Articles: sars-cov-2.
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Current medical science · Jun 2020
Potential of Arbidol for Post-exposure Prophylaxis of COVID-19 Transmission: A Preliminary Report of a Retrospective Cohort Study.
The efficient transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome-2 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) from patients to health care workers or family members has been a worrisome and prominent feature of the ongoing outbreak. On the basis of clinical practice and in-vitro studies, we postulated that post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) using Arbidol is associated with decreased infection among individuals exposed to confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection. We conducted a retrospective cohort study on family members and health care workers who were exposed to patients confirmed to have SARS-CoV-2 infection by real-time RT-PCR and chest computed tomography (CT) from January 1 to January 16, 2020. ⋯ The Cox regression based on the data of the family members and health care workers with Arbidol or not showed that Arbidol PEP was a protective factor against the development of COVID-19 (HR 0.025, 95% CI 0.003-0.209, P=0.0006 for family members and HR 0.056, 95% CI 0.005-0.662, P=0.0221 for health care workers). Our findings suggest Arbidol could reduce the infection risk of the novel coronavirus in hospital and family settings. This treatment should be promoted for PEP use and should be the subject of further investigation.
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The pandemic outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), spread all over the world in a short period of time. Efficient identification of the infection by SARS-CoV-2 has been one of the most important tasks to facilitate all the following counter measurements in dealing with the infectious disease. ⋯ Research priorities include infection control, epidemiology, clinical characterization and management, detection methods (including viral RNA detection, viral antigen detection, and serum antibody detection), therapeutics (neutralizing antibody and small molecule drugs), vaccines, and SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. In addition, research on social ethics and the law are included to take full account of the impact of the COVID-19 virus.
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The COVID-19 pandemic, characterised by a fast and global spread during the first months of 2020, has prompted the development of a structured set of recommendations for cancer care management, to maintain the highest possible standards. Within this framework, it is crucial to ensure no disruption to essential oncological services and guarantee the optimal care. This is a structured proposal for the management of lung cancer, comprising three levels of priorities, namely: tier 1 (high priority), tier 2 (medium priority) and tier 3 (low priority)-defined according to the criteria of the Cancer Care Ontario, Huntsman Cancer Institute and Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale. ⋯ In case of shortages, resources must be distributed fairly. Consequently, the following recommendations can be applied with significant nuances, depending on the time and location for their use, considering variable constraints imposed to the health systems. An exceptional flexibility is required from cancer caregivers.
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Respiratory disease and increased mortality occurred in minks on two farms in the Netherlands, with interstitial pneumonia and SARS-CoV-2 RNA in organ and swab samples. On both farms, at least one worker had coronavirus disease-associated symptoms before the outbreak. ⋯ Inhalable dust contained viral RNA, indicating possible exposure of workers. One worker is assumed to have attracted the virus from mink.
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Cell. Mol. Immunol. · Jun 2020
Key residues of the receptor binding motif in the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 that interact with ACE2 and neutralizing antibodies.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, is currently a major threat to public health worldwide. The viral spike protein binds the host receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) via the receptor-binding domain (RBD), and thus is believed to be a major target to block viral entry. Both SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV share this mechanism. ⋯ It is worth noting that a newly developed SARS-CoV-2 human antibody, HA001, was able to neutralize SARS-CoV-2, but failed to recognize SARS-CoV. Moreover, the potential epitope residues of HA001 were identified as A475 and F486 in the SARS-CoV-2 RBD, representing new binding sites for neutralizing antibodies. Overall, our study has revealed the presence of different key epitopes between SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, which indicates the necessity to develop new prophylactic vaccine and antibody drugs for specific control of the COVID-19 pandemic although the available agents obtained from the SARS-CoV study are unneglectable.