浅谈新型冠状病毒疫苗的研发

目前,全球新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)感染人数达数千万,远超过2002-2003年严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒的感染人数。由于当前对于严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒、中东呼吸综合征冠状病毒及新型冠状病毒的致病机制并非十分清楚,也没有专门预防和治疗的特效药物,对于传播如此迅速的新型冠状病毒,有效的防控措施十分重要。而疫苗作为健康人的防护措施,对疫情防控至关重要。本文从严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒、中东呼吸综合征冠状病毒相关疫苗的研发及新型冠状病毒的研究进展,探讨新型冠状病毒疫苗的研制策略及研发过程中存在的问题。     

Angiotensin converting enzyme-2 as therapeutic target in COVID-19

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global health emergency that poses a significant threat to world people’s health. This outbreak causes major challenges to healthcare systems. Given the lack of effective treatments or vaccine for it, the identification of novel and safe drugs against COVID-19 infection is an urgent need. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is not only an entry receptor of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the virus that causes COVID-19, but also can protect from lung injury. In this view, we highlighted potential approaches to address ACE2-mediated SARS-CoV-2 virus, including 1) delivering an excessive soluble form of ACE2 (recombinant human ACE2: rhACE2) and 2) inhibition of the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 virus and ACE2 by some compounds with competitive effects (morphine and codeine). Further clinical trials in this regard can reveal a more definite conclusion against the COVID-19 disaster.     

SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women and newborns in two maternity hospitals in Salvador-Bahia,Brazil

The outbreak of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) causing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread globally. As of June 18, 2020, a high maternal mortality rate due to SARS-CoV-2 infections was identified in Brazil, representing most of the world cases at that time. An observational, cross-sectional study was performed with pregnant women admitted in two maternity hospitals located in Salvador/Bahia and their newborns, from May 24^th up to July 17^th of 2020. Among 329 pregnant women enrolled at hospital admission, a high prevalence (n=28; 8.5%) of pregnant women with COVID-19 was observed, as well as a high proportion of asymptomatic cases (n=19; 67.9%). Two newborns had detectable SARS-CoV-2 but evolved without abnormalities. This data highlight the importance of identifying pregnant women with COVID-19 for proper isolation measures to prevent in-hospital transmission.     

Liver injury in COVID-19: Detection,pathogenesis, and treatment

In the early December 2019, a novel coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was first reported in Wuhan, China, followed by an outbreak that spread around the world. Numerous studies have shown that liver injury is common in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and may aggravate the severity of the disease. However, the exact cause and specific mechanism of COVID-associated liver injury needs to be elucidated further. In this review, we present an analysis of the clinical features, potential mechanisms, and treatment strategies for liver injury associated with COVID-19. We hope that this review would benefit clinicians in devising better strategies for management of such patients.     

Digestive system involvement of infections with SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses: Clinical manifestations and potential mechanisms

Although coronavirus(CoV)infection is often characterized by respiratory symptoms,the virus can also result in extrapulmonary symptoms,especially the symptoms related to the digestive system.The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)is currently the world’s most pressing public health threat and has a significant impact on civil societies and the global economy.The occurrence of digestive symptoms in patients with COVID-19 is closely related to the development and prognosis of the disease.Moreover,thus far,there are no specific antiviral drug or vaccine approved for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19.Therefore,we elaborate on the effects of CoVs on the digestive system and the potential underlying mechanisms.     

The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic: A review and an update on cases in Africa

The world has experienced several epidemics posing serious threat to global public health, including the 2002 severe acute respiratory syndrome(SARS) epidemic that caused 800 deaths out of about 8 000 cases, the 2009 H1N1 pandemic with 18 500 deaths, the 2012 Middle East respiratory syndrome(MERS) epidemic that caused 800 deaths out of 2 500 cases, the 2014 Ebola outbreak with 28 616 cases and 11 310 deaths, and the current coronavirus disease(COVID-19) pandemic with more than 35 000 deaths out of over 730 000 confirmed cases till now. Emerging infectious diseases continue to infect and reduce human populations. The COVID-19 pandemic has spread to more than 114 countries before it was officially declared as a pandemic by the WHO on the 11th March 2020. Here, the first set of index cases in Africa, and the differences between SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses in addition to the preventive strategies on the emergence of COVID-19 were reviewed.     

