The Lingzhi or Reishi Medicinal Mushroom Ganoderma lucidum (Agaricomycetes) Can Combat Cytokine Storm and Other COVID-19 Related Pathologies: A Review.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 is characterized by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) facilitated by cytokine storm and other risk factors that increase susceptibility and complications leading to death. Emerging as a major global public health challenge, the disease has claimed more than 6 million lives and caused catastrophic global economic disruptions. However, there are concerns about the safety as well as the efficacy of drugs and vaccines presently used to control the pandemic, therefore necessitating intense global search for safe natural products that can effectively and safely combat it. This work reviews studies on lingzhi or reishi medicinal mushroom, Ganoderma lucidum and its properties that may potentially combat SARS-CoV-2 infection and the co-morbidities. Available evidence suggests that medicinal properties of the Ganoderma mushroom can combat the complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the co-morbidities that can aggravate the severity of the disease. Preclinical and clinical evaluation to establish dose, efficacy, and potential toxicity and possible use in the management of COVID-19 is recommended.

SARS-CoV-2 variants-associated outbreaks of COVID-19 in a tertiary institution, North-Central Nigeria: Implications for epidemic control.

The COVID-19 global pandemic is being driven by evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants with consequential implications on virus transmissibility, host immunity, and disease severity. Continuous molecular and genomic surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 variants is therefore necessary for public health interventions toward the management of the pandemic. This study is a retrospective analysis of COVID-19 cases reported in a Nigerian tertiary institution from July to December 2021. In total, 705 suspected COVID-19 cases that comprised 547 students and 158 non-students were investigated by real time PCR (RT-PCR); of which 372 (~52.8%) tested positive for COVID-19. Using a set of selection criteria, 74 (~19.9%) COVID-19 positive samples were selected for next generation sequencing. Data showed that there were two outbreaks of COVID-19 within the university community over the study period, during which more females (56.8%) tested positive than males (47.8%) (p<0.05). Clinical data together with phylogenetic analysis suggested community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through mostly asymptomatic and/or pre-symptomatic individuals. Confirmed COVID-19 cases were mostly mild, however, SARS-CoV-2 delta (77%) and omicron (4.1%) variants were implicated as major drivers of respective waves of infections during the study period. This study highlights the importance of integrated surveillance of communicable disease during outbreaks.