Emerging microbes & infections
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Emerg Microbes Infect · Dec 2020
SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance in Taiwan revealed novel ORF8-deletion mutant and clade possibly associated with infections in Middle East.
Taiwan experienced two waves of imported infections with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aimed at investigating the genomic variation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Taiwan and compared their evolutionary trajectories with the global strains. We performed culture and full-genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 strains followed by phylogenetic analysis. ⋯ The second wave mostly resulted from patients who had a travel history to Europe and Americas. All Taiwanese viruses were classified into various clades. Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Taiwan revealed a new ORF8-deletion mutant and a virus clade that may be associated with infections in the Middle East, which contributed to a better understanding of the global SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics.
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Emerg Microbes Infect · Dec 2020
LetterLaboratory management for SARS-CoV-2 detection: a user-friendly combination of the heat treatment approach and rt-Real-time PCR testing.
The RNA purification is the gold standard for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in swab samples, but it is dependent on the availability of chemical reagents. In this study, we evaluated the heat treatment method without RNA extraction as a reliable option to nucleic acid purification.
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Emerg Microbes Infect · Dec 2020
Meta AnalysisMeta-analysis of diagnostic performance of serology tests for COVID-19: impact of assay design and post-symptom-onset intervals.
Serology detection is recognized for its sensitivity in convalescent patients with COVID-19, in comparison with nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs). This article aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of serologic methods for COVID-19 based on assay design and post-symptom-onset intervals. Two authors independently searched PubMed, Cochrane library, Ovid, EBSCO for case-control, longitudinal and cohort studies that determined the diagnostic accuracy of serology tests in comparison with NAATs in COVID-19 cases and used QUADAS-2 for quality assessment. ⋯ Lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) had a lower sensitivity than enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) and chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA). Serology tests will play an important role in the clinical diagnosis for later stage COVID-19 patients. ELISA tests, detecting TAB or targeting combined N and S proteins had a higher diagnostic sensitivity compared to other methods.
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Emerg Microbes Infect · Dec 2020
The burden, admission, and outcome of COVID-19 in Africa: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Background: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the outbreak of coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared as pandemic and public health emergency that infected more than 5 million people worldwide at the time of writing this protocol. Strong evidence for the burden, admission, and outcome of COVID-19 has not been published in Africa. Therefore, this protocol will be served as a guideline to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the burden, admission, and outcome of COVID-19 in Africa. ⋯ This systematic and meta-analysis review protocol will be reported per the PRISMA-P guidelines. Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis protocol will be expected to quantify the burden, admission, and outcome of COVID-19 in Africa. Systematic review registration: This protocol was submitted for registration with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) in March 2020 and accepted with the registration number: CRD42020179321(https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO).
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Emerg Microbes Infect · Dec 2020
ReviewZoonotic and reverse zoonotic events of SARS-CoV-2 and their impact on global health.
Coronaviruses (CoVs) are enveloped, positive sense, single-stranded RNA viruses. The viruses have adapted to infect a large number of animal species, ranging from bats to camels. At present, seven CoVs infect humans, of which Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for causing the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in humans. ⋯ This scenario is particularly alarming, since these animals could be potential reservoirs for secondary zoonotic infections. In this article, we highlight interspecies SARS-CoV-2 infections and focus on the reverse zoonotic potential of this virus. We also emphasize the importance of potential secondary zoonotic events and the One-Health and One-World approach to tackle such future pandemics.