Management of an endoscopy center during the outbreak of COVID-19: Experience from West China Hospital

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), various measures have been taken to protect against the infection. As droplet and contact transmission are the main routes of COVID-19 infection, endoscopy centers are considered to be high-risk areas for exposure to COVID-19. We have undertaken severalcountermeasures in our endoscopic center during the pandemic, and have gained significant experience in terms of prevention and control of COVID-19. We here present our experience and strategies adopted for preventing hospital infection in our endoscopy center during the COVID-19 pandemic. We describe our management of the environment, endoscope, patients, and medical staff, and our self-made masks.     

2019新型冠状病毒肺炎的挑战和机遇——对新型冠状病毒肺炎的认识及防治思考

新型冠状病毒(severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2,SARS-CoV-2)引发的新型冠状病毒肺炎(coronavirus disease 2019,COVID-19)的持续爆发于2019年12月底在湖北武汉被首次报道,确诊病例每天都在增加,造成的死亡人数已超过2002/2003在我国爆发的SARS病毒,成为受全球关注的突发公共卫生事件,所有政府和医疗机构都处于高度戒备状态.在此,我们根据目前掌握的数据,大体对COVID-19的基因组学、流行病学、临床表现、诊断、治疗等方面进行了概述.     

Epidemiology of COVID-19 in Jiangxi,China: A retrospective observational study

To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Jiangxi Province, China, from January 21 to April 9, 2020.COVID-19 epidemic information was obtained from the official websites of the Jiangxi Provincial Health Committee, Hubei Provincial Health Committee, and National Health Commission of the People''s Republic of China. ArcGIS 10.0 was used to draw a map of the spatial distribution of the cases.On January 21, 2020, the first COVID-19 confirmed case in Jiangxi was reported. By January 27, COVID-19 had spread rapidly to all cities in Jiangxi. The outbreak peaked on February 3, with a daily incidence of 85 cases. The last indigenous case reported on February 27. From January 21 to April 9, a total of 937 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported, with a cumulative incidence of 2.02/100,000. Of those, 936 patients (99.89%) were cured, and 1 (0.11%) died due to COVID-19. The COVID-19 epidemic trend in Jiangxi was basically consistent with the national epidemic trend (except Hubei). Throughout the epidemic prevention and control phase, Jiangxi province has taken targeted prevention and control measures based on the severity of the spread of COVID-19.The COVID-19 epidemic in Jiangxi was widespread and developed rapidly. In less than 1 month, the epidemic situation was effectively controlled, and the epidemic situation shifted to a low-level distribution state. All these proved that the COVID-19 prevention and control strategies and measures adopted by Jiangxi Province were right, positive and effective.     

新型冠状病毒的病原学和流行特征

新型冠状病毒(简称"新冠病毒")是一种人兽共患的新发病原体,它引起的新型冠状病毒疾病(Corona Virus Disease 2019,COVID-19)影响全世界多个国家和地区,被WHO判定为全球大流行病,引发了严重的公共卫生安全问题。新型冠状病毒具有很强的人际间传播能力,人群普通易感,病人是最重要的传染源,传播途径主要包括飞沫传播、接触传播和特定条件下的气溶胶传播。截至2020年4月20日,全球共211个国家和地区出现新冠肺炎病例,累积确诊病例超过247万,死亡病例超过17万。新冠肺炎患者大多以轻症为主,患者表现为发热、咳嗽、肌痛、疲劳、腹泻、呼吸困难等症状,但少数患者会出现急性呼吸窘迫综合症或合并严重呼吸道并发症,甚至死亡。本文主要对新型冠状病毒的结构和流行病学等方面的研究进行了综述,为新冠肺炎的预防和控制提供参考。     

