Coronavirus Disease Pandemic (COVID-19): Challenges and a Global Perspective

Abstract

<jats:p>The technology-driven world of the 21st century is currently confronted with a major threat to humankind, represented by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome, coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of now, COVID-19 has affected more than 6 million confirmed cases and took 0.39 million human lives. SARS-CoV-2 spreads much faster than its two ancestors, SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome-CoV (MERS-CoV), but has low fatality rates. Our analyses speculate that the efficient replication and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 might be due to the high-density basic amino acid residues, preferably positioned in close proximity at both the furin-like cleavage sites (S1/S2 and S2’) within the spike protein. Given the high genomic similarities of SARS-CoV-2 to bat SARS-like CoVs, it is likely that bats serve as a reservoir host for its progenitor. Women and children are less susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, while the elderly and people with comorbidities are more prone to serious clinical outcomes, which may be associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and cytokine storm. The cohesive approach amongst researchers across the globe has delivered high-end viral diagnostics. However, home-based point-of-care diagnostics are still under development, which may prove transformative in current COVID-19 pandemic containment. Similarly, vaccines and therapeutics against COVID-19 are currently in the pipeline for clinical trials. In this review, we discuss the noteworthy advancements, focusing on the etiological viral agent, comparative genomic analysis, population susceptibility, disease epidemiology and diagnosis, animal reservoirs, laboratory animal models, disease transmission, therapeutics, vaccine challenges, and disease mitigation measures.</jats:p>

Clinical features and outcomes of pregnant women with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The available data do show no increased or even lower maternal mortality rate after infection [25], but it does not mean that pregnancy is a protective factor for severe infection. It was reported that severe infection mostly occurred in the elderly (> 60 years old), patients with basic diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases, and other chronic diseases [26][27][28][29][30], as well as those who did not receive timely treatment or delay treatment [31]. Pregnant women are usually younger without primary diseases.…”

A Review of the Progress and Challenges of Developing a Vaccine for COVID-19

“…A study published in the journal Cell showed that the RBD dimer design has the ability to generate a higher specific IgG response with a much more elevated NAb titer by up to 10–100-folds than a conventional RBD monomer vaccine, based on studies conducted on mice models ( 91 ). Another benefit to the RBD dimer design is that it has the ability to be manufactured on a large-scale which is ideal for a pandemic situation like COVID-19 ( 90 ). Although this novel approach is still very much at the early stage of development it will be interesting to closely monitor progress in the development of this vaccine platform.…”

SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 and advances in developing potential therapeutics and vaccines to counter this emerging pandemic

“…Few countries are left beyond the reach of this unfortunate pandemic. However, their possibility of remaining untouched by this virus is meagre because, within a short period, the virus emerged in many new countries, including India, where the statistics are uprising [68]. Now the number of confirmed cases and deaths is shooting day by day with no hope of sudden halt, leaving the global population in a stage of physiological, psychological, and socioeconomic stress.…”