scholarly journals Severity, Pathogenicity and Transmissibility of Delta and Lambda Variants of SARS-CoV-2, Toxicity of Spike Protein and Possibilities for Future Prevention of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 2167
Author(s):  
Mehrnoosh Moghaddar ◽  
Ramtin Radman ◽  
Ian Macreadie
Keyword(s):  
Neutralizing Antibodies ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Novel ◽  
S Protein ◽  
N Protein ◽  
Novel Variants ◽  
Hotspot Mutations ◽  
Health Organization

The World Health Organization reports that SARS-CoV-2 has infected over 220 million people and claimed over 4.7 million lives globally. While there are new effective vaccines, the differences in behavior of variants are causing challenges in vaccine development or treatment. Here, we discuss Delta, a variant of concern, and Lambda, a variant of interest. They demonstrate high infectivity and are less responsive to the immune response in vaccinated individuals. In this review, we briefly summarize the reason for infectivity and the severity of the novel variants. Delta and Lambda variants exhibit more changes in NSPs proteins and the S protein, compared to the original Wuhan strain. Lambda also has numerous amino acid substitutions in NSPs and S proteins, plus a deletion in the NTD of S protein, leading to partial escape from neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) in vaccinated individuals. We discuss the role of furin protease and the ACE2 receptor in virus infection, hotspot mutations in the S protein, the toxicity of the S protein and the increased pathogenicity of Delta and Lambda variants. We discuss future therapeutic strategies, including those based on high stability of epitopes, conservation of the N protein and the novel intracellular antibody receptor, tripartite-motif protein 21 (TRIM21) recognized by antibodies against the N protein.

COVID-19: implications for NHS Staff

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 193-197
Author(s):  
Alan Glasper
Keyword(s):  
World Health ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Emeritus Professor ◽  
The World ◽  
Clinical Environments ◽  
Public Health Institutions ◽  
Health Institutions ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The University

In light of the emergence in China of COVID-19, the novel corona virus, emeritus professor Alan Glasper, from the University of Southampton discusses the role of the World Health Organization and other public health institutions in responding to potential new global pandemics and deliberates on the role of NHS staff in coping with infectious disease in clinical environments.

scholarly journals Antibody titers measured by commercial assays are correlated with neutralizing antibody titers calibrated by international standards

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-An Kung ◽  
Chung-Guei Huang ◽  
Sheng-Yu Huang ◽  
Kuan-Ting Liu ◽  
Peng-Nien Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neutralizing Antibodies ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Geometric Mean ◽  
Neutralizing Antibody ◽  
Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
International Standards ◽  
World Health ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Antibody Titers ◽  
Health Organization

The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted the importance of an international standard (IS) for SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody titer detection, with the aim of calibrating different diagnostic techniques. In this study, IS was applied to calibrate neutralizing antibody titers (IU/mL) and binding antibody titers (BAU/mL) in response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Serum samples were collected from participants receiving the Moderna (n = 20) and Pfizer (n = 20) vaccines at three time points: pre-vaccination, after one dose, and after two doses. We obtained geometric mean titers of 1404.16 and 928.75 IU/mL for neutralizing antibodies after two doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, respectively. These values provide an important baseline for vaccine development and the implementation of non-inferiority trials. We also compared three commercially available kits from Roche, Abbott, and MeDiPro for the detection of COVID-19 antibodies based on binding affinity to S1 and/or RBD. Our results demonstrated that antibody titers measured by commercial assays are highly correlated with neutralizing antibody titers calibrated by IS.

scholarly journals COVID-19: A Critical Review on Viral Biochemistry, Environmental Transmission, Therapeutics and Safety Measures

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roshni Kumari ◽  
Kumari Pragati Nanda ◽  
Hena Firdaus ◽  
Soumen Dey
Keyword(s):  
Specific Treatment ◽  
Scattered Data ◽  
Review Article ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Safety Measures ◽  
Current Scenario ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Health Organization

