This article contains information about how coronavirus spread around the world, comparison of COVID-19 with other diseases, how quickly researchers published new coronavirus studies, how travel restrictions affected carbon emissions and air quality, and comparison of the current pandemic with the 2003 SARS outbreak.
Some articles published during the COVID-19 period present a scientific critique about the harms of non-evidence-based findings and measures within the scope of shared information and taken precautions. Evaluations are made from an epidemiological perspective regarding the management of pandemic processes.
An epidemiological study conducted in Italy, one of the countries with the highest casualties during the COVID-19 pandemic, clarifies estimates on the effect of quarantine on virus spread and the role of asymptomatic cases' proportion in society during transmission. In a two-repeat study involving at least 71% of the population during the 14-day quarantine period initiated following the first death case in Italy, data was collected on COVID-19 infection in nasal and throat swabs, demographic/clinical characteristics, hospitalization, and contact environment. Tests conducted at the beginning and end of the 14-day quarantine period revealed that 43% of COVID-19 infected individuals were asymptomatic. Contact tracing and transmission chain screening studies showed that newly detected cases resulted from contact with asymptomatic cases living in the same household. This study, conducted in the town of Vo with 3275 residents, demonstrated that early isolation of infected individuals combined with quarantine effectively and rapidly prevented virus spread.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.17.20053157v1.full.pdf
A study published in Nature Medicine demonstrated that surgical face mask use prevents the spread of human corona and influenza viruses from symptomatic patients. In the study, where viruses were detected in patients' nasal and throat swabs, droplets, and aerosols, RNA virus was found in aerosols emitted by some patients even when not coughing. The study reveals the possibility of virus transmission through aerosols and the importance of mask use.
Can Contact Case Tracking Application be an alternative to quarantine? The rapid viral spread has revealed the need for methods that will work faster in larger scale human groups in contact case tracking. In this study, which evaluates the current status of the COVID-19 outbreak and epidemiological parameters, the effectiveness of different transmission routes in spread and the requirements for case isolation and contact tracking to stop the epidemic were discussed. It is considered that an application informing individuals at risk could be an alternative in controlling outbreaks when used by a sufficient number of people.
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/early/2020/03/30/science.abb6936.full.pdf
A prototype of a domestic video laryngoscope blade set has been created for printing in 3D printers, tested on a training model, within the scope of surgical materials and equipment used in airway interventions.
Outbreaks can be identified and their movements predicted through machine learning. Combining relevant data and standardizing it globally is complex. Linking clinical and travel data with family history and lifestyle will provide detailed predictions.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/covid-19-how-to-fight-disease-outbreaks-with-data/
South Korea, using big data analysis, AI-supported advanced warning systems, and intensive observation methodology, managed to control the coronavirus situation in the country in a short time
It is known that data management is important for taking preventive measures in fighting COVID-19, evaluating restrictions on population mobility, preventing disease spread, and increasing society's resilience in coping with the pandemic. Some evaluations are being made that could help with effective use of data from a public health perspective in the COVID-19 pandemic environment.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/role-data-fight-coronavirus-epidemic/
A new study published in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents found early evidence that the combined use of hydroxychloroquine (active ingredient of popular malaria drug Plaqenuil) and antibiotic azithromycin (Zithromax or Azithrocin) could be effective in treating COVID-19 coronavirus and reducing virus duration in patients.
The news reported that FDA approved Actemra, containing Tocilizumab active ingredient, to proceed to phase 3 clinical research stage for SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 use and to be tested on 330 patients.
ACE2-Fc treatment will support reduced ACE2 levels in lungs during infection and thus directly treat acute respiratory distress pathophysiology as a third mechanism of action. Such treatment could help infected patients before a protective vaccine is developed.
