Articles: sars-cov-2.
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Clin. Microbiol. Infect. · Jul 2020
ReviewBalancing evidence and frontline experience in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic: current position of the Italian Society of Anti-infective Therapy (SITA) and the Italian Society of Pulmonology (SIP).
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has rapidly become epidemic in Italy and other European countries. The disease spectrum ranges from asymptomatic/mildly symptomatic presentations to acute respiratory failure. At the present time the absolute number of severe cases requiring ventilator support is reaching or even surpassing the intensive care unit bed capacity in the most affected regions and countries. ⋯ Many off-label antiviral and anti-inflammatory drugs are currently being administered to patients with COVID-19. Physicians must be aware that, as they are not supported by high-level evidence, these treatments may often be ethically justifiable only in those worsening patients unlikely to improve only with supportive care, and who cannot be enrolled onto randomized clinical trials. Access to well-designed randomized controlled trials should be expanded as much as possible because it is the most secure way to change for the better our approach to COVID-19 patients.
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Microbes and infection · Jul 2020
ReviewCurrent development of COVID-19 diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics.
A novel coronavirus, designated as SARS-CoV-2, first emerged in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, in late December 2019. The rapidly increasing number of cases has caused worldwide panic. In this review, we describe some currently applied diagnostic approaches, as well as therapeutics and vaccines, to prevent, treat and control further outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. · Jul 2020
Coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnant women: a report based on 116 cases.
The coronavirus disease 2019, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, is a global public health emergency. Data on the effect of coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnancy are limited to small case series. ⋯ Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection during pregnancy is not associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion and spontaneous preterm birth. There is no evidence of vertical transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection when the infection manifests during the third trimester of pregnancy.
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Microbes and infection · Jul 2020
ReviewFrom SARS-CoV to SARS-CoV-2: safety and broad-spectrum are important for coronavirus vaccine development.
The global pandemic of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 (also known as 2019-nCoV and HCoV-19) has posed serious threats to public health and economic stability worldwide, thus calling for development of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging and reemerging coronaviruses. Since SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV have high similarity of their genomic sequences and share the same cellular receptor (ACE2), it is essential to learn the lessons and experiences from the development of SARS-CoV vaccines for the development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge on the advantages and disadvantages of the SARS-CoV vaccine candidates and prospected the strategies for the development of safe, effective and broad-spectrum coronavirus vaccines for prevention of infection by currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging and reemerging coronaviruses that may cause future epidemics or pandemics.
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Several SARS-CoV-2 immunoassays have been developed recently. The purpose of this study was to assess the performance of five immunoassays for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. ⋯ This study shows accurate and equivalent performance of the five serological antibody assays (ELISA, CLIA and three lateral flow tests) in detecting SARS-CoV-2 antibodies 14 days after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms. This is compatible with their application in specific clinical contexts and in determining epidemiological strategies for the COVID-19 pandemic.