Coronavirus (COVID-19) Collection
Personal Protective Measures during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany
The first case of COVID-19 in Germany was reported on January 27, 2020 (Bavarian State Ministry of Health and Care, 2020). The virus SARS-CoV-2 spreads fast, and within the first two months, more than 42,000 cases had been notified (Robert Koch Institute, 2021). Containment of the virus was not only complicated by the fact that it was found to be contagious even before the onset of symptoms but also because some individuals can live through an infection without showing any symptoms and still infect others (Almadhi et al., 2021; Buitrago-Garcia et al., 2020).The impact of COVID-19 on health care–associated infections in intensive care units in low- and middle-income countries: International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) findings
Before the appearance and worldwide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, a pervasive decrease in health care–associated infection (HAI) incidence had been observed across hospitals in the United States (Weiner-Lastinger et al., 2021b). Throughout 2020, as COVID-19 swept across the United States in multiple waves of infections, regions experienced steep surges in cases and hospitalizations (Ripa et al., 2021). Some studies specifically noted the occurrence of secondary infections in patients with COVID-19 (Ripa et al., 2021).Country differences in transmissibility, age distribution and case-fatality of SARS-CoV-2: a global ecological analysis
Objectives The first COVID-19 pandemic waves in many low-income countries appeared milder than initially forecasted. We conducted a country-level ecological study to describe patterns in key SARS-CoV-2 outcomes by country and region and explore associations with potential explanatory factors, including population age structure and prior exposure to endemic parasitic infections. Methods We collected publicly available data and compared them using standardisation techniques. We then explored the association between exposures and outcomes using random forest and linear regression.Evaluation of the AMP SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test in a hospital setting
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of a broad clinical spectrum known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China (Zhu et al., 2020; Zhou et al., 2020). Within a short time, a worldwide spread led to the current pandemic that will presumably remain the leading infectious disease topic in 2021 (WHO, 2020a).The initial impact of a national BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine rollout
A two-dose regimen of BNT162b2, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, was shown to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 by around 95% in a randomized clinical trial and in a mass national vaccination program (Dagan et al., 2021; Polack et al., 2020). On 23 December 2020, Qatar started a national BNT162b2 rollout programme, in addition to existing COVID-19 public health control measures. The rollout initially prioritised healthcare workers, individuals aged ≥50 years, and those with chronic or immunosuppressive medical conditions.Impact of COVID-19 on vasooclusive crisis in patients with sickle cell anaemia
COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2 (Gorbalenya et al., 2020), has spread to 191 countries and all continents ( https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html ), and the pandemic shows no signs of coming under control, despite global efforts. The pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented number of deaths globally, with widespread lockdowns and disruption to world economies and businesses (Fauci et al., 2020). The clinical features of SARS-CoV-2 vary from mild in approximately 80% of cases, severe in 15% and critical in 5%.Efficacy and safety of pegylated interferon alfa-2b in moderate COVID-19: A phase II, randomized, controlled, open-label study
A novel coronavirus disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in December 2019 (COVID-19) in a cluster of patients in Wuhan, China, which has been designated a worldwide pandemic (Cucinotta and Vanelli, 2020; Spinelli and Pellino, 2020). As of 31 January 2021, there have been 102,139,771 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, including 2,211,762 reported deaths (WHO, 2021).Comparative assessment of mortality risk factors between admission and follow-up models among patients hospitalized with COVID-19
The SARS-CoV-2 virus has infected more than 100 million and killed nearly 2.5 million people worldwide over the past few months (JHU, 2020). Although most patients are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, 10% of them require hospitalization and 5% advanced medical support (Wu and McGoogan, 2020). Early identification of severe cases that will demand longer hospitalizations and increased costs can help guide medical decisions and manage hospital resources, especially in economically deprived areas.Temporal profile of SARS-CoV-2 viral load in posterior nasopharyngeal samples: Analysis of 944 patients in Apulia, Italy
From early 2020 a new Coronavirus disease named COVID-19 has spread worldwide with Italy being one of the most affected countries, albeit with substantial regional differences (IstitutoSuperiorediSanità; WHO). In the Apulia region (southern Italy) approximately 7900 cases of COVID-19 infection have been reported so far, with a peak at the end of April and a substantial decrease from May-June. The rate of hospitalization and number of severe cases also fell during this time (IstitutoSuperiorediSanità).No clinical benefit in mortality associated with hydroxychloroquine treatment in patients with COVID-19
The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. As of June 22, 2020, a total of 2,275,645 COVID-19 cases and 119,923 related deaths had been reported in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Reports from around the world indicate that this disease will continue to spread with the potential to cause severe illness in 10%–20% of those infected and to lead to hospitalization, ICU admission, ventilator support, and death.A high-throughput drug screening strategy against coronaviruses
The emergence and re-emergence of coronavirus (CoV) infections have continually caused serious public health concerns over past decades. Severe acute CoV infections, including severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2002, Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012, and the currently circulating SARS-CoV-2, have become a growing and long-lasting global threat (Gao, 2018). The first case of SARS-CoV-2 was deemed to occur in December 2019 and identified as a new type of coronavirus in early January 2020 (Burki, 2020; Chen et al., 2020a; Gralinski and Menachery, 2020; Wu et al., 2020b; Zhou et al., 2020b).Severe COVID-19 Infection and Pediatric Comorbidities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
What is known What is newSpread of COVID-19 and policy responses in Vietnam: An overview
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread rapidly across the globe since December 2019. As of 26 October 2020, more than 43.5 million COVID-19 confirmed cases have been reported, with almost 1.2 million associated deaths (Johns Hopkins University, 2020). Furthermore, the number of confirmed cases is still increasing rapidly in many countries (World Health Organisation, 2020).Efficacy and safety of favipiravir, an oral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase inhibitor, in mild-to-moderate COVID-19: A randomized, comparative, open-label, multicenter, phase 3 clinical trial
