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.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).