新型冠状病毒肺炎诊断研究进展

新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)疫情以来,疾病的高传染性使确诊人数剧增,同时死亡人数也在日益增加。现全球已有200余个国家或地区出现感染病例。疾病的早诊可以有效控制疾病传播,同时使感染者得到有效的隔离和救治,提高生存率。目前,中国COVID-19的控制取得了阶段性胜利。本文对COVID-19的临床表现、实验室检查、影像学特征、分子学和血清学确诊方法及中国COVID-19诊疗方案多个修订版本诊断标准的变化进行综述,以期提高人们对该病的认识,为未来的研究提供更多的支持。     

COVID-19 compared to other epidemic coronavirus diseases and the flu

Coronaviruses are among the largest group of known positive - sense RNA viruses with a wide range of animal hosts as reservoir. In the last two decades, newly evolved coronaviruses such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) which caused the infamous 2002 outbreak, the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) which caused an outbreak in 2012, and now the SARS-CoV-2 [responsible for the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)] have all posed notable threats to global public health. But, how does the current COVID-19 outbreak compare with previous coronaviruses diseases? In this review, we look at the key differences between SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2, and examine challenges in determining accurate estimates of the severity of COVID-19. We discuss coronavirus outbreaks in light of key outbreak severity indicators including, disease fatality, pathogen novelty, ease of transmission, geographical range, and outbreak preparedness. Finally, we review clinical trials of emerging treatment modalities and provide recommendations on the control of COVID-19 based on the mode of transmission of the coronaviruses. We also recommend the development and use of a standardized predictive epidemic severity models to inform future epidemic response.     

磷酸氯喹治疗新型冠状病毒肺炎的专家共识

自2019年12月,武汉暴发了一种新型冠状病毒(COVID-19)感染,迅速蔓延至我国各省市及全球26个国家,防疫形势十分严峻.但是目前尚无特效药物.磷酸氯喹(简称氯喹)具有广泛抗病毒及抗冠状病毒的作用,临床研究结果显示氯喹或可提高新型冠状病毒肺炎患者的救治成功率、缩短住院时间及改善预后.为指引并规范氯喹在新型冠状病毒肺炎中的使用,广东省科技厅、广东省卫生健康委氯喹治疗新冠状病毒肺炎多中心协作组经充分讨论后,制定本专家共识,对确诊为新型冠状病毒肺炎轻型、普通型和重型患者,排除氯喹禁忌证后,可以使用磷酸氯喹片每次500 mg,2次/d,疗程10d.     

COVID-19 vaccination and cardiac dysfunction

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mRNA vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections has reduced the number of symptomatic patients globally. A case series of vaccine-related myocarditis or pericarditis has been published with extensive vaccination, most notably in teenagers and young adults. Men seem to be impacted more often, and symptoms commonly occur within 1 wk after immunization. The clinical course is mild in the majority of cases. Based on the evidence, a clinical framework to guide physicians to examine, analyze, identify, and report suspected and confirmed cardiac dysfunction cases is needed. A standardized workup for every patient with strongly suspicious symptoms associated with the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine comprises serum cardiac troponin measurement and a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). For patients with unexplained elevation of cardiac troponin and pathologic ECG, echocardiography is recommended. Consultation with a cardiovascular expert and hospitalization should be considered in this group of patients. Treatment is primarily symptomatic and supportive. Deferring a 2^nd dose of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccination in individuals with suspected myocarditis or pericarditis after the 1^st dose is suggested until further safety data become available.     

Environmental perspectives of COVID-19 outbreaks: A review

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the novel virus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began in December 2019 in China and has led to a global public health emergency. Previously, it was known as 2019-nCoV and caused disease mainly through respiratory pathways. The COVID-19 outbreak is ranked third globally as the most highly pathogenic disease of the twenty-first century, after the outbreak of SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome in 2002 and 2012, respectively. Clinical, laboratory, and diagnostic methodology have been demonstrated in some observational studies. No systematic reviews on COVID-19 have been published regarding the integration of COVID-19 outbreaks (monitoring, fate and treatment) with environmental and human health perspectives. Accordingly, this review systematically addresses environmental aspects of COVID-19 outbreak such as the origin of SARS-CoV-2, epidemiological characteristics, diagnostic methodology, treatment options and technological advancement for the prevention of COVID-19 outbreaks. Finally, we integrate COVID-19 outbreaks (monitoring, fate and treatment) with environmental and human health perspectives. We believe that this review will help to understand the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak as a multipurpose document, not only for the scientific community but also for global citizens. Countries should adopt emergency preparedness such as prepare human resources, infrastructure and facilities to treat severe COVID-19 as the virus spreads rapidly globally.     

