2020

Use of face masks, has gained much attention, with the World Health Organization urging people to use them wisely as there is a worldwide shortage. As a result, the general public has started using cloth masks as an alternative, although their efficacy remains to be proven. If a complete shortage of N95 and surgical masks (surgical masks) occurs, HCW...

According to Casadevall A and Pirofski using convalescent sera as passive antibody (Ab) therapy may be an option for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 that could be available as soon as sufficient numbers of people recover and can donate immunoglobulin-containing serum.

As the number of novel coronavirus infections rises daily across the globe, strategies for developing a safe and effective vaccine are rapidly moving forward.  Recently published perspective by Amanat & Kramer highlights 6 main vaccine-platforms being investigated. It is estimated that more than 24 COVID-19 vaccine candidates .

Did you watch the IUIS Webinar on COVID-19 Vaccines by Rino Rappouli (Chief Scientist and Head of R&D at GSK. If you missed it, please watch it below. Prof. Gary Kobinger (Laval University, Canada) conducted an Audio Interview on “SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Development: Where Are We Now ?”.

In 2005, after the 2002-3 SARS epidemic researchers demonstrated the in-vivo anti-viral effect of chloroquine in primate cell lines infected with SARS-CoV. These results were further confirmed by Gao et al., Wang et al., & Liu et al.., who also showed inhibitory effects of chloroquine on SARS-CoV-2, the etiological agent of COVID-19.

Natural Killer (NK) cells and CD8+ Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes (CTLs) play key roles in the control of viral infections. Zheng et al have studied the function of these lymphocytes in 68 COVID-19 patients, including 55 and 13 patients with mild and severe disease, respectively.

Su et al., showed that COVID-19 in children has a mild or asymptomatic clinical process, which is a largely better prognosis than that in adults. However, PCR positivity in stool seems to last longer in children than in their family members. A study by Dong et al....

The recent emergence of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, has again heightened the need for laboratories to review their biosafety practices and to update them with the new recommendations.

An alternative method for diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 infection would be using serological tests that detect SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody (Ab) responses. However, no SARS-CoV-2 serological assays are available at point of care..

In previous zoonotic coronavirus events (SARS & MERS), near-identical strains of the virus were found in animal intermediate hosts; however, a near-identical strain of SARS-CoV-2 has yet to be found in animals. The genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2 has highest similarity (96.3%) to that of Bat_SL-CoV_RaTG13...