Could Remdesivir be the cure for COVID-19? Could Remdesivir, which has shown efficacy against a wide range of viral agents including Ebola, SARS, and MERS in preclinical studies and demonstrated effectiveness against the new coronavirus in cell culture, be a candidate drug molecule to relieve healthcare workers? In a cohort study conducted on 53 severe patients from America, Europe, Canada, and Japan, clinical improvement was reported in 36 patients with Remdesivir use. The study emphasizes that Remdesivir, previously used in Ebola treatment, is more reliable compared to other candidate drug molecules and clinical trials should be repeated in larger patient groups including control groups.
The University of Tokyo has published new results indicating that nafamostat mesilate, a drug used to treat acute pancreatitis, could effectively block the necessary viral entry process that the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) uses to cause and spread disease.
https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/focus/en/articles/z0508_00083.html
In this study, the role of hydroxychloroquine on respiratory viral loads was evaluated. French patients were given 600 mg hydroxychloroquine daily from early March to March 16 according to single-arm protocol, and viral loads in nasopharyngeal swabs were tested daily. Depending on their clinical appearance, azithromycin was added to treatment. Despite small sample size, the study concluded that hydroxychloroquine treatment provided viral load reduction/disappearance in COVID-19 patients and its effect was strengthened with azithromycin.
The World Health Organization launched a global trial of the four most promising drugs (remdesivir, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, ritonavir/lopinavir, ritonavir/lopinavir and interferon-beta) for coronavirus treatment.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provided "emergency expanded access" to Bellerophon Therapeutics' inhaled nitric oxide delivery system for coronavirus treatment, using a regulatory pathway that allows patients with life-threatening conditions to use unapproved therapies.
The article suggests Ivermectin as an inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 virus causing COVID-19 based on in vitro results. It is stated that it might have the ability to achieve approximately 5000-fold reduction in virus in cell culture within 48 hours. Therefore, an opinion has been put forward that it could be a candidate for drug re-purposing.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166354220302011
A paper submitted to Cell journal by Karolinska University and partners demonstrated that soluble recombinant human ACE2 receptor reduced SARS-COV-2 virus replication by 1000-5000 fold in in vitro cells, human kidney organoids, and human blood vessel organoids. The soluble recombinant human ACE2 protein, proposed as a tool to reduce early-stage virus infection, has not yet been tested in lung tissue
https://www.cell.com/pb-assets/products/coronavirus/CELL_CELL-D-20-00739.pdf
Virtual drug screening results are shared for identifying new drug compounds targeting COVID-19's main protease (Mpro). Computer-aided drug design identified N3 as an inhibitor mechanism and examined the crystal structure formed by the virus with Mpro. The study tested over 10,000 compounds, stating that six of them could inhibit Mpro with IC50 values ranging between 0.67 and 21.4 μM. The study results demonstrated the effectiveness of the screening strategy that can lead to faster discovery of drug candidates.
U.S. President Donald Trump promoted Chloroquine as a treatment, but scientists are still not sure if it's effective in patients. A series of clinical trials need to be conducted. If Chloroquine is shown to be effective against SARS-CoV-2, its mechanism won't be the same as how it works against malaria. Because malaria is caused by a microparasite of the Plasmodium genus, not a virus. Chloroquine makes it toxic for the parasite to digest its host's hemoglobin.
Although Chloroquine (CQ) shows promising inhibitory effects, clinical use of CQ can cause serious side effects. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), which exhibits an antiviral effect quite similar to CQ's, has been suggested as a better therapeutic approach. HCQ will alleviate severe progression of COVID-19 by inhibiting cytokine storm through suppressing CO cell activity. It has a safer clinical profile and is suitable for pregnant individuals. Clinical studies are recommended to evaluate both disease infection and preventive effects of HCQ.
https://academic.oup.com/jac/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jac/dkaa114/5810487
It is argued that human serum, which can be quickly found when there are sufficient numbers of recovered people who can donate immunoglobulin-containing serum, is an option for prevention and treatment of COVID-19 disease.
The article presents current evaluations on epidemiological, clinical, preventive, and therapeutic evidence of integrative Chinese-Western medicine in the treatment of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease.
