVID-19, with more than 132758 confirmed cases and 4955 deaths worldwide, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic disease in January 2020. Earlier studies on viral pneumonia epidemics has shown that pregnant women are at greater risk than others. During pregnancy, the pregnant woman is more prone to infectious diseases. Research on both SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, which are pathologically similar to SARS-CoV-2, has shown that being infected with these viruses during pregnancy increases the risk of maternal death, stillbirth, intrauterine growth retardation and, preterm delivery. With the exponential increase in cases of COVID-19 throughout the world, there is a need to understand the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on the health of pregnant women, through extrapolation of earlier studies that have been conducted on pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV. There is an urgent need to understand the chance of vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from mother to fetus and the possibility of the virus crossing the placental barrier. Additionally, since some viral diseases and antiviral drugs may have a negative impact on the mother and fetus, in which case, pregnant women need special attention for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19.


2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heba K. Nabih

Abstract Background The global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was announced as pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). With the increased number of infected and dead victims daily all over the world, it becomes necessary to stop or overcome its rapid spread. Main body Although the production of vaccine or even specified effective anti-virus may take about six months to a year, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) may be clinically used as a safe treatment to save and improve the quality of life of patients with a variety of immunodeficiency diseases such as lymphocytopenia, which is a common clinical feature in COVID-19. Conclusion Through the current review, it was concluded that this passive immunization may promote the immunity to better fight against the virus, so the survival of the patients could be kept longer. The efficacy of immunotherapy with IVIg would be greater if the immune IgG antibodies were collected from convalescent plasma therapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-41
Author(s):  
Seyed Hesamaddin Banihashemi ◽  
Ahmadreza Karimi ◽  
Hasti Nikourazm ◽  
Behnaz Bahmanyar ◽  
Dariush Hooshyar

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus and its associated disease, called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), first appeared in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and quickly spread around the world. Coronavirus was officially named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization and was recognized as a pandemic due to its rapid spread worldwide. Based on the published data, it is hoped to provide a source for later studies and to help prevent and control the contagious COVID-19 and its characteristics, and considerations that surgeons and medical staff must observe during the epidemic.


2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 3444-3456
Author(s):  
Mr J Dorasamy, Et. al.

The World Health Organization (Who) In March 2020 Declared Covid 19 A Pandemic, Due To The  Global And Rapid Spread Of A Novel Coronavirus (Who, 2020). The Covid 19 Pandemic Being Highly Infectious And Unpredictable, Has  Disrupted  Social, Economic, Environmental And Political Spheres Of Life. Globally, People Have Ventured Into A “Lockdown World”, Increasing Uncertainty About Their Future Amidst The Covid 19 Pandemic. As A Result Of The Pandemic, Social Alteration Has Taken The Form Of Social Distancing, Self-Isolation And Self-Quarantine.  Many Were Unprepared For The Shift From The “Normal”, Propelling  Undue  Stress Under The New Normal Way Of Doing Things During The Current Global Pandemic Crisis. This Has Been Accompanied By Social, Emotional And Mental Effects, As The Ongoing And Fluid Nature Of The Pandemic Has Created Uncertainty For Many People. The Covid 19 Pandemic, As A Multidimensional Stressor Affecting Wellbeing, Has Affected Individuals, Families, Educational, Occupational, And Broader Societal Systems.  


Author(s):  
Alvaro Javier Idrovo

Words are born, compete with each other, and some die, showing the language dynamics and the influence of historical contexts1. During 2020, the meaning of the word pandemic has been discussed and a new meaning has emerged2,3. Traditionally in epidemiology, “pandemic” was used when in a relatively short time, there was a widespread geographical distribution of a disease, including some countries and continents4, which contrasts with the moment when the World Health Organization decided to decree it for the COVID-19 pandemic. In this case, the criteria indicated by the classic epidemiological definition were met several days before the pandemic was declared. Even an intermediate step was to declare Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) understood as: “an extraordinary event which ‘constitute[s] a public health risk to other States through international spread of disease and…potentially require[s] a coordinated international response”5. In this way, potential panic was controlled, and the word pandemic was left for circumstances that require the maximum attention of all States, for a joint response, given its very high potential for disease and death.


Author(s):  
Martin Stoermer

The December 2019 outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China was rapidly linked to a novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV. The rapid spread and severity of the virus has led the World Health Organization to declare it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. We recently described the first homology models of the main 3CL protease from 2019-nCoV, and now present models of the other viral protease, the papain-like protease or PLpro. Whilst the overall viral genome is most closely associated with bat coronaviruses, no bat PLpro crystal structures are known. Wuhan 2019-nCoV PLpro is most closely related to a bat coronavirus PLpro (97% identity), then SARS (80 %) and MERS (29%) and the most promising models presented here are prepared from SARS crystal structure templates.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-177
Author(s):  
Abraham Cyril Issac

Abstract The world is battling out the pandemic of Covid-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) is jointly acting upon the same daily, which is evident from the ‘situation reports.’ The pandemic, which saw its origin in Wuhan, has spread across the world within a short span of under two months. While the pandemic has effectively instilled a situation of cordon sanitaire across the globe, the virus seems to show no respite. This study collates different sources and establishes the human tendency of knowledge hiding as the prime reason for the spread of such colossal magnitudes. The study underlines the notion by examining some of the critical cases and situations that have unfolded in the very recent past.


Author(s):  
Martin Stoermer

The December 2019 outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China was rapidly linked to a novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV. The rapid spread and severity of the virus has led the World Health Organization to declare it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. We recently described the first homology models of the main 3CL protease from 2019-nCoV, and now present models of the other viral protease, the papain-like protease or PLpro. Whilst the overall viral genome is most closely associated with bat coronaviruses, no bat PLpro crystal structures are known. Wuhan 2019-nCoV PLpro is most closely related to a bat coronavirus PLpro (97% identity), then SARS (80 %) and MERS (29%) and the most promising models presented here are prepared from SARS crystal structure templates.


Author(s):  
Sertaç Güngör ◽  
Burcu Öner

In this study, we examined how the new type of coronavirus (COVID-19), which originated in Vuhan, China, affected the whole world in a short time, affected individuals ‘ recreational activities and how much these activities changed after the normalization process. After the first case was announced in our country on March 10, 2020, many measures were taken, and within the scope of these measures, bans and partial bans occurred. The coronavirus, which has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and has become a deadly virus all over the world, has also directly affected the recreational activities of people. The study, the longing of individuals to green areas during this epidemic period was evaluated by comparing the conditions before and after the normalization process of recreational activities. In addition, the findings obtained in accordance with the survey conducted in the study indicate that the new coronavirus affects both the recreational activities and psychological conditions of people.


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