The importance of genomic changes of SARS-CoV-2 and its comparison with Iranian-reported COVID-19 sequencing;Whether each country has to design its treatment and vaccine production

Coronavirus (COVID-19), a type of RNA virus, has a positive, single, sense stranded RNA. Studies of coronaviruses have shown high mutations in the virus's RNA. The more the virus infects people, the more the genome will mutate. In addition, evolutionary and genetic studies have the potential to recombine and easily jump from one host to another host. This means flexibility to adapt to new conditions and proliferation in new host cells. Examination of the hosts of this virus shows their extent. Studies show that the virus closely resembles hosts such as bats and pangolins. Genomic studies on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 and bat coronavirus (RaTG13) showed 96.2% genetic similarity although there are differences in the nucleotides of different hosts. The importance of examining mutated areas in coronaviruses for diagnosis and treatment is necessary because molecular methods such as RT-PCR, although having a specific probe, may not cause a connection between the primer and the specific probe and cause a false-negative response be reported. This issue has led various countries to sequence SARS-CoV-2 for their own countries, eventually leading to the identification of specific drugs and vaccines for their country. © 2020 Biomedical and Biotechnology Research Journal (BBRJ) ;Published by Wolters Kluwer-Medknow.

Evidence for SARS-CoV-2 circulating among stray dogs and cats: Should we worry about our pets during the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes the COVID-19 infectious disease. Despite the high level of quarantine control in many well-developed countries, the disease has spread to more than 113 countries all over the world, creating a global pandemic. This emerging situation raises many questions. Can the infection be just through human-to-human transmission or are other sources, for example, animal to human or other environmental sources, also involved? We reviewed the previous literature and assessed the potential risk of transmitting the coronavirus from pets to humans. The pets (dogs and cats), especially dogs, have a habit of licking themselves in the buttocks, or smelling others in the buttocks. In such a way, they may get the virus into their respiratory or digestive tract. In return, once they lick people in the face, they may transmit the diseases. In this study, we not only reviewed the literature on pets and their relationship to the coronavirus but we also tested 22 stray dogs and cats, collected from nearby areas that were used for hospitalization of COVID-19 patients. Although no direct connection was found between these pets and the hospital, we found that 14 (63.6%) out of the 22 pets were positive for COVID-19 with the molecular test. Among them, seven (31.8%) had coughing and sneezing symptoms. The studied cases were stray pets, but the question that remains to be clarified is whether home pets are engaged in a chain of transmission or not? This needs further investigation. © 2020 Medknow.

Can animals like bats, pangolins, and ticks would be considered as long-term reservoirs of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

In December 2019, there was an outbreak of pneumonia with an unknown cause in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. Within less than 3-4 months, the virus has spread to more than 200 countries. The virus rapidly transmitted from different places of the world with various cultural traditions. Thereby, the question is remained to be resolved about the main intermediate carrier of diseases in different animals. Studied showed that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was originated from horseshoe bats, but its intermediate hosts are still largely unknown. Therefore, the possibility of horseshoe bat infection by ticks is high during the flight between plants or when resting in these places. Female ticks can either feed on horseshoe bat blood for 5-7 days before shedding or can form large aggregations by laying several thousand eggs in the right places or on them. Once they feed on horseshoe bat blood containing SARS-CoV-2, they can transfer the infection to the next generations without the need to reuse infections from the reservoir host. With all the potential features that this creature has, it is mandatory to investigate the presence or absences of SARS-CoV-2, especially when we know that ticks co-exist with that horseshoe bats. These factors highlight the importance of studying the viral epidemiology in the tick population. Thereby, based on the wide distribution of ticks and their co-existence with horseshoe bat, we suggest further studies on ticks that might act as one of the main intermediate hosts in different animals. © 2020 Medknow.