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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0203.v1

Face Masks Against COVID-19: An Evidence Review

Jeremy Howard, Austin Huang, Zhiyuan Li, Zeynep Tufekci, Vladimir Zdimal, Helene-Mari van der Westhuizen, Arne von Delft, Amy Price, Lex Fridman, Lei-Han Tang, Viola Tang, Gregory L. Watson, Christina E. Bax, Reshama Shaikh, Frederik Questier, Danny Hernandez, Larry F. Chu, Christina M. Ramirez, Anne W. Rimoin

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; masks; pandemic

Online: 12 April 2020 (17:41:10 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0203.v2

Face Masks Against COVID-19: An Evidence Review

Jeremy Howard, Austin Huang, Zhiyuan Li, Zeynep Tufekci, Vladimir Zdimal, Helene-Mari van der Westhuizen, Arne von Delft, Amy Price, Lex Fridman, Lei-Han Tang, Viola Tang, Gregory L. Watson, Christina E. Bax, Reshama Shaikh, Frederik Questier, Danny Hernandez, Larry F. Chu, Christina M. Ramirez, Anne W. Rimoin

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; masks; pandemic

Online: 13 May 2020 (13:16:04 CEST)

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The science around the use of masks by the general public to impede COVID-19 transmission is advancing rapidly. Policymakers need guidance on how masks should be used by the general population to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Here,we develop an analytical framework to examine an overlooked aspect of mask usage: masks as source-control targeting egress from the wearer with benefits at the population-level, rather than as PPE used for ingress control for health-care workers with focus on individual outcomes. We consider and synthesize the relevant literature to inform multiple areas: 1) transmission characteristics of COVID-19, 2) filtering characteristics and efficacy of masks, 3) estimated population impacts of widespread community mask use, and 4) sociological considerations for policies concerning mask-wearing. A primary route of transmission of COVID-19 is likely via respiratory droplets, and is known to be transmissible from presymptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. Reducing disease spread requires two things: first, limit contacts of infected individuals via physical distancing and other measures, and second, reduce the transmission probability per contact. The preponderance of evidence indicates that mask wearing reduces the transmissibility per contact by reducing transmission of infected droplets in both laboratory and clinical contexts. Public mask wearing is most effective at reducing spread of the virus when compliance is high. The decreased transmissibility could substantially reduce the death toll and economic impact while the cost of the intervention is low. Given the current shortages of medical masks we recommend the adoption of public cloth mask wearing, as an effective form of source control for now, in conjunction with existing hygiene, distancing, and contact tracing strategies. We recommend that public officials and governments strongly encourage the use of widespread face masks in public, including the use of appropriate regulation.

Preprint HYPOTHESIS | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0023.v1

Kinins and Cytokines in COVID-19: A Comprehensive Pathophysiological Approach

Frank van de Veerdonk, Mihai G. Netea, Marcel van Deuren, Jos W.M. van der Meer, Quirijn de Mast, Roger J. Bruggemann, Hans van der Hoeven

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; bradykinin; ACE2; pulmonary angioedema; ARDS; icatibant

Online: 3 April 2020 (04:13:43 CEST)

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Most striking observations in COVID-19 patients are the hints on pulmonary edema (also seen on CT scans as ground glass opacities), dry cough, fluid restrictions to prevent more severe hypoxia, the huge PEEP that is needed while lungs are compliant, and the fact that anti-inflammatory therapies are not powerful enough to counter the severity of the disease. We propose that the severity of the disease and many deaths are due to a local vascular problem due to activation of B1 receptors on endothelial cells in the lungs. SARS-CoV-2 enters the cell via ACE2, a cell membrane bound molecule with enzymatic activity that next to its role in RAS is needed to inactivate des-Arg⁹ bradykinin, the potent ligand of the bradykinin receptor type 1 (B1). In contrast to bradykinin receptor 2 (B2), the B1 receptor on endothelial cells is upregulated by proinflammatory cytokines. Without ACE2 acting as a guardian to inactivate the ligands of B1, the lung environment is prone for local vascular leakage leading to angioedema. Angioedema is likely a feature already early in disease, and might explain the typical CT scans and the feeling of people that they drown. In some patients, this is followed by a clinical worsening of disease around day 9 due to the formation antibodies directed against the spike (S)-antigen of the corona-virus that binds to ACE2 that could contribute to disease by enhancement of local immune cell influx and proinflammatory cytokines leading to damage. In parallel, inflammation induces more B1 expression, and possibly via antibody-dependent enhancement of viral infection leading to continued ACE2 dysfunction in the lung because of persistence of the virus. In this viewpoint we propose that a bradykinin-dependent local lung angioedema via B1 and B2 receptors is an important feature of COVID-19, resulting in a very high number of ICU admissions. We propose that blocking the B1 and B2 receptors might have an ameliorating effect on disease caused by COVID-19. This kinin-dependent pulmonary edema is resistant to corticosteroids or adrenaline and should be targeted as long as the virus is present. In addition, this pathway might indirectly be responsive to anti-inflammatory agents or neutralizing strategies for the anti-S-antibody induced effects, but by itself is likely to be insufficient to reverse all the pulmonary edema. Moreover, we provide a suggestion of how to ventilate in the ICU in the context of this hypothesis.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202005.0057.v1

Early Hydroxychloroquine Is Associated with an Increase of Survival in COVID-19 Patients: An Observational Study

Francisco Javier Membrillo de Novales, Germán Ramírez-Olivencia, Miriam Estébanez, Begoña de Dios, María Dolores Herrero, Tatiana Mata, Alberto M. Borobia, Carlos Gutiérrez, María Simón, Ana Ochoa, Yolanda Martínez, Alejandro Aguirre, Francisco de Asís Alcántara, Pablo Fernández-González, Elena López, Sergio Campos, María Navarro, Lucía Elena Ballester

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; treatment; drug; survival; antiviral; hydroxychloroquine

Online: 5 May 2020 (03:32:22 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0203.v3

Face Masks Against COVID-19: An Evidence Review

Jeremy Howard, Austin Huang, Zhiyuan Li, Zeynep Tufekci, Vladimir Zdimal, Helene-Mari van der Westhuizen, Arne von Delft, Amy Price, Lex Fridman, Lei-Han Tang, Viola Tang, Gregory L. Watson, Christina E. Bax, Reshama Shaikh, Frederik Questier, Danny Hernandez, Larry F. Chu, Christina M. Ramirez, Anne W. Rimoin

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; masks; pandemic

Online: 12 July 2020 (16:11:50 CEST)

