International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Aug 2020
Importation of SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to major COVID-19 epidemic in Taiwan.
COVID-19 has recently become a pandemic affecting many countries worldwide. This study aims to evaluate the current status of COVID-19 in Taiwan and analyze the source of infection. ⋯ This study suggests that the importation of SARS-CoV-2 infection was the primary risk-factor resulting in the COVID-19 epidemic in Taiwan.
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Aug 2020
Effect of a wet market on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) transmission dynamics in China, 2019-2020.
The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) originating from Wuhan spread rapidly throughout China. While its origin remains uncertain, accumulating evidence links a wet market with the early spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan. Similarly, the influence of the marketplace on the early transmission dynamics is yet to be investigated. ⋯ Our R estimate tied to market-to-human transmission had substantial uncertainty, but it was significantly lower compared with the reproduction number driving human-to-human transmission. Our results also suggest that asymptomatic and subclinical infections constitute a substantial component of the COVID-19 morbidity burden.
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Aug 2020
ReviewIron: Innocent bystander or vicious culprit in COVID-19 pathogenesis?
The coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is viciously spreading through the continents with rapidly increasing mortality rates. Current management of COVID-19 is based on the premise that respiratory failure is the leading cause of mortality. However, mounting evidence links accelerated pathogenesis in gravely ill COVID-19 patients to a hyper-inflammatory state involving a cytokine storm. ⋯ Another key component of the heightened inflammatory state is hyper-ferritinemia which reportedly identifies patients with increased mortality risk. In spite of its strong association with mortality, it is not yet clear if hyper-ferritinemia in COVID-19 patients is merely a systemic marker of disease progression, or a key modulator in disease pathogenesis. Here we address implications of a possible role for hyper-ferritinemia, and altered iron homeostasis in COVID-19 pathogenesis, and potential therapeutic targets in this regard.
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Aug 2020
Case ReportsCombination of thrombolytic and immunosuppressive therapy for coronavirus disease 2019: A case report.
In a proportion of patients, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes a multisystem syndrome characterized by hyperinflammation, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and hypercoagulability. A 68-year-old man with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was admitted to the intensive care unit with respiratory failure, cytokine release syndrome (CRS), and skin ischemia - microthrombosis. ⋯ No major complications associated with rt-PA or tocilizumab occurred. The combination of rt-PA with targeted anti-inflammatory treatment could be a new therapeutic option for patients with COVID-19, ARDS, hyperinflammation, and increased blood viscosity.
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Aug 2020
Aberrant hyperactivation of cytotoxic T-cell as a potential determinant of COVID-19 severity.
We hypothesized that immune response may contribute to progression of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) at the second week of illness. Therefore, we compared cell-mediated immune (CMI) responses between severe and mild COVID-19 cases. ⋯ Severe COVID-19 had a higher degree of proliferation, activation, and cytotoxicity of T-cells at the late phase of illness without cytotoxic T-cell contraction, which might contribute to the development of severe COVID-19.