ABSTRACT
Introduction: Sri Lanka adopted various control measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 including early detection by widespread testing, contact tracing and isolation. However, some people were not willing to accept testing due to several reasons. This is the first study from Sri Lanka conducted to determine people's level of willingness to undergo a COVID-19 swab test. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 427 non-COVID-19 patients who visited the outpatient department at a Teaching hospital in northern Sri Lanka. Data collection was done over a one month period in July 2021. The data collected was entered and analysed using SPSS version 28. Results: The mean age of the participants was 43.4, and a majority of the participants were female (62.8%). A significant proportion of the participants (37.9% CI: 34.3-43.6) were not willing to accept the test to screen for COVID-19. Among the 162 patients who were not willing to accept the test, 56.2% reported fear regarding testing, and 37.6% reported fear of getting a positive result. A significant association was observed between people's willingness to accept the test and their gender (P-0.022) and knowledge of the test (P-0.001). Conclusion: As a considerable proportion of participants were not willing to accept COVID-19 screen testing, and people's knowledge regarding testing significantly influenced their acceptance of such testing, this study concludes that the public can be educated further about the COVID-19 infection, identifying the symptoms of disease by themselves, available testing methods, the importance of testing early and how they will be treated if they get positive test results.
ABSTRACT
This is a case report about an 8-year old boy who presented with complaints of fever for 5 days, loose stools, abdominal pain, and erythema of the palms and soles for 3 days. There was a history of short duration fever in all his family members 1 month back, but none of them were tested for COVID-19. On admission, the patient was febrile and had erythematous extremities. There was no organomegaly. He presented with hypotensive shock which was managed with fluid boluses and inotrope support. Fever workup including cultures were negative. His COVID-19 antibody was positive (16.17 index units). Inflammatory markers were elevated: ESR=50 mm/h=;C reactive protein=51 mg/dL;ferritin=>1000 ng/mL;D dimer=8260 ng/mL. Echocardiogram was normal and he was managed with intravenous immunoglobulin due to meeting the criteria for multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MISC) in children. The patient's fever subsided within 48 hours and his inflammatory markers showed declining trend. On the third day of becoming afebrile, the child complained of swelling, pain, and redness of right scrotum. There was no recurrence of fever, nor parotid swelling associated with orchitis. On examination, the right testis was enlarged, tender, located in the normal anatomic position with an intact ipsilateral cremasteric reflex. testicular tension was ruled out by ultrasound doppler. The unilateral orchitis was managed with supportive measures and subsided by 48 hours.
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As the number of positive cases for the novel Coronavirus continues to increase, so do the deaths associated with it. There exists a theoretical risk of infection during handling of the dead bodies and standard infection control practices should be followed when handling such bodies. The government has allowed both the burial and cremation as per the faith. However there is a standard procedure that all health workers and family members need to adhere to. This article highlights some of the guidelines recommended for managing dead bodies of COVID-19 patients. © 2020, Indian Academy of Pediatrics. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (COVID-19) that is causing the massive global pandemic exhibits similar human cell invasion mechanism as the coronavirus SARS-CoV, which had significantly lower fatalities. The cell membrane protein Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the initiation point for both the coronavirus infections in humans. Here, we model the molecular interactions and mechanical properties of ACE2 with both SARS-CoV and COVID-19 spike protein receptor-binding domains (RBD). We report that the COVID-19 spike RBD interacts with ACE2 more strongly and at only two protein residues, as compared to multi-residue interaction of the SARS-CoV. Although both coronaviruses stiffen the ACE2, the impact of COVID-19 is six times larger, which points towards differences in the severity of the reported respiratory distress. The recognition of specific residues of ACE2 attachments to coronaviruses is important as the residues suggest potential sites of intervention to inhibit attachment and subsequent entry of the COVID-19 into human host cells.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has become a global pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. SARS-CoV-2 shares many similarities with SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). A viral replication complex containing non-structural proteins (nsps) is the toolbox for RNA replication and transcription of both coronaviruses. In both cases, the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) domain of the coronaviral replication complex dictates the primary polymerase activity by cooperating with cofactors. The higher transmissibility and mortality due to SARS-CoV-2 are related to its higher RNA replication activity compared to SARS-CoV. The discrepancy between the RNA replication efficiency of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 can be understood by exploring interactions within their viral replication complexes. Our modeling of molecular interactions within the viral replication complexes of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 using molecular dynamics simulations suggests that in contrast to SARS-CoVnsp12, SARS-CoV2nsp12 prefers helices as the dominant interacting secondary motifs. The relative differences in nonbonded interactions between nsps could suggest viral RNA replication ability in coronaviruses. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11837-021-04662-6.
ABSTRACT
The main industrial sources of emissions have decreased or completely stopped during the lockdown era, which helped reduce the pollution load [10]It is also found that, the concentration of pH, electric conductivity [EC], DO, BOD and chemical oxygen demand [COD] has reduced almost 1-10%, 3366%, 45-90%, and 33-82% respectively in different monitoring stations during the lockdown in comparison to the pre-lockdown period [11]. [...]the number of flights and vehicular movements around the world has significantly decreased due to travel restrictions, which have consequently lowered the level of noise pollution. [...]a sudden rise and proper management of hazardous waste has become an important problem for the local waste management authorities. * According to recent published literature, SARS-CoV-2 viruses are reported to exist on cardboard every day and on plastics and stainless steel for up to 3 days [19]. [...]hospitalgenerated waste should be adequately handled to minimise more infection and environmental contamination, which is now a global concern. * Though, experts and responsible authorities suggest for the proper disposal and segregation of household organic waste and plastic based protective equipment [hazardous medical waste], but mixing up these wastes increases the risk of disease transmission, and exposure to the virus of waste workers [20]. * Massive amounts of disinfectants have recently been used to destroy the SARS-CoV-2 virus in highways, industrial, and residential areas. [...]after the Partition of India in 1947, India witnessed the second-largest reverse mass in its history.