Is Ozone therapy an adjunct treatment for SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 infection?

Abstract Up to today, there is no specific treatment against SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 infection; there the necessity to search for alternatives that help patients with COVID-19. The objective of this study was to review the use of ozone therapy as adjunct treatment for SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 infection, highlighting the mechanisms of action, forms of application and current clinical evidence. A systematic review was conducted in electronic databases, searching the terminology Ozone "or" Ozone therapy "and" SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 or Coronavirus. Results: nineteen studies were included; ten were editorials, comments, brief reports or reviews, and nine clinical studies. We found that ozone therapy could be favorable for treating patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19, through a direct antiviral effect, regulation of oxidative stress, immunomodulation and improvement of oxygen metabolism. Patients who were treated with ozone therapy responded favorably; therefore, ozone therapy appears to be a promising treatment for patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19. Its mechanism of action justifies its use as an adjuvant therapy; however, scientific evidence is based on case series and clinical trials are necessary to corroborate its effectiveness and safety.

Letalidade hospitalar por COVID-19 em quatro capitais brasileiras e sua possível relação temporal com a variante Gama, 2020-2021 / Letalidad hospitalaria por COVID-19 en cuatro capitales brasileñas y su posible relación temporal con la variante Gamma, 2020-2021 / In-hospital case fatality ratio due to COVID-19 in four Brazilian state capitals and its possible temporal relationship with the Gamma variant, 2020-2021

Objetivo: Descrever a letalidade por COVID-19 - hospitalar e em unidade de terapia intensiva (UTI) - em quatro capitais brasileiras, em meses de picos epidêmicos e nos meses anteriores. Métodos: Estudo ecológico com dados mensais de 2020-2021 do Sistema de Informação da Vigilância Epidemiológica da Gripe, em indivíduos com 20 anos ou mais. Foram estimadas letalidade e mortalidade, com intervalos de confiança de 95% (IC95%). Resultados: Em Manaus, a letalidade em UTI nos >59 anos foi menor em dezembro/2020 (80,9%; IC95% 78,4;83,3) e no pico de janeiro/2021 (79,9%; IC95% 77,4;82,5), em comparação ao pico de abril/2020 (88,2%; IC95% 86,1;90,3). Em São Paulo, Curitiba e Porto Alegre, observou-se queda ou estabilidade na letalidade hospitalar e em UTI, em janeiro/2021, em comparação ao mês de referência de 2020. Conclusão: Em janeiro/2021, a letalidade hospitalar e em UTI caiu ou manteve-se estável nas quatro capitais, especialmente em Manaus e durante o pico epidêmico com predomínio da variante Gama.

Objetivo: Describir la tasa de letalidad hospitalaria y en unidad de cuidados intensivos (UCI) por Covid-19 en cuatro capitales brasileñas, durante picos epidémicos y en meses anteriores. Métodos: Estudio ecológico con datos del Sistema de Información de Vigilancia Epidemiológica de la Influenza, durante 2020-2021, en personas de 20 años o más. Se estimaron tasas de mortalidad y letalidad, con intervalos de confianza del 95,0% (IC95%). Resultados: En Manaus, la letalidad en UCI en >59 años fue menor en el pico de enero/2021 (79,9%; IC95% 77,4;82,5) y diciembre/2020 (80,9%; IC95% 78,4;83,3), comparado al pico de abril/2020 (88,2%; IC95% 86,1;90,3). En São Paulo, Curitiba y Porto Alegre hubo disminución o estabilidad para letalidad hospitalaria y en UCI, comparada con la referencia de 2020. Conclusión: En enero/2021, la letalidad hospitalaria y en UCI disminuyó o se mantuvo estable en las cuatro capitales, especialmente en Manaus, y durante el pico epidémico con predominio de la variante Gamma.

Objective: To describe in-hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) case fatality ratios due to COVID-19 in four Brazilian state capitals, during the months of epidemic peaks and previous months. Methods: This was an ecological study using monthly data from the Influenza Epidemiological Surveillance Information System, between 2020-2021, in individuals aged 20 years or older. Case fatality ratio and mortality rate were estimated with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results: In Manaus, the capital city of the state of Amazonas, ICU case fatality ratio among those >59 years old was lower in December/2020 (80.9%; 95%CI 78.4;83.3) and during the peak in January/2021 (79.9%; 95%CI 77.4;82.5), compared to the peak in April/2020 (88.2%; 95%CI 86.1;90.3). In São Paulo, the capital city of the state of São Paulo, Curitiba, the capital city of the state of Paraná, and Porto Alegre, the capital city of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, there was a decrease or stability in ICU and in-hospital case fatality ratio in January/2021, compared to the reference month in 2020. Conclusion: In January/2021, in-hospital and ICU case fatality ratios decreased or remained stable in the four state capitals, especially in Manaus, and during the epidemic peak with the prevalence of the Gamma variant.

