Since the first case of COVID-19 on 5 March 2020 in South Africa, the epidemic grew exponentially with a doubling time of 2 days for the first 3 weeks until the effects of state-initiated interventions impacted reducing the doubling time to 15 days. The National response, which comprises 8 stages aims to flatten the curve. Stage 6 of the response on clinical care has provided new insights on the immune response, the role of the cytokine storm & the impact of dexamethasone...
July 2020
Are polymorphisms in the ACE2 locus important for COVID-19 severity?
The SARS-CoV-2 uses the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor to enter a variety of cell types, notably in the upper and lower respiratory tract, although many cell types express ACE2. The affinity for viral binding may be linked to the level of ACE2 receptor expression in various tissues. In a recent Pre-print, authors analysed the association between polymorphisms in the ACE2 locus and COVID-19 severity.
Immuno-Ethiopia: Genetics of Fungal Immunology
Prof. Mohamed Ridha Barbouche from the Institut Pasteur de Tunis, gave insights on “Genetics of the immune response to Fungal Infections”. In his talk he highlighted the global fungal infection burden (over 14.9 million cases per year with over 1.7 million deaths worldwide).These fungal infections are polyclinical, with well-known forms including: Invasive, Mucosal, Allergic, Chronic lung or deep tissue infection.