The outbreak of coronavirus disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is declared pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO) keeping in view its infection rate and toxicity level. The entire world is struggling hard to survive the prevailing health emergency. The authors realise the urgent need of contributing an overview of the present scenario to the researchers who are breathlessly trying to combat this pandemic situation. This review aimed at binding all the scattered data and research available till now on COVID-19 disease starting from its origin to transmission and spread through environmental factors till treatment and the safety measures that should be implemented. This article would possibly help the readers by providing an outlook of current scenario on various perspectives of COVID-19 disease at a single glance. The types, origin and toxicity caused are discussed in brief. The role of contaminated aerosols (viral-laden smoke from tobacco, cigarettes), wastewater, fomites, human and faecal matter are important in spreading the novel coronavirus in the environment. There is no specific treatment till date but clinical trials and diagnosis on several known drugs are on-going. The precaution and safety measures could hopefully reduce number of infections and mortality. The number of infected cases confirmed till 2 August 2020 was 17660523 with 680894 deaths in the world. We tried in this review article to summarize the scattered data available on biochemistry of SARS-CoV-2, environmental spread of virus and the safety measures to combat COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Role of nutrients regulation in the immune system in preventing COVID-19 infection: A brief review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 760-765
Author(s):  
Anamika Chauhan
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Coronavirus Infection ◽  
The Common ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Health Organization

This review aimed to focus on using foods to boost immunity against COVID-19 in all age groups. In human, coronavirus causes the common cold, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and a major threat to public health. The novel coronavirus was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization due to its rapid infectivity. COVID-19 infection is most probably reported in people with low immunity response. The nutrients, which show beneficial effects on the immune system, are called immune nutrients and diet is called immune diet. A healthy diet can reduce the risk of infection of COVID-19 and can prevent disease. Nutritional food intake is also necessary for people with chronic illness, obese persons, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cognitive dysfunction like anxiety and depression. All nutrients are essential for maintaining immunity and providing appropriate amounts of protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamins, and minerals for the surveillance mode of keeping us from getting sick. The use of plenty of water, minerals such as micronutrients, zinc, copper, selenium, iron, magnesium, food rich in vitamins, and a good lifestyle can promote health and overwhelm this coronavirus infection.

scholarly journals Aftermath Melancholy of Devastating COVID-19 Issues

2020 ◽  
Vol 07 (03) ◽  
pp. 22-26
Author(s):  
SC Mohapatra ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
World Health ◽  
Nano Particle ◽  
Territorial Expansion ◽  
Public Health Organization ◽  
Response Network ◽  
Health Event ◽  
Health Organization

It is difficult to say authentically whether the COVID-19 virus is being developed in Chinese laboratory or shredded from the vet market of China. In any case it’s a Chinese virus affecting the human population, and one such major public health event occurs approximately one in every 100 years. It is as devastating, if not more, than the dinosaurs of past millennia, but as the size reduced from animal to nano particle, the devastating capability also increased in million times. The major pandemics have been usually pneumonic in nature whether plague, flue or Covid. The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) of WHO (World Health Organization) has been launched as a Knowledge resource. But the role of China or WHO in declaring this pandemic is suspicious even today. This arouses a question, was the discovery actually Chinese in nature and with the help of higher public health organization (WHO?) the matter was hidden and bio-weapon was developed by China to be used for Indian, Taiwan, US or Japanese soldiers in cold seasons, with whom China is engaged in territorial expansion through encroachment? As such excepting US president Mr. Donald Trump, no one expresses it aloud. There has been economic crisis, socio-psycho-political melancholy, vaccine development delays and global health system failure.

scholarly journals COVID-19: The Pediatric Perspective

2021 ◽  
pp. 89-97
Author(s):  
Batoul Basalom ◽  
Ahmed Ismail ◽  
Fares Sindi ◽  
Feras Mansouri ◽  
Abdullah Kattan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virus Disease ◽  
Serological Test ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Spread Of Infection ◽  
Specific Symptoms

Since the appearance of the novel corona virus disease 19 (COVID-19) from Wuhan in China, there have been a lot of researches to uncover the hidden clues that may help in eliminating the outbreak. In a short period of time, the disease has infected millions of people around the globe and was declared as a pandemic by the world health organization (WHO). Different subgroups of the community have been studied and reports have described the course of the disease among pregnant ladies, elders, immunodeficient patients and patients with chronic diseases. However, this review aimed at describing the novel COVID-19 among children and adolescents. The review discusses the prevalence, symptoms, diagnostic investigations, management, and the role of pharmacotherapy of COVID-19. In general, children have a milder course of diseases compared to adults. The symptoms include fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain, cough, fatigue, and other non-specific symptoms. The diagnosis is usually made with a serological test of a body fluid sample from saliva or nose. The role of radiography in the forms of chest X-ray and computed tomography (CT) is not of great benefit to the children. For mild presentations of the disease among children, the management is mainly supportive and there is no indication for antiviral therapy or specific pharmacotherapy except for fever lowering agents like Paracetamol. In terms of prevention, children aged 12 or more can be vaccinated for the objective of preventing the spread of infection, inducing antibody release, and shortening the recovery period.

