Journal of medical virology
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To investigate the evolutionary history of the recent outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in China, a total of 70 genomes of virus strains from China and elsewhere with sampling dates between 24 December 2019 and 3 February 2020 were analyzed. To explore the potential intermediate animal host of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, we reanalyzed virome data sets from pangolins and representative SARS-related coronaviruses isolates from bats, with particular attention paid to the spike glycoprotein gene. We performed phylogenetic, split network, transmission network, likelihood-mapping, and comparative analyses of the genomes. ⋯ We also identified a unique peptide (PRRA) insertion in the human SARS-CoV-2 virus, which may be involved in the proteolytic cleavage of the spike protein by cellular proteases, and thus could impact host range and transmissibility. Interestingly, the coronavirus carried by pangolins did not have the RRAR motif. Therefore, we concluded that the human SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is responsible for the recent outbreak of COVID-19, did not come directly from pangolins.
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Since December 2019, a series of unexplained pneumonia cases have been reported in Wuhan, China. On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) temporarily named this new virus as the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). ⋯ The COVID-19 epidemic is spreading all over the world, especially in China. Based on the published evidence, we systematically discuss the characteristics of COVID-19 in the hope of providing a reference for future studies and help for the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic.
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Meta Analysis
Clinical characteristics of hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection: A single arm meta-analysis.
We aim to summarize reliable evidence of evidence-based medicine for the treatment and prevention of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by analyzing all the published studies on the clinical characteristics of patients with SARS-CoV-2. ⋯ Fever and cough are the most common symptoms in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, and most of these patients have abnormal chest CT examination. Several people have muscle soreness or fatigue as well as ARDS. Diarrhea, hemoptysis, headache, sore throat, shock, and other symptoms are rare. The case fatality rate of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection is lower than that of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). This meta-analysis also has limitations, so the conclusions of this Meta-analysis still need to be verified by more relevant studies with more careful design, more rigorous execution, and larger sample size.
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From the beginning of 2002 and 2012, severe respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) crossed the species barriers to infect humans, causing thousands of infections and hundreds of deaths, respectively. Currently, a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which has become the cause of the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), was discovered. Until 18 February 2020, there were 72 533 confirmed COVID-19 cases (including 10 644 severe cases) and 1872 deaths in China. ⋯ Finding the possible intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2 is imperative to prevent further spread of the epidemic. In this study, we used systematic comparison and analysis to predict the interaction between the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of coronavirus spike protein and the host receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The interaction between the key amino acids of S protein RBD and ACE2 indicated that, other than pangolins and snakes, as previously suggested, turtles (Chrysemys picta bellii, Chelonia mydas, and Pelodiscus sinensis) may act as the potential intermediate hosts transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to humans.
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Review Meta Analysis
COVID-19 patients' clinical characteristics, discharge rate, and fatality rate of meta-analysis.
The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical data, discharge rate, and fatality rate of COVID-19 patients for clinical help. The clinical data of COVID-19 patients from December 2019 to February 2020 were retrieved from four databases. We statistically analyzed the clinical symptoms and laboratory results of COVID-19 patients and explained the discharge rate and fatality rate with a single-arm meta-analysis. ⋯ Minor symptoms include headache or dizziness (12.1%), diarrhea (4.8%), nausea and vomiting (3.9%). The results of the laboratory showed that the lymphocytopenia (64.5%), increase of C-reactive protein (44.3%), increase of lactic dehydrogenase (28.3%), and leukocytopenia (29.4%) were more common. The results of single-arm meta-analysis showed that the male took a larger percentage in the gender distribution of COVID-19 patients 60% (95% CI [0.54, 0.65]), the discharge rate of COVID-19 patients was 52% (95% CI [0.34,0.70]), and the fatality rate was 5% (95% CI [0.01,0.11]).