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The science around the use of masks by the general public to impede COVID-19 transmission is advancing rapidly. Policymakers need guidance on how masks should be used by the general population to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. In this narrative review, we develop an analytical framework to examine mask usage, considering and synthesizing the relevant literature to inform multiple areas: population impact; transmission characteristics; source control; PPE; sociological considerations; and implementation considerations. A primary route of transmission of COVID-19 is via respiratory droplets, and is known to be transmissible from presymptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. Reducing disease spread requires two things: first, limit contacts of infected individuals via physical distancing and other measures, and second, reduce the transmission probability per contact. The preponderance of evidence indicates that mask wearing reduces the transmissibility per contact by reducing transmission of infected droplets in both laboratory and clinical contexts. Public mask wearing is most effective at reducing spread of the virus when compliance is high. The decreased transmissibility could substantially reduce the death toll and economic impact while the cost of the intervention is low. Given the current shortages of medical masks we recommend the adoption of public cloth mask wearing, as an effective form of source control, in conjunction with existing hygiene, distancing, and contact tracing strategies. Because many respiratory droplets become smaller due to evaporation, we recommend increasing focus on a previously overlooked aspect of mask usage: mask-wearing by infectious people ("source control") with benefits at the population-level, rather than mask-wearing by susceptible people, such as health-care workers, with focus on individual outcomes. We recommend that public officials and governments strongly encourage the use of widespread face masks in public, including the use of appropriate regulation.

Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202006.0159.v1

SeXX and COVID-19: Tussle between the Two

Ashlesh Patil, Jaya Prasad Tripathy, Vishwajit Deshmukh, Bharat Sontakke, Satyendra C. Tripathi

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Sex; COVID-19; SARS Cov-2; ACE2; innate immunity; adaptive immunity

Online: 14 June 2020 (03:18:35 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202002.0179.v1

A Simulation on Potential Secondary Spread of Novel Coronavirus in an Exported Country Using a Stochastic Epidemic SEIR Model

Kentaro Iwata, Chisato Miyakoshi

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: novel coronavirus; SEIR model; outside China

Online: 14 February 2020 (02:34:55 CET)

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Preprint HYPOTHESIS | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0124.v1

Does Zinc Supplementation Enhance the Clinical Efficacy of Chloroquine/Hydroxychloroquine to Win Todays Battle Against COVID-19?

Martin Scholz, Roland Derwand

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Therapy; Chloroquine; Hydroxychloroquine; Zinc

Online: 8 April 2020 (10:54:33 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0058.v1

Was School Closure Effective in Mitigating Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)? Time Series Analysis Using Bayesian Inference

Kentaro Iwata, Asako Doi, Chisato Miyakoshi

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); school closure; time series analysis; Japan

Online: 6 April 2020 (13:11:12 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202005.0057.v2

Early Hydroxychloroquine Is Associated with an Increase of Survival in COVID-19 Patients: An Observational Study

Francisco Javier Membrillo, Germán Ramírez-Olivencia, Miriam Estébanez, Begoña de Dios, María Dolores Herrero, Tatiana Mata, Alberto M. Borobia, Carlos Gutiérrez, María Simón, Ana Ochoa, Yolanda Martínez, Alejandro Aguirre, Francisco de Asís Alcántara, Pablo Fernández-González, Elena López, Paula Valle, Sergio Campos, María Navarro, Lucía Elena Ballester

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; treatment; drug; survival; antiviral; hydroxychloroquine

Online: 9 May 2020 (04:45:37 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202003.0275.v1

Chloroquine as a Potential Treatment and Prevention Measure for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus: A Review

John Kearney

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Antimalarial; Chemoprophylaxis; Chloroquine; Coronavirus; COVID-19; Global Health; Hydroxychloroquine; Public Health; SARS-CoV-2; Virus

Online: 17 March 2020 (09:17:53 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0374.v1

Global Comparison of Changes in the Number of Test-Positive Cases and Deaths by Coronavirus Infection (COVID-19) in the World

Akihiro Hisaka, Hideki Yoshioka, Hiroto Hatakeyama, Hiromi Sato, Yoshihiro Onouchi, Naohiko Anzai

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus; infectious disease; infection management; PCR test; mortality; kinetic analysis

Online: 21 April 2020 (05:42:47 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202003.0206.v1

Therapeutic Approaches for COVID-19 Based on the Dynamics of Interferon-mediated Immune Responses

Farbod Shahabi nezhad, Pouria Mosaddeghi, Manica Negahdaripour, Zahra Dehghani, Mitra Farahmandnejad, Mohsen Moghadami, Navid Nezafat, Seyed Masoom Masoompour

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: 2019 novel coronavirus infection; coronavirus; SARS-CoV; interferon; systems biology

Online: 12 March 2020 (09:11:00 CET)

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As the outbreak of COVID-19 has accelerated, an urgent need for finding strategies to combat the virus is growing. Thus, gaining more knowledge on the pathogenicity mechanism of SARS-CoV-2, the causing agent of COVID-19, and its interaction with the immune system is of utmost importance. Although this novel virus is not well known yet, its structural and genetic similarity with SARS-CoV as well as the comparable pattern of age-mortality relations suggest that the previous findings on SARS can be applicable for COVID-19. Therefore, a systems biology study was conducted to investigate the underlying mechanism for the differences in the age-specific mortality of SARS and the most important signaling pathways activated by the virus. The results were then validated through a literature review on COVID-19 and the other closely related viruses, SARS and MERS. Interferons have shown to possess a crucial role in the defense against coronavirus diseases. The virus can impede the interferon induction in humans. Moreover, STAT1, a key protein in the interferon mediated immune response, is antagonized by the virus. This could explain the increased response threshold of immune cells to IFNs during CoV infections. A vivid correlation between the innate immune response threshold and the fatality rates in COVID-19 can be found. Differences in the dynamics of the interferons-related innate immune responses in children, adults and elderly may explain the reported fatality rates. The increased mortality rates in the elderly can be explained by the higher threshold of interferon-mediated immune responses. Earlier induction of interferons in children and their less developed immune system could be the reason behind their zero or near to zero fatality rate. Administration of interferon-inducing agents, such as Poly (ICLC), could reduce the mortality of SARS at the very early stages of the disease. Adding interferon-γ to an interferon-I, as a synergistic combination therapy, might maximize the benefits.At the later stages of the disease, however, the balance of the immune reactions would be disrupted and the responses would shift toward immnopathogenic over-reactions and probably cytokine storm. Moderating the activity of the immune system and supportive care in such conditions might be the optimum approach.

Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202003.0001.v1

Coronavirus Disease 2019 – COVID-19

Kuldeep Dhama, Khan Sharun, Ruchi Tiwari, Shubhankar Sircar, Sudipta Bhat, Yashpal Singh Malik, Karam Pal Singh, Wanpen Chaicumpa, D. Katterine Bonilla-Aldana, Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: emerging coronavirus; 2019-nCoV; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; diagnosis; vaccines; therapy; one health

Online: 1 March 2020 (02:48:13 CET)

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Preprint HYPOTHESIS | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0348.v3

Hydroxychloroquine; Why It Might Be Successful and Why It Might Not Be Successful in the Treatment of Covid-19 Pneumonia? Could It Be A Prophylactic Drug?

