ABSTRACT
Background:The pandemic COVID-19 disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV- 2) has become a significant health problem globally. In the wake of ongoing pandemic (COVID-19), services of healthcare workers are noteworthy. Health-care workers (HCWs) warrant special attention because of their substantial task of diagnosing and treating critically ill patients putting themselves at the risk for exposure to patients or infectious materials. The aim of this study was to estimate the number of COVID-19 infections and case fatality rate of HCWs in Azad Kashmir during the pandemic period. Methods: A Descriptive, cross-sectional was carried out in the COVID 19 Sentinel Unit, in Directorate General Health Office Muzaffarabad from March 15, 2020 to October 12, 2021. The study population included HCWs of different ranks working in either public or private hospitals in Azad Kashmir. Non-probability, consecutive sampling technique was used for sample collection. Both symptomatic and asymptomatic HCWs were tested for COVID-19 with a Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) following the standard protocol. COVID-19 positivity was correlated with demographic characteristics, working location, and medical history. Results: A total of 962 laboratoryconfirmed infections and 9 deaths were documented in HCWs with a mean age of 35.16 with SD 11.24 years, ranging 18 to 70 years. Infections were mainly observed in doctors (64.2%), followed by paramedical staff (28.5 %) and nurses (7.3%, n=76). A significant number of infected HCWs were asymptomatic (67.9%), while in symptomatic patients, the most prevalent symptoms were fever 35.4%%, myalgia (42%) and cough (41.4%). Total number of deaths was 9, out of which 6 were doctors (66.7%). The highest case fatality rate was highest in nurses. Conclusion: A significant number of HCW were reported to be infected with COVID-19 during COVID-19 pandemic, with overall case fatality rate of 0.93%. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Pharmaceutical Negative Results is the property of ResearchTrentz and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus refers to a group of widespread viruses. The name refers to the specific morphology of these viruses because their spikes look like a crown under an electron microscope. The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that has been reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, was proclaimed an international public health emergency (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020, and on 11 March 2020, it was declared as a pandemic (World Health Organization 2020). The official name of the virus was declared by the WHO as "COVID-19 virus", formerly known as "2019-nCoV", or "Wuhan Coronavirus". The International Committee on Virus Taxonomy's Coronavirus Research Group has identified that this virus is a form of coronavirus that caused a severe outbreak of acute respiratory syndrome in 2002-2003 (SARS). As a result, the latest severe acute respiratory syndrome has been classified as a corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pathogen by this committee. This disease spread quickly across the country and the world within the first 3 months of the outbreak and became a global pandemic. To stop COVID-19 from spreading, the governing agencies used various chemicals to disinfect different commercial spaces, streets and highways. However, people used it aggressively because of panic conditions, anxiety and unconsciousness, which can have a detrimental impact on human health and the environment. Our water bodies, soil and air have been polluted by disinfectants, forming secondary products that can be poisonous and mutagenic. In the prevention and spread of COVID-19, disinfection is crucial, but disinfection should be carried out with sufficient precautions to minimize exposure to harmful by-products. In addition, to prevent inhalation, adequate personal protective equipment should be worn and chemical usage, concentrations, ventilation in the room and application techniques should be carefully considered. In the USA, 60% of respondents said they cleaned or disinfected their homes more often than they had in the previous months. In addition to the robust use of disinfection approaches to combat COVID-19, we will explore safe preventative solutions here.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Disinfectants , Humans , SARS-CoV-2 , Pandemics/prevention & control , Disease OutbreaksABSTRACT
In December 2019, a novel virus, namely COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2, developed from Wuhan, (Hubei territory of China) used its viral spike glycoprotein receptor-binding domain (RBD) for the entrance into a host cell by binding with ACE-2 receptor and cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Data revealed that the newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 affected more than 24,854,140 people with 838,924 deaths worldwide. Until now, no licensed immunization or drugs are present for the medication of SARS-CoV-2. The present review aims to investigate the latest developments and discuss the candidate antibodies in different vaccine categories to develop a reliable and efficient vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 in a short time duration. Besides, the review focus on the present challenges and future directions, structure, and mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 for a better understanding. Based on data, we revealed that most of the vaccines are focus on targeting the spike protein (S) of COVID-19 to neutralized viral infection and develop long-lasting immunity. Up to phase-1 clinical trials, some vaccines showed the specific antigen-receptor T-cell response, elicit the humoral and immune response, displayed tight binding with human-leukocytes-antigen (HLA), and recognized specific antibodies to provoke long-lasting immunity against SARS-CoV-2.