Review
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Siggeir F. Brynjolfsson, Hildur Sigurgrimsdottir, Olafur Gudlaugsson, Mar Kristjansson, Karl G. Kristinsson, Bjorn R. Ludviksson
Summary: This review discusses the contagiousness and immunity against SARS-CoV-2, and proposes guidelines for determining when COVID-19 patients reach a non-infectious state, based on clinical experience, scientific data, and proficient use of available tests.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Abdullah M. Syed, Alison Ciling, Y. Taha Taha, Irene P. Chen, Mir M. Khalid, Bharath Sreekumar, Pei-Yi Chen, G. Renuka Kumar, Rahul Suryawanshi, Ines Silva, Bilal Milbes, Noah Kojima, Victoria Hess, Maria Shacreaw, Lauren Lopez, Matthew Brobeck, Fred Turner, Lee Spraggon, Takako Tabata, Melanie Ott, Jennifer A. Doudna
Summary: The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 has similar assembly efficiency and cell entry as the Delta variant but spreads rapidly due to reduced neutralization in sera from previously vaccinated subjects. Most currently available monoclonal antibodies are not effective in treating Omicron-infected patients, except for bebtelovimab.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Review
Biochemical Research Methods
Wenyang Zhou, Chang Xu, Pingping Wang, Anastasia A. Anashkina, Qinghua Jiang
Summary: Since the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, the viral genome has undergone multiple mutations, some of which have resulted in changes in viral infectivity and antigenicity. This review summarizes the spatiotemporal distribution of mutations in the spike protein and discusses the recent research on the impact of these mutations on viral infectivity and antigenicity. As SARS-CoV-2 continues to mutate, a systematic evaluation of mutations in the spike protein becomes crucial for the improvement of vaccine and therapeutic neutralizing antibody strategies.
BRIEFINGS IN BIOINFORMATICS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tomokazu Konishi
Summary: In minks infected with SARS-CoV-2, some variants rapidly mutated and adapted to the animals, with some of these mink-derived variants infecting humans. These variants appeared to be less lethal and infective compared to those in humans, and may be suitable for human vaccination, similar to the less infectious and toxic smallpox virus.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Henry P. Oswin, Allen E. Haddrell, Mara Otero-Fernandez, Jamie F. S. Mann, Tristan A. Cogan, Thomas G. Hilditch, Jianghan Tian, Daniel A. Hardy, Darryl J. Hill, Adam Finn, Andrew D. Davidson, Jonathan P. Reid
Summary: This study measures the stability of SARS-CoV-2 in aerosol droplets and finds that its infectivity decreases to around 10% of the starting value within 20 minutes, with the majority of the loss occurring in the first 5 minutes after aerosolization. The rate of infectivity loss is found to correlate with the physical transformation of the droplets and the humidity levels.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Biology
Francois Blanquart, Nathanael Hoze, Benjamin John Cowling, Florence Debarre, Simon Cauchemez
Summary: Evaluating the characteristics of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern is crucial for assessing pandemic risk. Understanding the contribution of the R advantage and generation time to the growth advantage of a variant, as well as how these parameters are influenced by historical strains, can help predict the impact and transmission trends of the variants.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Montse Marques, Jose L. Domingo
Summary: SARS-CoV-2 is primarily transmitted through close contact between individuals or small aerosol respiratory droplets, with air pollution potentially serving as another pathway of transmission. Research indicates that the virus can survive on various surfaces for hours to days, but swift inactivation is possible through the use of common chemicals and biocides on inanimate surfaces, reducing the risk of virus transmission significantly.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Rana Abdelnabi, Robbert Boudewijns, Caroline S. Foo, Laura Seldeslachts, Lorena Sanchez-Felipe, Xin Zhang, Leen Delang, Piet Maes, Suzanne J. F. Kaptein, Birgit Weynand, Greetje Vande Velde, Johan Neyts, Kai Dallmeier
Summary: The global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in over 108 million infections and 2.4 million deaths within a year, with new variants of concern emerging. Research on prototypic VoC from B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants in hamsters revealed efficient infection of the lower respiratory tract and highlighted the need for assessing vaccine and therapeutic efficacy against these variants.