Omer Deniz

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: hydroxychloroquine; COVID-19; pneumonia; prophylaxis; treatment

Online: 12 May 2020 (08:06:55 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202102.0590.v1

How One Pandemic Led To Another: Asfv, the Disruption Contributing To Sars-Cov-2 Emergence in Wuhan

Wei Xia, Joseph Hughes, David Robertson, Xiaowei Jiang

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: African swine fever virus (ASFV); Pork shortage; Alternative meat consumption; Wildlife; Human-animal contact; Zoonotic spillover; SARS-CoV-2

Online: 25 February 2021 (16:57:13 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0361.v1

Revisiting Early-stage COVID-19 Strategy Options

Philip Machanick

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; pandemic; asymptomaticspread; early-stage COVID-19 mitigation

Online: 20 April 2020 (06:18:33 CEST)

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Preprint CASE REPORT | doi:10.20944/preprints202006.0282.v1

Case Report – Inferior Mesenteric Vein Thrombosis and COVID-19

Aureo do Carmo Filho, Bruno da Silva Cunha

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; mesenteric vein thrombosis

Online: 21 June 2020 (16:44:51 CEST)

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Preprint CONCEPT PAPER | doi:10.20944/preprints202005.0298.v1

COVID-19: Prediction of Vulnerable Areas Having High Risk of Becoming Hotspots and Providing Necessary Statistics during COVID-19 Pandemic

Ayush Yadav

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Covid 19; coronavirus; pre-hotspots

Online: 18 May 2020 (08:01:52 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202009.0242.v1

Characteristics and Prognosis of COVID-19 in Patients with COPD

Desirée Graziani, Joan B Soriano, Carlos Del Rio-Bermudez, Diego Morena, Teresa Díaz, María Castillo, Miguel Alonso, Julio Ancochea, José Luis Izquierdo

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COPD; COVID-19; prevalence; prognosis

Online: 11 September 2020 (05:47:59 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0283.v1

Clinical, Molecular and Epidemiological Characterization of the SARS-CoV2 Virus and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Comprehensive Literature Review

Esteban Ortiz-Prado, Katherine Simbaña-Rivera, Lenin Gomez-Barreno, Mario Rubio-Neira, Linda P. Guaman, Nikolaos Kyriakidis, Claire Muslin, Ana Maria Gomez-Jaramillo, Carlos Barba, Domenica Cevallos, Hugo Sanchez-San Miguel, Luis Unigarro, Rasa Zalakeviciute, Naomi Gadian, Andrés López-Cortés

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Covid-19; coronavirus; SARS-CoV-2; review; pandemic

Online: 16 April 2020 (15:55:12 CEST)

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Preprint COMMUNICATION | doi:10.20944/preprints202005.0395.v1

Modification of the Logistic Model for Epidemics and Application to the COVID-19 Epidemic of 2020 in the United States

David H. Roberts

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: epidemic; coronavirus; COVID-19; logistic

Online: 24 May 2020 (18:19:02 CEST)

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Preprint SHORT NOTE | doi:10.20944/preprints202007.0526.v1

Confirmed and Unreported COVID-19 Death Counts: An Assessment of Reporting Discrepancy

Mazbahul G Ahamad, Fahian Tanin

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; Unreported COVID-19 Death; Provisional COVID-19 Death; Death Reporting Discrepancy; Bangladesh

Online: 22 July 2020 (11:32:05 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202003.0378.v1

COVID-19 Treatment: Close to a Cure? – A Rapid Review of Pharmacotherapies for the Novel Coronavirus

Yang Song, Min Zhang, Ling Yin, Kunkun Wang, Yiyi Zhou, Mi Zhou, Yun Lu

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: China's COVID-19 Guide; Remdesivir; Xuebijing; Hydroxychloroquine; IL6 inhibitors; COVID-19

Online: 26 March 2020 (01:48:42 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202002.0060.v1

A Literature Review of 2019 Novel Coronavirus During the Early Outbreak Period: Epidemiology, Causes, Clinical Manifestation and Diagnosis, Prevention and Control

Sasmita Poudel Adhikari, Sha Meng, Yuju Wu, Yuping Mao, Ruixue Ye, Qingzhi Wang, Chang Sun, Sean Sylvia, Scott Rozelle, Hein Raat, Huan Zhou

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: 2019-nCoV; epidemiology; causes; prevention and control; review

Online: 5 February 2020 (10:54:11 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0540.v1

What is Happening with Smokers and COVID-19? A Systematic Review and a Meta-Analysis

Jesus Gonzalez-Rubio, Carmen Navarro-Lopez, Elena Lopez-Najera, Ana Lopez-Najera, Lydia Jiménez-Díaz, Juan D. Navarro-López, Alberto Nájera

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway; novel coronavirus; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; meta-analysis; Cytokine Release Syndrome; nicotine; smokers

Online: 30 April 2020 (17:01:38 CEST)

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Preprint HYPOTHESIS | doi:10.20944/preprints202001.0358.v3

Potential Natural Compounds for Preventing SARS-CoV-2 (2019-nCoV) Infection

Hansen Chen, Qiaohui Du

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: SARS-CoV-2 (2019-nCoV); Baicalin; Scutellarin; Hesperetin; Nicotianamine; Glycyrrhizin

Online: 10 March 2020 (05:09:22 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0355.v1

Role of Vitamin D in Pathogenesis and Severity of COVID-19 Infection

Maryam Ghavideldarestani, Maryam Honardoost, Mohammad E. Khamseh

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: vitamin D; ACE2; diabetes; cardiovascular disease

Online: 20 April 2020 (01:37:43 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202003.0001.v2

Coronavirus Disease 2019 – COVID-19

Kuldeep Dhama, Khan Sharun, Ruchi Tiwari, Shubhankar Sircar, Sudipta Bhat, Yashpal Singh Malik, Karam Pal Singh, Wanpen Chaicumpa, D. Katterine Bonilla-Aldana, Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: emerging coronavirus; 2019-nCoV; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; diagnosis; vaccines; therapy; one health

Online: 13 April 2020 (02:29:00 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202005.0113.v1

Prevalence of Current Smoking and Association with Adverse Outcome in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Konstantinos Farsalinos, Konstantinos Poulas, Riccardo Polosa, Anastasia Barbouni, Pasquale Caponnetto, Raymond Niaura

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; inflammation; smoking; nicotine; hospitalization; adverse outcome

Online: 7 May 2020 (08:52:04 CEST)

