The Outbreak of Novel Coronavirus-a New Type of Threat in 2020: Genesis, Detection, Treatment, and Management

Background: COVID-19 is a new, health-threatening infectious disease in the world in 2020 and is caused by a novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. As of July 13, 2020, 4,881,579 active cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed, and 571,080 deaths were reported globally. In India, 301,850 active cases and 23,187 deaths were reported. To date, no effective treatment is available against the deadly virus SARS-CoV-2. Drug manufacturers, institutional laboratories, and other organizations have started developing vaccines to combat COVID-19 infection. Method(s): Science Direct, Elsevier, PubMed, Scopus, and Nature databases were referred to know the current scenario of the disease. Moreover, recent data have been obtained from the World Health Orga-nization, Centre of Disease Control, case studies, newspapers, and Worldometer reports. Data of Vaccine Centre at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Clinicaltrials.gov, and US National Library of Medicine have also been accessed to obtain the latest information about ongoing clinical tri-als. Result(s): The primary source of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak is connected to the Hunan seafood and live animal market in Wuhan city, Hubei Province, China. Like;SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 is also a zoonotic virus affecting the lower respiratory tract in humans. The pathogenesis of COVID-19 involves attachment of its Spike (S) protein to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor in the lower respiratory tract in humans. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, cough, sore throat, fatigue, headache, myalgia, septic shock, and breathlessness. Few patients with COVID-19 infection experience diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Currently, FDA approved drugs being used to treat COVID-19. Conclusion(s): This review article presents the importance of traditional Indian herbs recommended by AYUSH as precautionary and curative measures of COVID-19 until vaccines and drugs are made avail-able. Moreover, this article discussed the origin, symptoms, mode of transmission, management, and diagnostics techniques for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.Copyright © 2021 Bentham Science Publishers.

Ferrets: A powerful model of SARS-CoV-2.

The rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in recent years not only caused a global pandemic but resulted in enormous social, economic, and health burdens worldwide. Despite considerable efforts to combat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), various SARS-CoV-2 variants have emerged, and their underlying mechanisms of pathogenicity remain largely unknown. Furthermore, effective therapeutic drugs are still under development. Thus, an ideal animal model is crucial for studying the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and for the preclinical evaluation of vaccines and antivirals against SARS-CoV-2 and variant infections. Currently, several animal models, including mice, hamsters, ferrets, and non-human primates (NHPs), have been established to study COVID-19. Among them, ferrets are naturally susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and are considered suitable for COVID-19 study. Here, we summarize recent developments and application of SARS-CoV-2 ferret models in studies on pathogenesis, therapeutic agents, and vaccines, and provide a perspective on the role of these models in preventing COVID-19 spread.

Study of Genome, Vaccine and Probable Anti Viral Drugs to Save the World From the Capture of SARS-CoV-2: A Mini-Review

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a single-stranded RNA (+) virus and causes infectious disease by the viral strain "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2" (SARS-CoV-2). Now, COVID-19 has become pandemic, and there are neither potential vaccines nor drugs discovered. Its RNA contains genes for structural (S, E, M, N) and non-structural proteins (PLpro, 3CLpro, RdRp, Hel). Interaction between the S protein of SARS-CoV-2 and the ACE 2 receptor of the host cell plays a vital role in the entry of the virus into the cell. Favipiravir, ribavirin, remdesivir, galidesivir, lopinavir, ritonavir, chloroquine, and hydroxychloroquine are the few effective drugs against SARS-CoV-2. Live attenuated virus (mutant MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV or recombination with another live attenuated virus) can act as vaccine platforms against SARS CoV-2 along with DNA vaccine and subunit vaccine. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Acta Medica Iranica is the property of Tehran University of Medical Sciences 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.)

Gastrointestinal complications (gangrene or perforation) after corona virus disease 2019 - A series of ten patients.

