COVID-19 global pandemic planning: Dry heat incubation and ambient temperature fail to consistently inactivate SARS-CoV-2 on N95 respirators

The ongoing pandemic of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has placed a substantial strain on the supply of personal protective equipment, particularly the availability of N95 respirators for frontline healthcare personnel. These shortages have led to the creation of protocols to disinfect and reuse potentially contaminated personal protective equipment. A simple and inexpensive decontamination procedure that does not rely on the use of consumable supplies is dry heat incubation. Although reprocessing with this method has been shown to maintain the integrity of N95 respirators after multiple decontamination procedures, information on the ability of dry heat incubation to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 is largely unreported. Here, we show that dry heat incubation does not consistently inactivate SARS-CoV-2-contaminated N95 respirators, and that variation in experimental conditions can dramatically affect viability of the virus. Furthermore, we show that SARS-CoV-2 can survive on N95 respirators that remain at room temperature for at least five days. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that dry heat incubation procedures and ambient temperature for five days are not viable methods for inactivating SARS-CoV-2 on N95 respirators for potential reuse. We recommend that decontamination procedures being considered for the reuse of N95 respirators be validated at each individual site and that validation of the process must be thoroughly conducted using a defined protocol.     

Immunoinformatic analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein as a strategy to assess cross-protection against COVID-19

Envelope protein of coronaviruses is a structural protein existing in both monomeric and homo-pentameric form. It has been related to a multitude of roles including virus infection, replication, dissemination and immune response stimulation. In the present study, we employed an immunoinformatic approach to investigate the major immunogenic domains of the SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein and map them among the homologue proteins of coronaviruses with tropism for animal species that are closely inter-related with the human beings population all over the world. Also, when not available, we predicted the envelope protein structural folding and mapped SARS-CoV-2 epitopes. Envelope sequences alignment provides evidence of high sequence homology for some of the investigated virus specimens; while the structural mapping of epitopes resulted in the interesting maintenance of the structural folding and epitope sequence localization also in the envelope proteins scoring a lower alignment score. In line with the One-Health approach, our evidences provide a molecular structural rationale for a potential role of taxonomically related coronaviruses in conferring protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection and identifying potential candidates for the development of diagnostic tools and prophylactic-oriented strategies.     

Dynamic Changes of Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 Patients at Early Stage of Outbreak

Virologica Sinica - The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2, has spread around the world with high mortality. To diagnose promptly and accurately is the vital step to...     

Immune response and potential therapeutic strategies for the SARS-CoV-2 associated with the COVID-19 pandemic

Following onset of the first recorded case of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in December 2019, more than 269 million cases and over 5.3 million deaths have been confirmed worldwide. COVID-19 is a highly infectious pneumonia, caused by a novel virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Currently, it poses a severe threat to human health across the globe, a trend that is likely to persist in the foreseeable future. This paper reviews SARS-CoV-2 immunity, the latest development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs as well as exploring in detail, immune escape induced by SARS-CoV-2. We expect that the findings will provide a basis for COVID-19 prevention and treatment.     

The Covid-19 pandemic in Denmark: Big lessons from a small country

Denmark, a Scandinavian country of 5.8 million people has weathered the Covid-19 crisis with a relatively low rate of infection and death. Denmark has also become one of the first European countries to partially re-open its society. We offer the perspective that the combination of rapid response from the government, trust and a high level of confidence in government by Danish citizens, and the importance of social heritage contributed to the effective management of the coronavirus crisis.     

Manipulation of genes could inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection that causes COVID-19 pandemics

The year 2020 witnessed an unpredictable pandemic situation due to novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreaks. This condition can be more severe if the patient has comorbidities. Failure of viable treatment for such viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is due to lack of identification. Thus, modern and productive biotechnology-based tools are being used to manipulate target genes by introducing the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas (CRISPR-associated) system. Moreover, it has now been used as a tool to inhibit viral replication. Hence, it can be hypothesized that the CRISPR/Cas system can be a viable tool to target both the SARS-CoV-2 genome with specific target RNA sequence and host factors to destroy the SARS-CoV-2 community via inhibition of viral replication and infection. Moreover, comorbidities and COVID-19 escalate the rate of mortality globally, and as a result, we have faced this pandemic. CRISPR/Cas-mediated genetic manipulation to knockdown viral sequences may be a preventive strategy against such pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, prophylactic antiviral CRISPR in human cells (PAC-MAN) along with CRISPR/Cas13d efficiently degrades the specific RNA sequence to inhibit viral replication. Therefore, we suggest that CRISPR/Cas system with PAC-MAN could be a useful tool to fight against such a global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. This is an alternative preventive approach of management against the pandemic to destroy the target sequence of RNA in SARS-CoV-2 by viral inhibition.     