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Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and effects of current smoking on adverse outcomes among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Methods: We performed a systematic review of the literature (PubMed) for studies published until April 25. Studies were included into the analysis if they satisfied all of the following criteria: 1. To present hospitalized patients with COVID-19. 2. To classify patients into less and more severe disease, irrespective of the severity definition (defined as “adverse ourtcome”). 3. To present data on the smoking status, separately for each severity classification. We identified 18 (from a total of 1398) relevant studies. Pooled current smoking prevalence was compared with the gender-adjusted, population-based expected prevalence by calculating Prevalence Odds Ratio (POR). The association between current, compared to non-current and former, smoking and adverse outcome was examined by calculating Odds Ratio (OR). All analyses were performed using random-effects meta-analysis. Results: Among 6515 patients, 440 of whom were current smokers, the pooled prevalence of current smoking was 6.8% (95%CI: 4.8-9.1%) and the POR was 0.21 (95%CI: 0.16-0.26, P < 0.001). In Chinese studies only, the POR was 0.22 (95%CI: 0.17-0.27, P < 0.001). Current smokers were more likely to have an adverse outcome compared to non-current smokers (OR: 1.53, 95%CI: 1.06-2.20, P = 0.022). However, they were less likely to have an adverse outcome compared to former smokers (OR: 0.42, 95%CI: 0.27-0.74, P = 0.003). Conclusion: An unexpectedly low prevalence of current smoking was observed among hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Hospitalized current smokers had higher odds compared to non-current smokers but lower odds compared to former smokers for an adverse outcome. The possibility that nicotine may have a protective effect in COVID-19 which may be masked by smoking-related toxicity and by the abrupt cessation of nicotine intake when smokers are hospitalized should be explored.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202002.0378.v1

Clinical, Laboratory and Imaging Features of COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales, Jaime A. Cardona-Ospina, Estefanía Gutiérrez-Ocampo, Rhuvi Villamizar-Peña, Yeimer Holguin-Rivera, Juan Pablo Escalera-Antezana, Lucia Elena Alvarado-Arnez, D. Katterine Bonilla-Aldana, Carlos Franco-Paredes, Andrés F. Henao-Martinez, Alberto Paniz-Mondolfi, Guillermo J. Lagos-Grisales, Eduardo Ramírez-Vallejo, Jose A. Suárez, Lysien I. Zambrano, Wilmer E. Villamil-Gómez, Ali A. Rabaan, Harapan Harapan, Kuldeep Dhama, Hiroshi Nishiura, Hiromitsu Kataoka, Tauseef Ahmad, Ranjit Sah

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Coronavirus Disease 2019; SARS-CoV-2; clinical features; laboratory; outcomes; epidemic.

Online: 25 February 2020 (12:19:14 CET)

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Working Paper REVIEW

A Literature Review of 2019 Novel Coronavirus During the Early Outbreak Period: Epidemiology, Causes, Clinical Manifestation and Diagnosis, Prevention and Control

Sasmita Poudel Adhikari, Sha Meng, Yuju Wu, Yuping Mao, Ruixue Ye, Qingzhi Wang, Chang Sun, Sean Sylvia, Scott Rozelle, Hein Raat, Huan Zhou

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: 2019-nCoV; epidemiology; causes; prevention and control; review

Online: 6 February 2020 (08:54:11 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202005.0411.v1

COVID-19 Crisis: An Update on the Disruption of Clinical trials

Vijay Kumar

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; Clinical Trials; disruption; non-COVID-19 clinical trials; drugs; therapeutic area

Online: 25 May 2020 (11:17:56 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202009.0153.v1

Viruses, Vaccines and the Race for a Covid-19 Vaccine: A Tutorial

Subramani Mani

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Virus; Vaccine; SARS-CoV-2; Coronavirus; Covid-19; Covid-19 vaccine

Online: 7 September 2020 (03:46:59 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202003.0291.v1

Co-infection of Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Influenza: A Report from Iran

Zohre Khodamoradi, Mohsen Moghadami, Mehrzad Lotfi

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: co-infection; coronavirus disease 2019; COVID-19; influenza

Online: 19 March 2020 (02:00:47 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202002.0399.v1

Preliminary Case Report on the SARS-CoV-2 Cluster in the UK, France, and Spain

Emma B. Hodcroft

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 hCOV-19 coronavirus epidemiology contact-tracing cluster outbreak epidemic

Online: 27 February 2020 (11:08:56 CET)

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Preprint COMMUNICATION | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0093.v2

Bioaerosol Size Effect in COVID-19 Transmission

Marcelo I. Guzman

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; virus, bioaerosol; social distancing; aerodynamic size; infection

Online: 22 April 2020 (05:54:48 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0155.v1

COVID-19 Testing: Challenges, Limitations and Suggestions for Improvement

Emily Hu

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; False-negative; Nucleic Acid Test; Screening; Diagnostic Accuracy; Missed Diagnosis; Epidemic; Infectious Disease

Online: 9 April 2020 (14:37:56 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202003.0343.v1

Emerging Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), a Pandemic Public Health Emergency with Animal Linkages: Current Status Update

Yashpal Singh Malik, Shubhankar Sircar, Sudipta Bhat, Obli Rajendran Vinodhkumar, Ruchi Tiwari, Ranjit Sah, Ali A. Rabaan, Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales, Kuldeep Dhama

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: coronavirus; 2019-nCoV; SARS-CoV-2; animal coronaviruses; COVID-19; bat coronavirus; zoonoses; epidemiology; transmission; diagnosis; antivirals; prevention and control

Online: 23 March 2020 (07:19:35 CET)

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After the appearance of first cases of ‘pneumonia of unknown origin’ in the Wuhan city, China, during late 2019, the disease progressed fast. Its cause was identified as a novel coronavirus, named provisionally 2019-nCoV. Subsequently, an official name was given as SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2) by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) study group. The World Health Organization (WHO) named the Coronavirus disease-2019 as COVID-19. The epidemics of COVID-2019 have been recorded over 113 countries/territories/areas apart from China and filched more than 4292 humans, affecting severely around 1,18,326 cases in a short span. The status of COVID-2019 emergency revised by the WHO within 42 days from Public Health International Emergency (January 30, 2020) to a pandemic (March 11, 2020). Nonetheless, the case fatality rate (CFR) of the current epidemic is on the rise (between 2-4%), relatively is lower than the previous SARS-CoV (2002/2003) and MERS-CoV (2012) outbreaks. Even though investigations are on its way, the researchers across the globe have assumptions of animal-origin of current SARS-CoV-2. A recent case report provides evidence of mild COVID-2019 infection in a pet dog that acquired COVID-2019 infection from his owner in Hong Kong. The news on travellers associated spread across the globe have also put many countries on alert with the cancellation of tourist visa to all affected countries and postponement of events where international visits were required. A few diagnostic approaches, including quantitative and differential real-time polymerase chain reaction assays, have been recommended for the screening of the individuals at risk. In the absence of any selective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, re-purposed drugs are advocated in many studies. This article discourse the current worldwide situation of COVID-2019 with information on virus, epidemiology, host, the role of animals, effective diagnosis, therapeutics, preventive and control approaches making people aware on the disease outcomes.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0049.v1

The Covid-19 Infection in Italy: A Statistical Study of an Abnormally Severe Disease

