Articles: coronavirus.
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Editorial Review Comparative Study
Why COVID-19 Transmission Is More Efficient and Aggressive Than Viral Transmission in Previous Coronavirus Epidemics?
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is causing a pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The worldwide transmission of COVID-19 from human to human is spreading like wildfire, affecting almost every country in the world. ⋯ There are also four other CoVs capable of infecting humans (HCoVs), which circulate continuously in the human population, but their phenotypes are generally mild, and these HCoVs received relatively little attention. These dramatic differences between infection with HCoVs, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 raise many questions, such as: Why is COVID-19 transmitted so quickly? Is it due to some specific features of the viral structure? Are there some specific human (host) factors? Are there some environmental factors? The aim of this review is to collect and concisely summarize the possible and logical answers to these questions.
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COVID-19 vaccines are the most important tool to stem the pandemic. They are being developed with unprecedented global collaboration and accelerated timelines to achieve WHO Emergency Use Listing, while using regulatory pathways through national regulatory authorities. Alongside preparations to ensure equitable access to the vaccines among people globally, preparations must be made within countries for COVID-19 vaccines safety surveillance on an urgent basis. ⋯ Utilizing standardized case definitions and global standards for AESI will help in harmonization. Vaccine safety communication plans should be developed. Expanding the global vaccine safety system to meet the needs of COVID-19 and other emergency and routine use vaccines is a priority currently.
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The ongoing worldwide pandemic of the novel human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the ensuing disease, COVID-19, has presented enormous and unprecedented challenges for all medical specialists. However, to date, children, especially neonates, have been relatively spared from the devastating consequences of this infection. ⋯ Among neonates and children, COVID-19-associated neurological manifestations have been relatively rare, yet reports involving neurologic dysfunction in this age range are increasing. As discussed in this review, pediatric neurologists and other pediatric specialists should be alert to potential neurological involvement by this virus, which might have neuroinvasive capability and carry long-term neuropsychiatric and medical consequences.
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is a recently emerged respiratory coronavirus that has infected >23 million people worldwide with >800,000 deaths. Few COVID-19 therapeutics are available, and the basis for severe infections is poorly understood. Here, we investigated properties of type I (β), II (γ), and III (λ1) interferons (IFNs), potent immune cytokines that are normally produced during infection and that upregulate IFN-stimulated gene (ISG) effectors to limit virus replication. ⋯ Here, we studied the antiviral- and ACE2-inducing properties of different IFN types in both a human lung cell line model and primary human bronchial epithelial cells. We observed differences between IFNs with respect to their induction of antiviral genes and abilities to enhance the cell surface expression of ACE2. Nevertheless, all the IFNs limited SARS-CoV-2 replication, suggesting that their antiviral actions can counterbalance increased ACE2.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Sep 2020
Comparative StudyMental Health in Frontline Medical Workers during the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease Epidemic in China: A Comparison with the General Population.
Since December 2019, China has been affected by a severe outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Frontline medical workers experienced difficulty due to the high risk of being infected and long and distressing work shifts. The current study aims to evaluate psychological symptoms in frontline medical workers during the COVID-19 epidemic in China and to perform a comparison with the general population. ⋯ A large proportion of frontline medical workers and the general public experienced psychological symptoms during the COVID-19 outbreak. Psychological services for frontline medical workers and the general public are needed.