The relationship between the presence of antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the risk of subsequent reinfection remains unclear.
The presence of anti-spike or anti-nucleocapsid IgG antibodies was associated with a substantially reduced risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in the ensuing 6 months. Positive baseline anti-spike antibody assays were associated with lower rates of PCR-positive tests.
Full study: NEJM
The correlation between COVID-19 and Mucormycosis isn’t surprising, as the biggest risk factors are uncontrolled diabetes and immune suppressant steroids. Rhino-orbital-cerebral and pulmonary infections are the most common syndromes caused by these fungi. The genera most commonly found in human infections are Rhizopus, Mucor, and Rhizomucor; Cunninghamella, Absidia (now reclassified as Lichtheimia), Saksenaea, and Apophysomyces are genera that are less commonly implicated in infection.
Source: ICMR
The Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (Inmas) in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Hyderabad, developed an anti-COVID-19 therapeutic application of the drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG). The third phase of the clinical trial results has shown that this molecule helps in the faster recovery of hospitalized patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence. A higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in patients infected with the coronavirus.
COVID-19 patients treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) appear to have a much lower mortality rate than initial early reports suggested.
ECMO has been utilized in COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and hypoxemia that fails to respond to standard treatment. But early case series suggested a high mortality rate – topping 90%.
The in-hospital mortality rate was 45.9%, far lower than initial early reports and refuting previous reports of futility for ECMO in COVID-19 patients with ARDS.
Source: Reuters
Zydus Cadila announced that it has received restricted emergency use approval from the Indian drug regulator, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), for the use of ‘Virafin’, Pegylated Interferon alpha-2b (PegIFN) in treating moderate coronavirus infection in adults.
In its Phase-3 clinical trials, a single dose subcutaneous regimen of the antiviral Virafin had shown better clinical improvement in the COVID-19 patients. “During the trials, a higher proportion of patients administered with PegIF were RT PCR negative by day 7. The drug ensures faster viral clearance and has several add-on advantages compared to other anti-viral agents,” the company said.
Pegylated Interferon alpha-2b was originally approved for Hepatitis C.
Source: Zydus Cadila
Azithromycin, an antibiotic with potential antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties, has been used to treat COVID-19, but evidence from community randomised trials is lacking.
Azithromycin might increase the pH of the Golgi network and recycling endosome, which could in turn interfere with intracellular SARS-CoV-2 activity and replication. The drug might also reduce levels of the enzyme furin;4 this could interfere with the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to enter cells, as the virus is believed to have a furin-like cleavage site in the spike protein.5 The ability of azithromycin to reduce the levels of proinflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6,6 could reduce the ability of SARS-CoV-2 infection to trigger a cytokine storm, along with associated tissue damage. Furthermore, some patients with viral respiratory illness might develop a secondary bacterial infection or present with a bacterial co-infection, which azithromycin could effectively treat. Azithromycin use in primary care has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, which could contribute to antimicrobial resistance.
Source: Lancet
Remdesivir was the first drug approved by the FDA for treating the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is indicated for treatment of COVID-19 disease in hospitalized adults and children aged 12 years and older who weigh at least 40 kg. The broad-spectrum antiviral is a nucleotide analog prodrug.
Dosage:
Adverse Effects:
Storage:
Lyophilized powder
Solution for injection:
Brazil’s P1 coronavirus variant, behind a deadly COVID-19 surge in the Latin American country that has raised international alarm, is mutating in ways that could make it better able to evade antibodies, according to scientists studying the virus. Studies have shown the P1 variant to be as much as 2.5 times more contagious than the original coronavirus and more resistant to antibodies.
Source: Medscape
Formerly known as Mycoplasma-induced rash and mucositis, RIME has arisen as the preferred terminology to include mucocutaneous eruptions that are caused by other infectious agents. RIME secondary to SARS-CoV-2 infection, details its resolution with systemic steroids, and notes the potential for recurrence with subsequent milder symptoms, as has been previously reported. The combination of anosmia and ageusia, multiple positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR tests, and no other identified contemporaneous infections (the elevated Mycoplasma pneumoniae IgG titer with low IgM titer and negative nasopharyngeal PCR likely indicated prior exposure) suggests SARS-CoV-2 as the infectious trigger. The sparse cutaneous involvement and lack of dusky targetoid lesions also distinguish RIME from Stevens-Johnson syndrome and erythema multiforme (which has been described in association with SARS-CoV-2 infection).
Furthermore, RIME can be distinguished from the newly described multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, which is associated with Kawasaki disease–like features, including mucocutaneous involvement, systemic symptoms, and dramatically elevated systemic inflammatory markers.
Source: JAMA
A new “double mutant” variant of the coronavirus has been detected from samples collected in India. Officials are checking if the variant, where two mutations come together in the same virus, may be more infectious or less affected by vaccines.
Some 10,787 samples from 18 Indian states also showed up 771 cases of known variants – 736 of the UK, 34 of the South African and one Brazilian.
The government said that an analysis of the samples collected from India’s western Maharashtra state showed “an increase in the fraction of samples with the E484Q and L452R mutations” compared with December last year. “Such double mutations confer immune escape and increased infectivity,” the health ministry said in a statement.
Source: BBC