Giuseppe De Natale, Valerio Ricciardi, Gabriele De Luca, Dario De Natale, Giovanni Di Meglio, Antonio Ferragamo, Vito Marchitelli, Andrea Piccolo, Antonio Scala, Renato Somma, Emanuele Spina, Claudia Troise

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Covid-19; epidemic in Italy; statistical forecast

Online: 6 April 2020 (11:28:31 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202006.0287.v1

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Quality of Life and Well-Being in Morocco

Zouhour Samlani, Yassine Lemfadli, Adil Ait Errami, Sofia Oubaha, Khadija Krati

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Covid-19; quality of life; mental health; physical health

Online: 24 June 2020 (09:29:00 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202003.0206.v2

Therapeutic Approaches for COVID-19 Based on the Dynamics of Interferon-mediated Immune Responses

Farbod Shahabi nezhad, Pouria Mosaddeghi, Manica Negahdaripour, Zahra Dehghani, Mitra Farahmandnejad, Mohsen Moghadami, Navid Nezafat, Seyed Masoom Masoompour

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: 2019 novel coronavirus infection; corons; SARS-CoV; interferon; systems biology

Online: 23 March 2020 (10:27:57 CET)

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As the outbreak of COVID-19 has accelerated, an urgent need for finding strategies to combat the virus is growing. Thus, gaining more knowledge on the pathogenicity mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2, the causing agent of COVID-19, and its interaction with the immune system is of utmost importance. Although this novel virus is not well known yet, its structural and genetic similarity with SARS-CoV as well as the comparable pattern of age-mortality relations suggest that the previous findings on SARS can be applicable for COVID-19. Therefore, a systems biology study was conducted to investigate the most important signaling pathways activated by the virus. The results were then validated through a literature review on COVID-19 and the other closely related viruses, SARS and MERS. Interferons have shown to play a crucial role in the defense against coronavirus diseases. CoV can impede the interferon induction in humans. Moreover, STAT1, a key protein in the interferon-mediated immune response, is antagonized by the virus. This could explain the increased response threshold of immune cells to IFNs during CoV infections. A vivid correlation between the innate immune response threshold and the fatality rates in COVID-19 can be found. Differences in the dynamics of the interferon-related innate immune responses in children, adults, and elderly may explain the reported fatality rates. The increased mortality rates in the elderly can be explained by the higher threshold of interferon-mediated immune responses. Earlier induction of interferons in children and their less developed immune system could contribute to their near to zero fatality rate. Administration of interferon-inducing agents, such as poly (ICLC), could reduce the mortality of SARS at the very early stages of the disease. Interferon-γ combination with an interferon-I might induce synergistic effects and maximize the benefits. However, in-depth research is needed to validate it and determine the optimum dosage and timing to prevent unwanted results. Such interventions can act as a double-edged sword and aid the imbalance of the immune reactions, which may occur at the later stages of the disease. With the advancement of the disease and the virus overload, the responses would shift toward immnopathogenic over-reactions and probably cytokine storm. Moderating the activity of the immune system and supportive care in such conditions might be the optimum approach.

Working Paper CONCEPT PAPER

Public Use of Masks to Control the Coronavirus Pandemic

Nicholas R. Longrich, Samuel K. Sheppard

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; face masks; epidemiology; coronavirus; pandemics

Online: 12 April 2020 (08:41:58 CEST)

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The current Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is unprecedented in recent history and threatens the lives and livelihoods of billions worldwide. The rapid spread and lack of modern parallels have left governments, health agencies, and the public racing to understand how to best mitigate and ultimately suppress the pandemic, but we are still working to understand the strengths and weaknesses of various interventions at our disposal. Few issues have been as contentious as the public use of face masks to control the pandemic’s spread. There is ongoing debate about their effectiveness, but an increasing body of evidence suggests that masks could be a useful in preventing the spread of coronavirus, leading several governments and health agencies to review and revise their policies. Here, we review the theory and evidence behind use of masks. The theory behind masks is that they prevent the spread of viral particles by infected persons, and inhalation of viral particles by uninfected persons. Even assuming masks are not 100% effective in preventing infection, they may reduce severity of infection by reducing viral dosing. Laboratory studies suggest masks may be effective in stopping both exhalation and inhalation of viral particles. However, real-world studies provided limited evidence for the use of masks in controlling influenza transmission and highlight potential problems associated with their misuse, such as poor compliance or improper use. Evidence for efficacy of face masks against the first SARS virus, SARS-CoV-1, implies that they may be effective against the current outbreak of SARS-Cov-2 virus. This is important as mathematical modeling suggests that even small reductions of in transmission rates can make a large difference over time, potentially slowing the pace of viral pandemics and limiting their spread. Perhaps the strongest argument for the use of masks is that countries with early adoption of masks have tended to see flatter pandemic curves, even without strict nationwide lockdowns. There is little evidence that respirators are more effective than surgical masks, but this may be due to misuse or poor compliance. Studies suggest some non-medical masks perform on par with medical masks. Improvised masks are less effective than medical masks, but may provide better protection than nothing at all. While many governments now encourage the use of improvised face coverings, more will need to be known about material, design, and who needs to wear masks, and when, to ensure effectiveness. Proper use of masks will also be important; if masks are used improperly or infrequently they may provide limited protection. It is important that public health policy makers consider the debate and the potential of masks as part of multi-faceted coronavirus control strategies.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202009.0375.v1

Unexpected Co-infection with Different Strains of SARS-CoV-2 in Patients with COVID-19

Hayder O. Hashim, Mudher K. Mohammed, Mazin J. Mousa, Hadeer H. Abdulameer, Alaa T.S. Alhassnawi, Safa A. Hassan, Mohammed Baqur S. Al-Shuhaib

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: co-infection; SARS-CoV-2; pike glycoprotein; stop mutations

Online: 17 September 2020 (05:33:59 CEST)

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There is a rising global concern for the ongoing outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 due to its high transmission rate and unavailability of treatment. Through the binding of its spike glycoprotein with angiotensin type 2 (ACE2), SARS-CoV-2 can efficiently get in the cells of patients and start its pandemic cycle. Herein, the biological diversity of SARS-CoV-2 infection was assessed in Babylon province of Iraq by investigating the possible genetic variations of the spike glycoprotein. A specific coding region of 795 bp within the viral spike (S) gene was amplified from 19 patients who suffered from obvious symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Sequencing results identified fifteen novel nucleic acid variations with a variety of distributions within the investigated samples. The electropherograms of all the identified variations showed obvious co-infections with at least two different viral strains per sample. Within these co-infections, the majority of samples exhibited three nonsense single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)s, p.301Cdel, p.380Ydel, and p.436del, which yielded three truncated SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoproteins of 301, 380, and 436 amino acids length, respectively. The network and phylogenetic analyses indicated that for all viral infections were derived from multi-ancestral origins. Results inferred from the specific clade-based tree entailed that some viral strains were derived from European G-clade sequences. In conclusion, our data demonstrated the absence of any single strain infection among all investigated viral samples in the studied area, which may entail a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 in this country. Through the identified high frequency of truncated spike proteins, we suggest that defective SARS-CoV-2 may depend on helper strains having intact spikes in its infection. Alternatively, another putative ACE2-independent route of viral infection way also suggested. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to describe the co-infection of multiple strains of SARS-CoV-2 in patients with COVID-19.