During the recent second wave of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in India, we managed a series of gastrointestinal complications in patients with COVID-19. We aim to highlight the key presentation and clinical course and emphasize the lessons we learnt from our series of such patients. A case review of ten consecutive patients with either bowel gangrene or perforation who were managed at our centre from March 20, 2021 to June 10, 2021. Clinical-demographic details, possible etiology, radiological findings, management and outcomes have been described. Of the 10 patients, 2 presented with bowel gangrene and 8 with perforation. In our series, all these patients were diagnosed with the help of computed tomography (CT) abdomen during the 3rd week after diagnosis of COVID-19. All had received steroid medication. Both patients with bowel gangrene and 4 of 8 patients with perforation underwent surgery, while 4 were managed non-operatively. Barring one patient, all the operated patients succumbed within 5 days of surgery after rapid clinical deterioration. Non-operative management in selected patients with perforation including placement of percutaneous drains, bowel rest and antibiotics was successful. Emergency surgery for COVID-19 related intestinal gangrene or perforation was associated with high mortality in our series. Non-operative management which avoids the added stress of a major emergency surgery particularly in patients just recovering from COVID-19 may be considered in stable patients in whom perforation appears to be contained.

Neutralizing antibody: a savior in the Covid-19 disease.

Coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. The pandemic has led to a devastating loss of life. It has shown us how infectious diseases can cause human existence at stake, and community health is important. The spike protein is the most immunogenic component of the virus. Most vaccine development strategies have focused on the receptor-binding domain (RBD) in the spike protein because it is the most specific target site that recognizes and interacts with human lung cells. Neutralizing antibodies are generated by the humoral immune system and reduce the viral load by binding to spike protein components. Neutralizing antibodies are the proteins secreted by plasma cells and serve as an important part of the defense mechanism. In the recent Covid-19 infection, neutralizing antibodies can be utilized for both diagnostic such as immune surveillance and therapeutic tools such as plasma therapy. So far, many monoclonal antibodies are in the clinical trial phase, and few of them are already in use. In this review, we have discussed details about neutralizing antibodies and their role in combating Covid-19 disease.

Ubiquity of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 and upregulation in limbic regions of Alzheimer's disease brain.

The major route of entry for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) into human host cells is by means of the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) transmembrane receptor. This zinc-containing carboxypeptidase and membrane-integral surface receptor is ubiquitous and widely expressed in multiple cell types. Hence SARS-CoV-2, an unusually large RNA virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has the remarkable capacity to invade many different types of human host cells simultaneously. Although COVID-19 is generally considered to be primarily an acute respiratory disease SARS-CoV-2 also targets specific anatomical regions of the central nervous system (CNS). In the normal CNS the highest ACE2 levels of expression are found within the medullary respiratory centers of the brainstem and this, in part, may explain the susceptibility of numerous COVID-19 patients to severe respiratory distress. About ~35% of all COVID-19 patients experience neurological and neuropsychiatric symptoms, and a pre-existing diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) predicts the highest risk of COVID-19 yet identified, with the highest mortality among elderly AD patients. In the current study of multiple anatomical regions of AD brains compared to age-, post-mortem interval- and gender-matched controls (n = 10 regions, n = 32 brains), ACE2 expression was found to be significantly up-regulated in AD in the occipital lobe, temporal lobe neocortex and hippocampal CA1. The temporal lobe and hippocampus of the brain are also targeted by the inflammatory neuropathology that accompanies AD, suggesting a significant mechanistic overlap between COVID-19 and AD, strongly centered on invasion by the neurotropic SARS-CoV-2 virus via the increased presence of ACE2 receptors in limbic regions of the AD-affected brain.

Syncope at SARS-CoV-2 onset.

We describe clinical and laboratory findings in 35 patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction on nasopharyngeal swab experiencing one or multiple syncope at disease onset. Clinical neurologic and cardiologic examination, and electrocardiographic findings were normal. Chest computed tomography showed findings consistent with interstitial pneumonia. Arterial blood gas analysis showed low pO2, pCO2, and ratio of arterial oxygen partial pressure to fractional inspired oxygen (PaO2/FiO2) indicating hypocapnic hypoxemia. Patients who presented with syncope showed significantly lower heart rate as compared to 68 SARS-CoV-2 positive that did not. Such poorer than expected compensatory heart rate increase may have led to syncope based on individual susceptibility. We speculate that SARS-CoV-2 could have caused angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptor internalization in the nucleus of the solitary tract and other midbrain nuclei, impairing baroreflex and chemoreceptor response, and inhibiting the compensatory tachycardia during acute hypocapnic hypoxemia.