COVID-19确诊病例居住环境病毒检测结果分析及防控探讨

新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)传播速度快、感染范围广,其感染方式主要是聚集性感染,感染途径主要是呼吸道飞沫和接触传播。了解环境中,特别是COVID-19确诊病人生活环境中的病毒存在情况,是做好环境消毒,阻断新型冠状病毒(SARS-CoV-2)传播的重要步骤,对COVID-19防控具有重要意义。本研究旨在探讨COVID-19患者生活环境中SARS-CoV-2的存在情况,从SARS-CoV-2存在的空间部位、病毒核酸含量、消毒效果等方面对SARS-CoV-2的相关特点做出初步研究,为制定有效的SARS-CoV-2防控措施提供科学依据。本研究以COVID-19病例治疗前的3个家庭居住环境和治疗出院后隔离期间的2个宾馆居住环境中采集的样本为研究材料,采用RT-PCR方法检测样本中的SARS-CoV-2核酸并进行比较分析。结果显示,首次从3个家庭环境中采样48份,RTPCR检测SARS-CoV-2核酸阳性5份(10.42%),3个家庭的环境样本中均有阳性样本检出。首次采样48h后在家庭3进行第二次采样16份,SARS-CoV-2核酸检测阳性2份(12.5%),检测Ct值比首次升高。家庭3消毒后24h采集的16份样本SARS-CoV-2核酸检测均为阴性,并且两处宾馆环境采集的24份样本SARS-CoV-2核酸检测也均为阴性。本研究提示,COVID-19病例的生活环境中可以检出SARS-CoV-2,病毒存在区域、存在物品、病毒核酸含量均有差异;对外环境进行消毒可以达到消毒目的,能够起到阻断SARS-CoV-2传播的防控效果。     

Stopping the COVID-19 pandemic in dental offices: A review of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and cross-infection prevention

Due to the essential role of dentists in stopping the COVID-19 pandemic, the purpose of this review is to help dentists to detect any weaknesses in their disinfection and cross-contamination prevention protocols, and to triage dental treatments to meet the needs of patients during the pandemic. We used PRISMA to identify peer-reviewed publications which supplemented guidance from the center for disease control about infection control and guidelines for dentists. Dentists must triage dental treatments to meet the needs of patients during the pandemic. The ongoing pandemic has changed the practice of dentistry forever, the changes make it more cumbersome, time-consuming, and costly due to the possible pathways of transmission and mitigation steps needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Dental chairside rapid tests for SARS-CoV-2 are urgently needed. Until then, dentists need to screen patients for COVID-19 even though 75% of people with COVID-19 have no symptoms. Despite the widespread anxiety and fear of the devastating health effects of COVID-19, only 61% of dentists have implemented a change to their treatment protocols. As an urgent matter of public health, all dentists must identify the additional steps they can take to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The most effective steps to stop the pandemic in dental offices are to; vaccinate all dentists, staff, and patients; triage dental treatments for patients, separate vulnerable patients, separate COVID-19 patients, prevent cross-contamination, disinfect areas touched by patients, maintain social distancing, and change personal protective equipment between patients.     

Humoral Immunity against SARS-CoV-2 and the Impact on COVID-19 Pathogenesis

It has been more than a year since severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) first emerged. Many studies have provided insights into the various aspects of the immune response in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Especially for antibody treatment and vaccine development, humoral immunity to SARS-CoV-2 has been studied extensively, though there is still much that is unknown and controversial. Here, we introduce key discoveries on the humoral immune responses in COVID-19, including the immune dynamics of antibody responses and correlations with disease severity, neutralizing antibodies and their cross-reactivity, how long the antibody and memory B-cell responses last, aberrant autoreactive antibodies generated in COVID-19 patients, and the efficacy of currently available therapeutic antibodies and vaccines against circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants, and highlight gaps in the current knowledge.     