It is logical to investigate the potential effect of chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine against SARS-CoV-2, previously identified as a strong inhibitor of most coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-1. This article evaluates possible chloroquine intervention mechanisms with the SARS-CoV-2 replication cycle.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924857920300881
Roche's arthritis drug Actemra is being used by China in fighting COVID-19. The company is now working with FDA to launch a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 clinical trial to investigate Actemra in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a rapid coronavirus diagnostic kit that provides results in approximately 45 minutes.
Abbott has developed a coronavirus test that can determine if a person is infected in as little as five minutes, and since the test kit platform is very small and portable, it can be used anywhere healthcare is provided.
Researchers from Shenyang, Huazhong, and SciLifeLab developed a rapid colorimetric detection method for COVID-19 coronavirus. The approach is based on RT-LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) and provides rapid detection using a visual colorimetric analysis (pink to yellow).
https://www.scilifelab.se/news/new-rapid-covid-19-detection-method-developed/
In this study, by identifying the receptor binding domain (RBD) in SARS-CoV-2 S protein, it was found that RBD protein strongly binds to human and bat angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors.
The publication of SARS-CoV-2's genetic sequence, which causes COVID-19, on January 11, 2020, triggered intensive global research and development efforts for vaccine development against this disease. The humanitarian and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic led to evaluating next-generation vaccine development technology platforms with a new paradigm to accelerate the vaccine development process, and the first COVID-19 vaccine candidate progressed to human clinical testing phase faster than expected on March 16, 2020. As of April 8, 2020, global COVID-19 vaccine research and development efforts include 115 vaccine candidates. In this process where acceleration is necessary, the vaccine is expected to be ready for use in early 2021 for emergencies or similar protocols. This situation will lead to fundamental changes in traditional vaccine development stages that typically take 10 years, even compared to the 5-year accelerated process for the first Ebola vaccine, and will require a new vaccine development paradigm including parallel and adapted development processes, innovative regulations, and scaling of production capacity.
In this study, all proteins encoded by SARS-CoV-2 genes were systematically analyzed, compared with proteins in other coronaviruses, and homology modeling was performed. Through target-based virtual ligand screening, the structure of important targets such as 3CLpro, Spike, RdRp, and PLpro and screening results were discussed in detail. Possible targets and potential drugs were predicted by creating a database with 78 commonly used anti-viral drugs, including those currently on the market and those undergoing clinical trials for SARS-CoV-2.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211383520302999
The ERAvsCorona Action Plan for the European Research Area (ERA) has been published. The action plan emphasizes steps taken and planned for coordinating R&D funding against coronavirus, expanding and supporting clinical research, creating new funding opportunities and sources for innovative and rapid health-related approaches, increasing support for innovative companies, establishing a temporary high-level R&D-focused committee, access to research infrastructures, research data sharing platform, and Pan-EU Hackathon.
https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/covid-firsteravscorona_actions.pdf
There are guideline documents regarding COVID-19's macroeconomic effects, sectoral reflections, and crisis management for companies. In this context, impacts on different sectors including telecom, banking, and automotive sectors, as well as supply chain effects are examined. Additionally, recommendations are provided for companies to cope with during and after COVID-19 process (Global Crisis Research, guide for evaluating possible effects against COVID-19, etc.).
The report "A Coordinated Global Research Roadmap: 2019 Novel Coronavirus" published by WHO outlines current situation and knowledge gaps in research areas related to COVID-19, including epidemiological studies, clinical characterization and management, infection prevention and control including healthcare workers' protection, research on candidate therapeutics, research on candidate vaccines, ethical considerations in research, and social sciences research areas in outbreak response.
https://www.who.int/blueprint/priority-diseases/key-action/Coronavirus_Roadmap_V9.pdf?ua=1
Detailed information about coronavirus was provided in the March special issue of TUBITAK Science and Technology Magazine.
https://tubitak.gov.tr/sites/default/files/18842/bilim_ve_teknik_coronavirus_hakkinda.pdf