Article
Immunology
Haijun Tang, Long Gao, Zhao Wu, Fang Meng, Xin Zhao, Yun Shao, Xiaohua Shi, Shigang Qiao, Jianzhong An, Xiaohong Du, F. Xiao-Feng Qin
Summary: The emerging variants N501Y.V1 and N501Y.V2 of SARS-CoV-2 may have higher infection efficiency and thermal stability, but show similar sensitivity to inhibitors of protease and endocytosis compared to the wildtype virus.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Taewoo Kim, Kyoung Il Min, Jeong-Sun Yang, Jun Won Kim, Junhyung Cho, Yun Ho Kim, Jeong Seok Lee, Young Tae Kim, Kyung-Chang Kim, Jeong Yeon Kim, Kwon Joong Na, Joo-Yeon Lee, Young Soek Ju
Summary: This study combines human alveolar organoids and single-cell transcriptome sequencing to evaluate the relative infectivity of four highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants. The results show that the Omicron variant is 5- to 7-fold more infectious to human alveolar cells than the other variants at the initial stage of infection.
Letter
Medicine, General & Internal
Julie Boucau, Caitlin Marino, James Regan, Rockib Uddin, Manish C. Choudhary, James P. Flynn, Geoffrey Chen, Ashley M. Stuckwisch, Josh Mathews, May Y. Liew, Arshdeep Singh, Taryn Lipiner, Autumn Kittilson, Meghan Melberg, Yijia Li, Rebecca F. Gilbert, Zahra Reynolds, Surabhi L. Iyer, Grace C. Chamberlin, Tammy D. Vyas, Marcia B. Goldberg, Jatin M. Vyas, Jonathan Z. Li, Jacob E. Lemieux, Mark J. Siedner, Amy K. Barczak
Summary: The shedding of the culturable SARS-CoV-2 omicron (BA.1) variant could be detected within a median of 8 days after symptom onset or the initial positive test in outpatients with Covid-19, as revealed by frequent PCR and viral-culture assessments.
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Virology
Sebastien Wurtzer, Sandra Lacote, Severine Murri, Philippe Marianneau, Elodie Monchatre-Leroy, Mickael Boni, Olivier Ferraris, Yvon Maday, Ousmane Kebe, Ndongo Dia, Christophe Peyrefitte, Harry Sokol, Laurent Moulin, Vincent Marechal
Summary: This study shows that although the SARS-CoV-2 virus remains stable in the genome of human and animal feces, its infectivity decreases over time and with temperature. While viral RNA can be found in feces, the transmission of the virus after exposure to contaminated feces is unlikely.
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Manojit Bhattacharya, Srijan Chatterjee, Ashish Ranjan Sharma, Govindasamy Agoramoorthy, Chiranjib Chakraborty
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the emergence of numerous global variants of SARS-CoV-2, with the D614G mutation playing a key role in enhancing infectivity and immune evasion capabilities in these variants.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Thi Loi Dao, Van Thuan Hoang, Philippe Colson, Jean Christophe Lagier, Matthieu Million, Didier Raoult, Anthony Levasseur, Philippe Gautret
Summary: Viral mutations, such as the D614G variant, may lead to increased infectivity, while evidence of their association with disease severity is limited, with some mutations associated with milder infections. Some variants are more common in patients from countries with high fatality rates, but their relation to the severity of COVID-19 infection remains unclear.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
James E. Kirby, Stefan Riedel, Sanjucta Dutta, Ramy Arnaout, Annie Cheng, Sarah Ditelberg, Donald J. Hamel, Charlotte A. Chang, Phyllis J. Kanki
Summary: This study aimed to define the relationship of SARS-CoV-2 antigen, viral load determined by RT-qPCR, and viral culture detection. The results showed a strong correlation between antigen testing and viral culture, with high sensitivity of antigen tests at high viral loads. Therefore, antigen testing can be used to rule out infectivity at the time of sampling.
CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2023)