Preprint HYPOTHESIS | doi:10.20944/preprints202002.0147.v2

The Clinically Validated Viral Superinfection Therapy (SIT) Platform Technology May Mitigate Severe Cases of COVID-19 Infections

Imre Kovesdi, Marc Van Ranst, Peter M. Chumakov, Volker Sandig, Tibor Bakacs

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: new coronavirus; 2019-nCoV; superinfection therapy (SIT); apathogenic dsRNA virus; interferon-dependent antiviral genes; broad-spectrum antiviral treatment; clinically tested.

Online: 4 March 2020 (11:08:41 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0065.v1

Excess Mortality from COVID-19: Lessons Learned from the Italian Experience

Paolo Pasquariello, Saverio Stranges

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; case fatality rate; Italy; testing; health care system; demographics; comorbidites; epidemiological trends

Online: 6 April 2020 (15:17:12 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0011.v1

SARS-CoV-2: Jumping the Species Barrier, Lessons from SARS and MERS, Its Zoonotic Spillover, Transmission to Humans, Preventive and Control Measures and Recent Developments to Counter This Pandemic Virus

Kuldeep Dhama, Shailesh Kumar Patel, Khan Sharun, Mamta Pathak, Ruchi Tiwari, Mohd. Iqbal Yatoo, Yashpal Singh Malik, Ranjit Sah, Ali A. Rabaan, Parmod Kumar Panwar, Karam Pal Singh, Izabela Michalak, Wanpen Chaicumpa, D. Katterine Bonilla-Aldana, Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-Cov-2; bat coronavirus; zoonosis; spillover; expanding host range

Online: 2 April 2020 (04:43:45 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202301.0204.v7

Forgotten “Primum Non Nocere” and Increased Mortality after Covid-19 Vaccination

Srecko Šorli, Tomaz Makovec, Zivan Krevel, Rado Gorjup

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Covid-19 vaccination; death rate; sick status days

Online: 14 March 2023 (06:35:57 CET)

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Preprint HYPOTHESIS | doi:10.20944/preprints202002.0147.v3

The Clinically Validated Viral Superinfection Therapy (SIT) Platform Technology May Mitigate Severe Cases of COVID-19 Infections

Imre Kovesdi, Marc Van Ranst, Peter M. Chumakov, Volker Sandig, Tibor Bakacs

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: new coronavirus; 2019-nCoV; superinfection therapy (SIT); apathogenic dsRNA virus; interferon-dependent antiviral genes; broad-spectrum antiviral treatment; clinically tested.

Online: 20 March 2020 (09:31:54 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202204.0091.v1

Evidence-Based Evaluation of PCR Diagnostics for SARS-Cov-2 and The Omicron Variants by Sanger Sequencing

Sin Hang Lee

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV; RT-PCR; Sanger sequencing; RT-qPCR; receptor-binding domain (RBD); N-terminal domain (NTD); Omicron; multi-allelic SNPs; false-positive

Online: 12 April 2022 (03:57:29 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0399.v1

A Transcriptome Analysis Identifies Potential Preventive and Therapeutic Approaches Towards COVID-19

Md Rezaul Islam, Andre Fischer

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; gene-expression; TNF; IL-1; Alox5; NFκB; vitamin D; therapy

Online: 22 April 2020 (17:11:34 CEST)

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Preprint COMMUNICATION | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0093.v1

Bioaerosol Size Effect in COVID-19 Transmission

Marcelo Guzman

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; virus, bioaerosol; social distancing; aerodynamic size; infection

Online: 7 April 2020 (11:20:42 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202003.0348.v1

An Update on SARS-COV-2/COVID-19 with Particular Reference on Its Clinical Pathology, Pathogenesis, Immunopathology and Mitigation Strategies – A Review

Kuldeep Dhama, Shailesh Kumar Patel, Mamta Pathak, Mohd. Iqbal Yatoo, Ruchi Tiwari, Yashpal Singh Malik, Rajendra Singh, Ranjit Sah, Ali A. Rabaan, D. Katterine Bonilla-Aldana, Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: SARS-COV-2; COVID-19; clinical pathology; pathogenesis; immunopathology

Online: 23 March 2020 (07:51:17 CET)

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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by a novel coronavirus named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), emerged in early December 2019 in China and attained a pandemic situation worldwide by its rapid spread to nearly 167 countries with 287.239 confirmed cases and 11.921 human deaths with a case fatality rate (CFR) of around 4 per cent. Bats were considered as the reservoir host, and the search of a probable intermediate host is still going on. Animals have anticipated culprit of SARS-CoV-2 as of now. The disease is mainly manifested by pneumonia and related respiratory signs and symptoms, but the involvement of the gastrointestinal system and nervous system is also suggested. The severe form of the disease associated with death is mainly reported in older and immune-compromised patients with pre-existing disease history. Death in severe cases is attributed to respiratory failure associated with hyperinflammation. Cytokine storm syndrome associated with rampant inflammation in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection is considered as the leading killer of COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 patients were reported with higher levels of many pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines like IFN-g, IL-1b, IP-10, and MCP-1. Furthermore, severe cases of COVID-19 revealed higher levels of TNF-α, G-CSF, and MIP-1A. Blood profile of the COVID-19 patients exhibits lymphopenia, leucopenia, thrombocytopenia and RNAaemia along with increased levels of aspartate aminotransferase. SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women does not lead to fetus mortalities unlike other zoonotic coronaviruses like SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, with no evidence of intrauterine transmission to neonates. Rapid and confirmatory diagnostics have been developed, and high efforts are being made to develop effective vaccines and therapeutics. In the absence of any virus-specific therapeutic, internationally health care authorities are recommending adoption of effective prevention and control measures to counter and contain this pandemic virus. This paper is an overview of this virus and the disease with a particular focus on SARS-COV-2 / COVID-19 clinical pathology, pathogenesis and immunopathology along with a few recent research developments.