SARS-CoV-2 infection: The role of cytokines in COVID-19 disease

COVID-19 disease, caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2, is related to a series of physiopathological mechanisms that mobilize a wide variety of biomolecules, mainly immunological in nature. In the most severe cases, the prognosis can be markedly worsened by the hyperproduction of mainly proinflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1, IL-6, IL-12, IFN-γ, and TNF-α, preferentially targeting lung tissue. This study reviews published data on alterations in the expression of different cytokines in patients with COVID-19 who require admission to an intensive care unit. Data on the implication of cytokines in this disease and their effect on outcomes will support the design of more effective approaches to the management of COVID-19.     

Capivasertib restricts SARS-CoV-2 cellular entry: a potential clinical application for COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has led to more than 150 million infections and about 3.1 million deaths up to date. Currently, drugs screened are urgently aiming to block the infection of SARS-CoV-2. Here, we explored the interaction networks of kinase and COVID-19 crosstalk, and identified phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway as the most important kinase signal pathway involving COVID-19. Further, we found a PI3K/AKT signal pathway inhibitor capivasertib restricted the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into cells under non-cytotoxic concentrations. Lastly, the signal axis PI3K/AKT/FYVE finger-containing phosphoinositide kinase (PIKfyve)/PtdIns(3,5)P2 was revealed to play a key role during the cellular entry of viruses including SARS-CoV-2, possibly providing potential antiviral targets. Altogether, our study suggests that the PI3K/AKT kinase inhibitor drugs may be a promising anti-SARS-CoV-2 strategy for clinical application, especially for managing cancer patients with COVID-19 in the pandemic era.     

Probable Pangolin Origin of SARS-CoV-2 Associated with the COVID-19 Outbreak

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COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights into Interactions between SARS-CoV-2 Infection and MAFLD

COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become an ongoing global health pandemic. Since 2019, the pandemic continues to cast a long shadow on all aspects of our lives, bringing huge health and economic burdens to all societies. With our in-depth understanding of COVID-19, from the initial respiratory tract to the later gastrointestinal tract and cardiovascular systems, the multiorgan involvement of this infectious disease has been discovered. Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), formerly named nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is a major health issue closely related to metabolic dysfunctions, affecting a quarter of the world''s adult population. The association of COVID-19 with MAFLD has received increasing attention, as MAFLD is a potential risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 symptoms. In this review, we provide an update on the interactions between COVID-19 and MAFLD and its underlying mechanisms.     

Physical activity and exercise as an essential medical strategy for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

COVID-19 disease has been a problem in today’s society, which has worldwide effects on different areas, especially on the economy; also, from a health perspective, the disease affects the daily life quality. Physical activity is one major positive factor with regard to enhancing life quality, as it can improve the whole psychological, social, and physical health conditions. Current measures such as social distancing are focused on preventing the viral spread. However, the consequences on other areas are yet to be investigated. Elderly, people with chronic diseases, obese, and others benefit largely from exercise from the perspective of improved health, and preventive measures can drastically improve daily living. In this article, we elaborate the effects of exercise on the immune system and the possible strategies that can be implemented toward greater preventive potential.     

SARS-CoV-2 associated COVID-19 in geriatric population: A brief narrative review

Coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), has emerged as a fatal pandemic and has crushed even the world’s best healthcare systems. Globally, it has affected 40,373,228 individuals and resulted in 1,119,568 deaths as of October 19, 2020. Research studies have demonstrated that geriatric population is vastly vulnerable to COVID-19 morbidity and mortality given their age and preexisting chronic comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic pulmonary and chronic kidney disease The data regarding susceptibility of elderly population to COVID-19 is accruing and suggests that factors like age, gender, chronic comorbidity, inflammaging, immunosenescence and renin angiotensin system may be the contributing risk factors towards COVID-19 and associated mortality in elderly population. Based on updated scientific literature, this narrative review précises the clinical presentations and underlying risk factors that might be associated with COVID-19 morbidity in geriatric population and provides informed insights, and discusses clinical presentation, psychosocial impact, mortality and potential corticosteroid treatment and prevention strategies of COVID-19 in older adults.     