Medidas de Prevenção e Controle da Infecção por Vírus Respiratórios em Hotéis e Similares / Measures for the Prevention and Control of Respiratory Virus Infection in Hotels and Similar

A fim de evitar ou reduzir, ao máximo, a transmissão pelo novo coronavírus (SARS-Cov-2) e demais vírus respiratórios durante o tempo em que as pessoas estiverem hospedadas, as medidas de prevenção e controle de infecções devem ser implementadas nos estabelecimentos hoteleiros (hotéis, pousadas, hostels e similares) pelos responsáveis e funcionários, juntamente com as medidas de limpeza já comumente realizadas e reguladas por meio da legislação e da vigilância sanitária municipal

Origen, características estructurales, medidas de prevención, diagnóstico y fármacos potenciales para prevenir y controlar COVID-19 / Origin, structural characteristics, prevention measures, diagnosis and potential drugs to prevent and COVID-19

El síndrome respiratorio agudo severo coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) es responsable de la enfermedad denominada COVID-19 (acrónimo del inglés Coronavirus Disease-2019). Esta enfermedad fue detectada inicialmente en la ciudad de Wuhan, China en diciembre de 2019. Las personas contagiadas con COVID-19 presentan síntomas variados, dependiendo de su estado de salud y edad. Los síntomas más comunes son fiebre, tos, mialgia, fatiga, odinofagia y disnea. También se ha observado que en algunos pacientes, la infección es asintomática. Los adultos mayores de 60 años infectados son el grupo de pacientes más susceptibles a desarrollar estados severos de COVID-19 y se presenta comorbilidad en presencia de enfermedades crónicas. Por otra parte, también es importante disponer de pruebas que permitan detectar al SARS-COV-2 y seguir la evolución de COVID-19 de forma rápida, confiable y barata. Para lograr esto, existen pruebas de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa de transcripción inversa en tiempo real (RT-PCR), de amplificación isotérmica de ácido nucleico y de inmunoestimulación enzimática. Actualmente, no existen tratamientos para la prevención del contagio y combatir los efectos del virus en la salud humana. Sin embargo, en el mundo hay grupos de investigación que están realizando pruebas in vitro, in vivo e in silico para encontrar fármacos que sean capaces de prevenir y/o controlar la infección en humanos con SARS-CoV-2. La cloroquina, hidroxicloroquina, remdesivir, interferon-2b y oseltamivir son algunas de las opciones farmacológicas que están siendo evaluadas en pruebas clínicas para la profilaxis de COVID-19. El objetivo de la presente revisión consiste en establecer un marco de referencia de la clasificación taxonómica del SARS-CoV-2 y la relación que guardan con otros coronavirus, así como su estructura y forma de propagarse en el ser humano. También se presentan las características y síntomas de pacientes con COVID-19, los métodos de detección y potenciales tratamientos.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019). This disease was detected in the city of Wuhan in China in December 2019. People infected with COVID-19 shows varying manifestations, depending on their health and age. The most common symptoms are fever, cough, myalgia, fatigue, odynophagia, and dyspnea. Infected adults older 60 years of age are the group of patients most susceptible to severe COVID-19 states and present comor-bidity in the presence of chronic diseases. On the other hand, it is also essential to have tests to detect SARS-COV-2 in people and follow the evolution of COVID-19 quickly, reliably, and cheap. To achieve this, there are real-time reverse transcription pol-ymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests, isothermal nucleic acid amplification, and enzyme immunostimulation. Currently, there are no drug treatments to prevent infection and to combat the virus's effects. However, different research groups that are conduct-ing in vitro, in vivo, and in silico tests to find drugs able to provide an immune response and to control infection in humans with SARS-CoV-2. Chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir, interferon-2b, and oseltamivir are some pharmacological options evaluated in clinical trials for prophylaxis of COVID-19. The purpose of this review is to establish a reference framework for taxonomic classification of SARS-CoV-2 and the relationship they have with other CoVs, as well as their structure and propaga-tion pathways in humans. The characteristics and symptoms presented by patients with COVID-19, the detection methods, and possible treatments are also presented.

Progress in source tracking of SARS-CoV-2 / 南方医科大学学报

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a total of 55 928 327 confirmed cases and 1 344 003 deaths as of November 19, 2020. But so far the origin of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes this pandemic has remained undetermined. The purpose of this study is to review the current research of SARS-CoV-2 and the existing problems therein, which may provide inspiration for further researches. Existing evidence suggested that SARS-CoV-2 may be derived from bat coronavirus 40-70 years ago. During the evolution, this virus underwent extensive variations in the process of mutations and natural selection. Different genomic regions of SARS-CoV-2 may have different selection pressures, but all of which increase the difficulty of tracing the origin of this virus. A wide variety of animals have been considered as potential hosts of SARS-CoV-2, including cats, lions, tigers, dogs and minks. SARS-CoV-2 has a chance to transmit from humans to animals and can be transmitted among animals. Current research evidence has shown that China is not the original source of SARS-CoV-2. It is still unclear how the virus spreads to human, and efforts are still need to be made to explore the origin of SARS-CoV-2, its hosts and intermediate hosts, and the mechanism of its transmission across different species of animals.