Preprint COMMUNICATION | doi:10.20944/preprints202006.0171.v1

Twelve Tips to Successfully Conducting Virtual Clinical Assessment Using Zoom™ Lessons Learned from COVID-19 Pandemic

Mohamed H. Shehata, Archana Prabu Kumar, Mona R. Arekat, Hani Atwa, Samar A. Ahmed, Abdel Halim Deifalla

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; assessment; online; virtual; OSCE

Online: 14 June 2020 (12:57:23 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0189.v1

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Current Literature and Status in India

Anbesh Jamwal, Sumedha Bhatnagar, Prakarti Sharma

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; SARS CoV; SARS CoV-2; novel CoV; India

Online: 12 April 2020 (09:17:16 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202007.0113.v1

Selenium Deficiency is Associated with Mortality Risk from COVID-19

Arash Moghaddam, Raban Arved Heller, Qian Sun, Julian Seelig, Asan Cherkezov, Linda Seibert, Julian Hackler, Petra Seemann, Joachim Diegmann, Maximilian Pilz, Manuel Bachmann, Waldemar B. Minich, Lutz Schomburg

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: trace element; inflammation; selenoprotein P; micronutrient; COVID-19

Online: 7 July 2020 (08:15:45 CEST)

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Preprint COMMUNICATION | doi:10.20944/preprints202005.0367.v1

Children Have Lower SARS-CoV-2 Viral Loads Than Adults

David Curtis

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; viral load; children

Online: 23 May 2020 (10:15:07 CEST)

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Working Paper ARTICLE

Modified Full-Face Snorkel Mask as COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment: Quantitative Results

Kyle Nicholson, Ashley Henke-Adams, Daniel M. Henke, Alexxai V. Kravitz, Hiram A. Gay

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; mask; respirator; coronavirus; 3D Printing; N95; personal protective equipment (PPE)

Online: 17 April 2020 (02:23:48 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202105.0108.v1

Physical Effectiveness of Safety Interventions in Fire Engines to Reduce Potential Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (COFIRE)

Elmar Bourdon, Thomas Schaefer, Maximilian Kittel, Matthias Raedle, Alexandra Heininger

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; Safety Interventions; Fire Engine; Vehicle, Aerosol; Fine Dust Measurement

Online: 6 May 2021 (15:24:53 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0075.v1

SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 and Advances in Developing Potential Therapeutics and Vaccines to Counter this Emerging Pandemic Virus – A Review

Ali A. Rabaan, Shamsah H. Al-Ahmed, Ranjit Sah, Ruchi Tiwari, Mohd. Iqbal Yatoo, Shailesh Kumar Patel, Mamta Pathak, Yashpal Singh Malik, Kuldeep Dhama, Karam Pal Singh, D. Katterine Bonilla-Aldana, Shafiul Haque, Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; immunotherapeutics; therapeutics; vaccines

Online: 7 April 2020 (02:01:34 CEST)

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A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), causing an emerging coronavirus disease (COVID-19), first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China has resulted in an outbreak in China which has taken a catastrophic turn with high toll rates in China and subsequently spreading across the globe. The rapid spread of this virus to more than 175 countries while affecting nearly 500,000 persons and causing more than 22,000 human deaths, it has resulted in a pandemic situation in the world. The SARS-CoV-2 virus belongs to the genus Betacoronavirus, like MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, all of which originated in bats. It is highly contagious, causing symptoms like fever, dyspnea, asthenia and pneumonia, thrombocytopenia and the severely infected patients succumb to the disease. Coronaviruses (CoVs) among all known RNA viruses have the largest genomes ranging from 26 to 32 kb in length. Extensive research has been conducted to understand the molecular basis of the SARS-CoV-2 infection and evolution, develop effective therapeutics, antiviral drugs and vaccines, and to design rapid and confirmatory viral diagnostics as well as adopt appropriate prevention and control strategies. Till date, no clinically proclaimed, proven therapeutic antibodies or specific drugs and therapeutics, and vaccines have turned up. Several molecular diagnostic tests such as Real Time-PCR, isothermal loop-mediated amplification of coronavirus (i-LACO), full genome analysis by next-generation sequencing (NGS), multiplex nucleic acid amplification, and microarray-based assays are in use currently for the laboratory confirmation of this CoV infection. In this review article, we describe the basic molecular organization and phylogenetic analysis of the coronaviruses, including the SARS-CoV-2, and recent advances in diagnosis and vaccine development in brief and focusing mainly on developing potential therapeutic options that can be explored to manage this pandemic virus infection, which would help in valid countering of COVID-19.

Preprint CASE REPORT | doi:10.20944/preprints202002.0354.v1

SARS-CoV-2 May Persist in Digestive Tract Longer than Respiratory Tract

Yilin Hu, Lisha SHEN, Zheming XU, Jianying Zhou, Hua Zhou

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; Covid-19; case

Online: 24 February 2020 (14:03:12 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202005.0016.v1

Interest of Proton Pump Inhibitors in Reducing the Occurrence of COVID-19: A Case-Control Study

Frederic Blanc, Cedric Waechter, Thomas Vogel, Benoît Schorr, Catherine Demuynck, Catherine Martin-Hunyadi, Maxence Meyer, Denata Mutelica, Nadjiba Bougaa, Samira Fafi-Kremer, Lidia Calabrese, Elise Schmitt, Delphine Imperiale, Catherine Jehl, Alexandre Boussuge, Carmen Suna, François Weill, Alexia Matzinger, Candice Muller, Patrick Karcher, Georges Kaltenbach, Erik Sauleau

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; elderly; proton pump inhibitors; antipsychotics; metformin; oral antidiabetics

Online: 2 May 2020 (15:48:33 CEST)

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Background: COVID-19 is a disease of the elderly as 95% of deaths related to COVID-19 occur in people over 60 years of age. Despite the urgent need for a preventive treatment there are currently no serious leads, other than the vaccination. Objective: To find a preventive treatment of COVID-19 in elderly patients. Design: Retrospective case-control study. Setting: Robertsau Geriatric Hospital of the University Hospitals of Strasbourg, France. Patients: 179 elderly patients who had been in contact with the SARS-CoV-2, of whom 89 had tested RT-PCR-positive (COVID-pos) for the virus and 90 had tested RT-PCR-negative (COVID-neg). Measurements: Treatments within 15 days prior to RT-PCR (including antihypertensive drugs, antipsychotics, antibiotics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), paracetamol, anticoagulant, oral antidiabetics (OADs), corticosteroids, immunosuppressants), comorbidities, symptoms, laboratory values, and clinical outcome were all collected using the electronic patient record. Results: COVID-pos patients more frequently had a history of diabetes (P=.016) and alcoholism (P=.023), a lower leukocyte count (P=.014) and a higher mortality rate– 29.2% versus 14.4% – (P=.014) when compared to COVID-neg patients. Patients on PPIs were 2.3 times less likely (odds ratio [OR] = 0.4381, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.2331, 0.8175], P=.0053) to develop COVID-19 infection, compared to those not on PPIs. No other treatment decreased or increased this risk. COVID-19 patients on antipsychotics (P=.0013) and OADs (P=.0166) were less likely to die. Limitations: retrospective study. Conclusion: PPIs treatment lowered the risk of development of COVID-19 infection, and antipsychotics and OADs decreased the risk of mortality in geriatric patients. If further studies confirm this finding, PPIs could be used preventatively in the elderly in this pandemic context. Moreover, OADS and antipsychotics should be tested in clinical trials.

