“With the podiatric emergency structure, we hope to have limited the negative impact of confinement in terms of delayed care”

During the period of the first lockdown, in the spring of 2020, only podiatrists working in an approved podiatric emergency structure were authorised to practise, from April onwards. Strict protocols to prevent contamination by COVID-19 were applied, despite initial difficulties in the supply of personal protective equipment. The majority of patients who presented had wounds due to diabetes, developed during confinement or chronically at an advanced stage, or suffered from arteritis. © 2020 Pendant la période du premier confinement, au printemps 2020, seuls les pédicures-podologues travaillant dans une structure d'urgences podologiques agréée ont été autorisés à exercer, dès le mois d'avril. Des protocoles stricts pour prévenir les contaminations par la Covid-19 ont été appliqués, malgré des difficultés initiales d'approvisionnement en équipements de protection individuelle. Majoritairement, les patients qui se sont présentés avaient des plaies dues au diabète, développées pendant le confinement ou de manière chronique à un stade évolué, ou souffraient d'artérite. © 2020

SARS-CoV-2 spike protein predicted to form complexes with host receptor protein orthologues from a broad range of mammals.

SARS-CoV-2 has a zoonotic origin and was transmitted to humans via an undetermined intermediate host, leading to infections in humans and other mammals. To enter host cells, the viral spike protein (S-protein) binds to its receptor, ACE2, and is then processed by TMPRSS2. Whilst receptor binding contributes to the viral host range, S-protein:ACE2 complexes from other animals have not been investigated widely. To predict infection risks, we modelled S-protein:ACE2 complexes from 215 vertebrate species, calculated changes in the energy of the complex caused by mutations in each species, relative to human ACE2, and correlated these changes with COVID-19 infection data. We also analysed structural interactions to better understand the key residues contributing to affinity. We predict that mutations are more detrimental in ACE2 than TMPRSS2. Finally, we demonstrate phylogenetically that human SARS-CoV-2 strains have been isolated in animals. Our results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 can infect a broad range of mammals, but few fish, birds or reptiles. Susceptible animals could serve as reservoirs of the virus, necessitating careful ongoing animal management and surveillance.