Cystic fibrosis improves COVID-19 survival and provides clues for treatment of SARS-CoV-2

Systemic pools of ATP are elevated in individuals homozygous for cystic fibrosis (CF) as evidenced by elevated blood and plasma ATP levels. This elevated ATP level seems to provide benefit in the presence of advanced solid tumors (Abraham et al., Nature Medicine 2(5):593–596, 1996). We published in this journal a paper showing that IV ATP can elevate the depleted ATP pools of advanced cancer patients up to levels found in CF patients with subsequent clinical, biochemical, and quality of life (QOL) improvements (Rapaport et al., Purinergic Signalling 11(2): 251–262, 2015). We hypothesize that the elevated ATP levels seen in CF patients may be benefiting CF patients in another way: by improving their survival after contracting COVID-19. We discuss here the reasoning behind this hypothesis and suggest how these findings might be applied clinically in the general population.     

Japanese cancer screening programs during the COVID-19 pandemic: Changes in participation between 2017-2020

BackgroundThe impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on cancer screening participation is a global concern. A national database of screening performance is available in Japan for population-based cancer screening, estimated to cover approximately half of all cancer screenings.MethodsUtilizing the fiscal year (FY) 2017–2020 national database, the number of participants in screenings for gastric cancer (upper gastrointestinal [UGI] series or endoscopy), colorectal cancer (fecal occult blood test), lung cancer (chest X-ray), breast cancer (mammography), and cervical cancer (Pap smear) were identified. The percent change in the number of participants was calculated.ResultsCompared with the pre-pandemic period (FY 2017–2019), in percentage terms FY 2020 recorded the largest decline in gastric cancer UGI series (2.82 million to 1.91 million, percent change was −32.2 %), followed by screening for breast cancer (3.10 million to 2.57 million, percent change was −17.2 %), lung cancer (7.92 million to 6.59 million, percent change was −16.7 %), colorectal cancer (8.42 million to 7.30 million, percent change was −13.4 %), cervical cancer (4.26 million to 3.77 million, percent change was −11.6 %), and gastric cancer via endoscopy (1.02 million to 0.93 million, percent change was −9.0 %).ConclusionThe number of participants in population-based screenings in Japan decreased by approximately 10–30 % during the pandemic. The impact of these declines on cancer detection or mortality should be carefully monitored.     

Recipients of COVID-19 vaccines face challenges of SARS-CoV-2 variants

The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has been rampant since 2019, severely affecting global public health, and causing 5.75 million deaths worldwide. So far, many vaccines have been developed to prevent the infection of SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, the emergence of new variants may threat vaccine recipients as they might evade immunological surveillance that depends on the using of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody to neutralize the viral particles. Recent studies have found that recipients who received two doses of vaccination plus an additional booster shoot were able to quickly elevate neutralization response and immune response against wild-type SARS-CoV-2 virus and some initially appeared viral variants. In this review, we assessed the real-world effectiveness of different COVID-19 vaccines by population studies and neutralization assays and compared neutralization responses of booster vaccines in vitro. Finally, as the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccine is expected to decline over time, continued vaccination should be considered to achieve a long-term immune protection against coronavirus.     

Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in patients with COVID-19

This paper aimed to analyze antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in various populations. Two hundred and six COVID-19 patients, 46 convalescent patients, and 270 healthy population were enrolled. Antibodies against nucleocapsid protein (N) and spike protein's receptor-binding domain (RBD), and neutralizing antibody were detected. The results demonstrated both anti-N and anti-RBD antibodies could be detected in about 80% of COVID-19 patients and 90% of convalescent patients, while no antibodies could be detected in some convalescents and patients even after 14 days post-onset of symptoms. The level of anti-RBD antibody strongly correlated with the neutralizing activity of sera from these two cohorts. The titer of neutralizing antibody was lower in convalescents than that in active COVID-19 patients. In addition, the titer of neutralizing antibody was less than 1:80 in none of the severe COVID-19 patients, 18.8% in non-severe COVID-19 patients, and 32.6% in convalescents. The study suggests that the level of anti-RBD antibody is closely related to neutralization activity in COVID-19 patients and convalescents. Some SARS-CoV-2-infected cases trigger a weak antiviral immune response, and the level of neutralizing antibody may have a faster decay rate.