scholarly journals The Global War Against the Novel Coronavirus Enemy: What Is COVID-19? Of Course, Nothing Is Certain Yet

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Elham F. Mohamed ◽  
Gamal Awad
Keyword(s):  
Vaccine Development ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Who Guidelines ◽  
Comprehensive Knowledge ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Global War

In this review, the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic problem was discussed. This concept was covered via answer the comment questions about the new COVID-19 problems. The main objective of this review is to supply a comprehensive knowledge in the definition of COVID-19, Corona virus concept, discusses the infection common symptoms, the transmission, diagnosis, and management of COVID-19. Finally, we provide a tool and recommendations to avoid infection spread. In this review, we collected data from diverse research reports such as the World Health Organization (WHO), guidelines and other articles. Because of the wide and fast spread of the virus, academic researchers, environmental scientists, antiviral designs, vaccine development against the virus and providers of health care are expected to acquire current information and future outlooks of the new pandemic coronavirus.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria: Misconception Among Individuals, Impact on Animals and the Role of Mathematical Epidemiologists

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluwasegun Micheal Ibrahim ◽  
Damilola Daniel Ekundayo
Keyword(s):  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Good People ◽  
The World ◽  
Novel Virus ◽  
The Government ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, to be a pandemic. Since the declaration, Nigeria economy has been greatly impacted thus resulting in a recession. This paper considers a couple of misconceptions among Nigerian people in the COVID-19 pandemic era thereby causing the spread of the novel virus and hence making the situation difficult for the government to handle. In particular, we discuss the first and second waves of the pandemic as it affects the Nigerian people. The impact of the pandemic on animals and the role of mathematical epidemiologists in combatting the spread is discussed herein. We give some recommendations that could be adopted by the government and the good people of Nigeria to reduce the further spread of the virus.

Progress in Studies on Structural and Remedial Aspects of Newly Born Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (26) ◽  
pp. 2362-2378
Author(s):  
Satya P. Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Cell Receptor ◽  
Receptor Binding Domain ◽  
S Protein ◽  
Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 ◽  
N Protein ◽  
Host Cell Receptor ◽  
The Status ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

The article highlights an up-to-date progress in studies on structural and the remedial aspects of novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV, renamed as SARS-CoV-2, leading to the disease COVID-19, a pandemic. In general, all CoVs including SARS-CoV-2 are spherical positive single-stranded RNA viruses containing spike (S) protein, envelope (E) protein, nucleocapsid (N) protein, and membrane (M) protein, where S protein has a Receptor-binding Domain (RBD) that mediates the binding to host cell receptor, Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2). The article details the repurposing of some drugs to be tried for COVID-19 and presents the status of vaccine development so far. Besides drugs and vaccines, the role of Convalescent Plasma (CP) therapy to treat COVID-19 is also discussed.

Interaction Between Coronavirus S-Protein and Human ACE2: Hints for Exploring Efficient Therapeutic Targets to Treat COVID-19

Angiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 000331972095228
Author(s):  
Amir Abbas Momtazi-Borojeni ◽  
Maciej Banach ◽  
Željko Reiner ◽  
Matteo Pirro ◽  
Vanessa Bianconi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Therapeutic Targets ◽  
Renin Angiotensin System ◽  
Protein S ◽  
Surface Proteins ◽  
World Health ◽  
Severe Illness ◽  
S Protein ◽  
Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 ◽  
Health Organization

With the global expansion of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the declaration of its outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization, there is an urgent need for vaccines and medicines to prevent and treat COVID-19. The responsible pathogen for the disease is the newly severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) 2 belonging to the same family of viruses SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus that originally are zoonotic and have been associated with severe illness during the outbreaks in 2003 and 2012, respectively. The virulence of coronavirus strains is mainly associated with variations in surface proteins mediating cellular entry of the virus, which can help in finding effective therapeutic targets. In this review, we seek evidence showing the role of coronavirus spike protein (S-protein) and its potential cellular receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), during infection of coronaviruses, including the newly SARS-CoV-2 and its similar strain SARS-CoV. This review also discusses the therapeutic effect of inhibiting the renin–angiotensin system cascade, a target of ACE2, in patients having coronavirus with cardiovascular disease.

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