Special Issue: Host Cell-Virus Interaction.

As rightly put by Nobel Laureate Joshua Lederberg, "the single biggest threat to man's continued dominance on the planet is the Virus" [...].

Molecular characterization of Influenza A pandemic H1N1 viruses circulating in eastern India during 2017-19: Antigenic diversity in comparison to the vaccine strains.

In the endemic settings of India, high CFR (3.6-7.02%) was observed in the consecutive 2009, 2015 and 2017 A/H1N1pdm09 outbreaks, though in eastern India CFR varied between 0 and 5.5% during same period. Recurrent outbreaks of pandemic Influenza A/H1N1pdm09, fragmented nationwide incidence data, lack of national policy for Influenza vaccination in India underscores the necessity for generating regional level data. Thus, during 2017-19, 4106 referred samples from patients hospitalized with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) in eastern India were tested for A/H1N1pdm09 infection. Among which 16.5% (n = 677/4106) were found A/H1N1pdm09 positive. Individuals <20 years and middle-aged persons (40-60 years) were most susceptible to A/H1N1pdm09 infection. The vaccine strain (A/human/California/07/2009) which was globally used before 2017, clustered in a different lineage away from the representative eastern Indian strains in the phylogenetic dendrogram. The vaccine strain (A/human/Michigan/45/2015) used in India during the study period and the WHO recommended strain (A/human/Brisbane/02/2018) for 2019-20 flu season for the northern hemisphere, clustered with the circulating isolates in the same lineage-6b. Dissimilarities in the amino acids encompassing the antigenic epitopes were seen to be highest with the vaccine strain- A/human/California/07/2009. The significant amino acid variations in the circulating strains with the current WHO recommended vaccine strain, implies the exigency of continuous pandemic A/H1N1pdm09 surveillance studies in this epidemiological setting. The absence of any Oseltamivir resistant mutation (H275Y) in the neuraminidase gene of the current isolates suggests continuing use of Tamiflu® as an antiviral therapy in suspected subjects in this region.

A systematic review on the efficacies and therapeutic interventions of homoeopathic medicines in combating viral disorders with implications in the currently undergoinghomoeopathic treatment efforts for SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19)

The prevalence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has undergone a historic transition from December 2019 to June 2020. Under the current circumstances, SARS-CoV-2 has become a key problem for the public health and economic steadiness of the global fraternity. Based on ample evidences from the global epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV (Middle EastRespiratory Syndrome-Corona virus) scientists and physicians strappingly consider these viruses share structural and functional similarities of selected biologically active enzymes namely, 3CLpro, PLproand RdRp. Ultra-diluted homoeopathic medicine has the legacy to combat infectious as well as viral diseases since last two centuries. Thus, a systematic review on existing antiviral homoeopathic therapies was done in the current study and the need of appropriate clinical validation with proper in vitroas well as in vivostudies prior to make clinical endorsements in treating COVID-19 patients with homoeopathic medicines has been explained. A brief summary of the currently undergoing or recently completed homoeopathic treatments of COVID-19 has also been provided to attract many more similar homoeopathic treatment attempts to combat COVID-19.(AU)

Evidence for the Efficacy of Ultra-High Diluted Homoeopathic Medicines in the Management of Influenza-Like Illness: A Narrative Review

Introduction In view of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the rise in cases of influenza-like illness (ILI), there is urgent need of developing and scientifically establishing treatment strategies. Homoeopathy has been used effectively in various pandemics for a long-time showing potential of combating such outbreaks effectively. This study aims at evaluating the methodological quality of the clinical trials conducted with a motive of assessing the efficacy of homoeopathy in management of ILI. Methods The randomised clinical research manuscripts from various databases were included for the narrative review. In this study, the Jadad scale was applied as an assessment tool with the criteria of randomisation, blinding and withdrawals to evaluate the methodological quality of the selected randomised controlled trials. Results The seven randomised controlled trials fulfilling the inclusion criteria evaluated on Jadad scale lay between the ranges of 2 to 5 with a mean score of 3.71 implicating the efficacy of homoeopathy in ILI. Six studies showed significant role of homoeopathy in the faster recovery of ILI symptoms. One trial, however, reported no noticeable difference in intergroup (treatment and placebo group) improvement but distinct intragroup comparison was observed. Conclusion It was concluded from this narrative review that homoeopathy has significant role in faster recovery of ILI symptoms in comparison to placebo group, and it can be employed as a potential treatment strategy in the recurrent pandemics of ILI and the currently prevailing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis. It is suggested that more clinical trials with standard methodology should be conducted in this regard.