Case report: Nutrition therapy and side-effects monitoring in critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 patients

An outbreak of pneumonia proved to be infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), named Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) by World Health Organization (WHO), has rapidly and widely spread to the whole world, affecting thousands of people. COVID-19 patients have poor gastrointestinal function and microecological disorders, which lead to the frequent occurrence of aspiration pneumonia, gastric retention, and diarrhea. In the meanwhile, it takes a certain period of time for nutrition therapy to reach the patient's physiological amount. Refeeding syndrome and hypoglycemia may occur during this period, causing the high risk of death in critical patients. Therefore, we reported the nutrition therapy and side-effects monitoring as well as the adjustment of the nutrition therapy of 2 critical COVID-19 patients, thus provide clinical evidence for nutrition therapy and prevention of the side effects.     

Current Understanding of the Innate Control of Toll-like Receptors in Response to SARS-CoV-2 Infection

The global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, threatens the entire world. It has affected every aspect of life and increased the burden on both healthcare and socioeconomic systems. Current studies have revealed that excessive inflammatory immune responses are responsible for the severity of COVID-19, which suggests that anti-inflammatory drugs may be promising therapeutic treatments. However, there are currently a limited number of approved therapeutics for COVID-19. Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which recognize microbial components derived from invading pathogens, are involved in both the initiation of innate responses against SARS-CoV-2 infection and the hyperinflammatory phenotype of COVID-19. In this review, we provide current knowledge on the pivotal role of TLRs in immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 infection and demonstrate the potential effectiveness of TLR-targeting drugs on the control of hyperinflammation in patients with COVID-19.     

COVID-19 and mortality in doctors

Background and aimsCOVID-19 disease appear to have been associated with significant mortality amongst doctors and health care workers globally. We explore the various risk factors associated with this occupational risk, especially focusing on India. This may elucidate lessons to protect these frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe carried out a comprehensive review of the literature using suitable keywords such as ‘COVID-19’, ‘pandemics’, ‘physicians’ ‘mortality’ and ‘health personnel’ on the search engines of PubMed, SCOPUS, Google Scholar and ResearchGate in the month of July 2020 during the current COVID-19 pandemic and assessed mortality data.ResultsMortality in health care professionals has been on the rise. The countries which faced the pandemic in the early months of 2020 have had a huge surge in mortality amongst doctors due to COVID-19. India continues to show a rising trend in COVID-19 cases, however although compared to the western world India has seen a comparatively favourable statistic. Male gender, elderly doctors and those belonging to Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community seem to be predisposing factors in the western world.ConclusionCOVID-19 has been associated with an increased mortality in doctors and health care workers. Until an effective cure/vaccine is developed, risk assessments at work, mitigating confounding factors, adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and enhanced protection against infection are necessary to protect health care professionals on the coronavirus frontline. Otherwise this occupational risk can lead to further untimely mortality and become another unintended consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.     

COVID-19 outbreak: Challenges in pharmacotherapy based on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic aspects of drug therapy in patients with moderate to severe infection

The new coronavirus (COVID-19) was first detected in Wuhan city of China in December 2019. Most patients infected with COVID-19 had clinical presentations of dry cough, fever, dyspnea, chest pain, fatigue and malaise, pneumonia, and bilateral infiltration in chest CT. Soon COVID-19 was spread around the world and became a pandemic. Now many patients around the world are suffering from this disease. Patients with predisposing diseases are highly prone to COVID-19 and manifesting severe infection especially with organ function damage such as acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute kidney injury, septic shock, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and death. Till now many drugs have been considered in the treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia, but pharmacotherapy in elderly patients and patients with pre-existing comorbidities is highly challenging. In this review, different potential drugs which have been considered in COVID-19 treatment have been discussed in detail. Also, challenges in the pharmacotherapy of COVID-19 pneumonia in patients with the underlying disease have been considered based on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic aspects of these drugs.