A novel coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; SARS-CoV-2), emerged in late December 2019, which resulted in the ongoing worldwide coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (World Health Organization, 2020; Zhou et al., 2020 Zhou et al., 2020). As of September 25, 2020, the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 global dashboard reports 32,390,204 confirmed cases and 985,302 deaths worldwide attributed to SARS-CoV-2 (The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, 2020).Adjusting RT-qPCR conditions to avoid unspecific amplification in SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The virus spread rapidly to several countries, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the disease a pandemic. Health authorities then had to quickly develop and implement diagnostic tools to fill the growing demand for tests. The reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) is widely deployed in virology laboratory diagnostics. Among the currently available SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR protocols, the Charité protocol (Corman et al., 2020) was the World’s first publicly available test (Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 2020).Characteristics of COVID-19 epidemic and control measures to curb transmission in Malaysia
The first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was confirmed in Malaysia on January 25, 2020, marking the first wave of infection in the country that lasted for about 3 weeks (Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH), 2020). The total number of cases was low, with 22 confirmed infections, 20 of which were imported, and no fatality.Spatial variability in reproduction number and doubling time across two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea, February to July, 2020
Since the first COVID-19 cases were reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in December 2019, more than 24.7 million cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), including more than 830 000 related deaths, had been reported worldwide (WHO) as of August 30, 2020. In South Korea, the novel coronavirus was first diagnosed in a 36-year-old Chinese woman who entered the country on January 20, 2020. South Korea has since experienced two heterogeneous waves of the disease, with a total of 13 745 cases, including 295 deaths, as of July 19, 2020 (KCDC, 2020a).Contact tracing with digital assistance in Taiwan’s COVID-19 outbreak response
As of September 21, 2020, over 30.6 million coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and 950,000 deaths have been reported globally (World Health Organization, 2020a) Case detection and contact tracing were essential components to control the spread of COVID-19. Taiwan government has enhanced notifiable disease reporting and laboratory surveillance since January 2020 by testing the respiratory specimens from various sources for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), including patients who were reported as cases of severe or novel influenza infection, clusters of upper respiratory disease/fever of unknown origin, and patients with respiratory infections via the sentinel surveillance.COX2 inhibition in the treatment of COVID-19: Review of literature to propose repositioning of celecoxib for randomized controlled studies
Coronovirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rapidly became a pandemic and at the time this review was written there were increasing numbers of deaths and new cases. Lack of time to recruit evidence-based treatments led physicians worldwide to implement empiric drug combinations. In several weeks, a number of agents proposed with variable or arguable efficacy became empirical treatments and clinical studies are ongoing in attempts to find the best alternatives until a definitive treatment is found (i.e. vaccine- and/or drug-based).Timing of national lockdown and mortality in COVID-19: The Italian experience
On February 20, 2020, a 30-year-old patient admitted to the intensive care unit in Codogno Hospital (Lombardy, Italy) tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel beta-coronavirus that causes Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). During the next 24 h, the number of reported positive cases increased to 36 (Sebastiani et al., 2020; Grasselli et al., 2020).A case report of newborn infant with severe COVID-19 in Mexico: Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in human breast milk and stool
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a global public health threat (Wang et al., 2020). The dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs from human-to-human through respiratory droplets (Li et al., 2020); however, other routes of transmission have not been fully characterized.CORTICOSTEROIDS IN THE TREATMENT OF SEVERE COVID-19 LUNG DISEASE: THE PULMONOLOGY PERSPECTIVE FROM THE FIRST UNITED STATES EPICENTER
As the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic first swept across the globe in the first quarter of 2020, the management of the associated clinical entity termed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) became the subject of institutional recommendations (Massachusetts General Hospital, 2020), societal guidelines (Bhimraj et al., 2020), and position statements (Russell et al, 2020). Because acute respiratory failure (ARF) in COVID-19 is triggered by a viral pathogen, it is understandable that the discussion of this potentially devastating illness has centered on its infectious disease and epidemiologic implications.Vitamin D3 and K2 and their potential contribution to reducing the COVID-19 mortality rate
The COVID-19 pandemic is a current pandemic of high international interest, caused by the coronavirus strain SARS‑CoV‑2. Up to date, there is no treatment to decrease the virus-caused infection and mortality rates (Cortegiani et al., 2020). More and more voices are being raised supporting the supplementation of Vitamin D3 to counter the pandemic outbreak with the correlated mortality rates as well as economic and social consequences (Grant et al., 2020). In a recently published review article, Sharma et al.Encephalopathy in severe SARS-CoV2 infection: Inflammatory or infectious?
The appearance of SARS-CoV2 was described in December 2019 in China, but it was not until March 2020 when the pandemic reached Spain. Although this virus mainly presents a respiratory involvement, we have observed the appearance of neurological symptoms (headache, myalgia, hyposmia/anosmia, dysgeusia, insomnia) and diseases (stroke, encephalitis, or Guillain-Barré syndrome) (Mao et al., 2020; Li et al., 2020; Helms et al., 2020; De Melo Espíndola et al., 2020).Estimation of the probable outbreak size of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in social gathering events and industrial activities
The outbreak of COVID-19 has currently spread to more than 217 territories (Hui et al., 2020) since December 2019 (Chang et al., 2020; Li et al., 2020; Roda et al., 2020; Wu et al., 2020). According to the latest statistics, up to May 1, 2020, there have been more than 3,389,933 confirmed cases found in more than 187 countries covering six continents (Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, 2020). COVID-19 was officially declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) a pandemic on March 29, 2020 (WHO, 2020).
