Login to your account
Don’t have an account?
Create a Free Account
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Collection
Emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern Omicron (B.1.1.529) - highlights Africa's research capabilities, but exposes major knowledge gaps, inequities of vaccine distribution, inadequacies in global COVID-19 response and control efforts
Nearly two years since the start of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, which has caused over 5 million deaths, the world continues to be on high COVID-19 alert. The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with national authorities, public health institutions and scientists have been closely monitoring and assessing the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 since January 2020 (WHO 2021a; WHO 2021b). The emergence of specific SARS-CoV-2 variants were characterised as Variant of Interest (VOI) and Variant of Concern (VOC), to prioritise global monitoring and research, and to inform the ongoing global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO and its international sequencing networks continuously monitor SARS-CoV-2 mutations and inform countries about any changes that may be needed to respond to the variant, and prevent its spread where feasible.Role of testosterone in SARS-CoV-2 infection: A key pathogenic factor and a biomarker for severe pneumonia
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is characterized by a huge range of clinical manifestations. Many pathogenetic pathways and virulence mechanisms are still unknown. Nevertheless, it is known that the host’s immune system plays a key role (Blanco-Melo et al., 2020). Notably, age, comorbidities (e.g. diabetes mellitus, obesity), smoking habits and male sex (Rod et al., 2020; Wu et al., 2020) are the fundamental independent risk factors for death from coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) (Zhou et al., 2020).Prolonged and severe SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients under B-cell-depleting drug successfully treated: A tailored approach
Patients with pre-existing comorbidities and immunosuppression, including anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, widely used to treat hematological malignancies or autoimmune disease, are at greater risk for persistent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-CoronaVirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (He et al., 2020). Prolonged B-cell depletion impairs the adaptive immune response and the ability to produce neutralizing antibodies, causing severe manifestations and a prolonged course of COVID-19 (Mehta et al., 2020; Hueso et al., 2020).Risk and predictive factors of prolonged viral RNA shedding in upper respiratory specimens in a large cohort of COVID-19 patients admitted to an Italian reference hospital
The emergence and rapid spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has become a global health emergency and one of our century's greatest challenges. As of February 24, 2021, approximately 111 million confirmed cases and more than 2.4 million deaths had been reported worldwide (Anon, 2020).The unbalanced p53/SIRT1 axis may impact lymphocyte homeostasis in COVID-19 patients
In patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, excessive inflammatory responses are considered to play a major role in the pathogenesis of severe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) disease, leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome and multiple-organ failure (Moore and June, 2020). Dysregulated inflammatory profile, defective immune responses and lymphopenia have also been identified as important features of severe disease (Del Valle et al., 2020; Bordoni et al., 2020).