Preprint HYPOTHESIS | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0233.v1

Why Infants Rarely Die of COVID-19 and Morbidity and Mortality Rates Vary by Location: Pneumococcal and Hib Vaccinations as Possible Means to Mitigate Future Pandemics

Robert Root-Bernstein

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Streptoccoci; Pneumococci; Haemophilus influenzae; Hib; Prevenar; vaccination

Online: 15 April 2020 (09:15:26 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0373.v1

The Successes and Failures of the Initial COVID-19 Pandemic Response in Romania

Stefan Dascalu

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Romania; COVID-19; coronavirus; pandemic; epidemic; public health; healthcare; policy; diaspora; sociocultural;

Online: 21 April 2020 (04:47:30 CEST)

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Preprint COMMUNICATION | doi:10.20944/preprints202003.0125.v1

Darunavir Disrupts Critical Nodes in Metastable 2019-nCoV-RBD/ACE-2 Complex

Olaposi Idowu Omotuyi, Oyekanmi Nash, Basiru Olaitan Ajiboye, Damilohun Samuel Metibemu, Babatunji Emmanuel Oyinloye, Niyi Samuel Adelakun, Ramona Hurdayal, Raphael Taiwo Aruleba, Abidemi Paul Kappo

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: 2019-nCoV; Darunavir; ACE-2; Receptor Binding Domain; Metastable Conformation; FDA database

Online: 7 March 2020 (16:28:05 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202002.0378.v3

Clinical, Laboratory and Imaging Features of COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales, Jaime A. Cardona-Ospina, Estefanía Gutiérrez-Ocampo, Rhuvi Villamizar-Peña, Yeimer Holguin-Rivera, Juan Pablo Escalera-Antezana, Lucia Elena Alvarado-Arnez, D. Katterine Bonilla-Aldana, Carlos Franco-Paredes, Andrés F. Henao-Martinez, Alberto Paniz-Mondolfi, Guillermo J. Lagos-Grisales, Eduardo Ramírez-Vallejo, Jose A. Suárez, Lysien I. Zambrano, Wilmer E. Villamil-Gómez, Graciela J. Balbin-Ramon, Ali A. Rabaan, Harapan Harapan, Kuldeep Dhama, Hiroshi Nishiura, Hiromitsu Kataoka, Tauseef Ahmad, Ranjit Sah

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Coronavirus Disease 2019; SARS-CoV-2; clinical features; laboratory; outcomes; epidemic.

Online: 11 March 2020 (10:35:01 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202008.0204.v1

Hospital and Population-Based Evidences for COVID-19 Early Circulation in the East of France

Laurent Gerbaud, Candy Guiguet-Auclair, Franck Breysse, Joséphine Odoul, Lemlih Ouchchane, Jonathan Peterschmitt, Camille Dezfouli-Desfer, Vincent Breton

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-Cov-2; epidemic surveillance; emerging infectious disease; epidemic threshold

Online: 8 August 2020 (04:25:20 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202006.0237.v1

Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Evolution of Patients Attended with COVID-19 in a National Reference Hospital from Lima, Peru

Germán V. Valenzuela, Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales, Roxana Mamani, Ricardo Ayala, Katherine Pérez, Cynthia Sarmiento, Jessica Calcino, Luis García, José Amado

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; risk factors; outcomes; cardiovascular; Latin America.

Online: 19 June 2020 (10:22:50 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202001.0364.v1

A Review on the Factors Contributing to 2019-nCoV Virus Outbreaks in Wuhan

Zhong Sun, Thilakavathy Karuppiah, S. Suresh Kumar, Guozhong He

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: 2019-nCoV; SARS-CoV; drought; bat; green light

Online: 30 January 2020 (11:41:52 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202006.0252.v1

Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Typhoid Fever in Children Attending “Deo Gratias” Hospital in Douala, Littoral Region

Teh Exodus Akwa, Nguimbous Simone

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Salmonella typhi; control; Widal test; incidence

Online: 21 June 2020 (10:23:15 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202006.0287.v2

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Quality of Life and Well-Being in Morocco

Zouhour Samlani, Yassine Lemfadli, Adil Ait Errami, Sofia Oubaha, Khadija Krati

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Covid-19; quality of life; mental health; physical health

Online: 8 March 2021 (09:51:55 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202005.0152.v1

Prevalence and Acceptance of Face Mask Practice among Individuals Visiting Hospital during COVID-19 Pandemic: An Observational Study

Gobi Hariyanayagam Gunasekaran, Sera Selvanthan Sundram Gunasekaran, Shargunan Selvanthan Gunasekaran, Fouzia Hanim Binti Abdul Halim

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Covid-19; personal protective equipment; facemask; odds ratio; Malaysia

Online: 9 May 2020 (08:02:16 CEST)

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Background: The COVID-19 transmission has been established to occur through respiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing. Health agencies have strongly recommended the use of facemask as a precaution from cross-transmission. Objective: This study investigated the prevalence of facemask use among visitors to the hospital. This study also investigated the demographic factors contributing to unacceptable facemask practice. Setting: This prospective observational study was done among hospital visitors to a district specialist hospital during COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Methods: Individuals entering through dedicated entry point were observed for the type, category and practice of wearing personal protective equipment. Inclusion criteria for this study were any individual's ≥ 2 years old entering the treatment facility from selected entry points. Patients were categorized into two groups of acceptable and unacceptable facemask practice. The Pearson chi-square was used to test for differences in investigated variables in the univariate setting and Binary Logistic regression model was used in the multivariate setting. Main Outcome Measure: Prevalence, acceptance practice and odds ratio of unacceptance of facemask use. Results: Among 1652 individuals included in the final analysis, 1574 (96.9%) was observed wearing facemask with 1269 (72.0%) of individuals worn medical-grade facemask. However, among them, only 1397 (88.8%) individuals' facemask practice was acceptable while the reaming 177 (11.2) individuals were perceived with unacceptable facemask practice. Male individuals, Malay ethnic and high risk age group are 1.47 times (Odds Ratio: OR=1.47; 95% CI, 1.06-2.06; p=.023), 2.18 times (OR=2.18; 95% CI, 1.55-3.08; p<.001) and 1.99 times (OR=2.18; 95% CI, 1.42 - 2.77; p<.001) more likely to exhibit unacceptable facemask practice respectively. Conclusion: Extensive use of facemasks coupled with environmental hygiene measures is a public health strategy which can help to mitigate the COVID-19 epidemic impact. However, a targeted comprehensive strategy to improve compliance to proper facemask practice among the high-risk population is needed to achieve maximal protective benefit.

Preprint CONCEPT PAPER | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0021.v1

Public Use of Masks to Control the Coronavirus Pandemic

Nicholas R. Longrich

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; face masks; epidemiology; coronavirus; pandemics

Online: 3 April 2020 (03:47:23 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0193.v1

COVID-19 Epidemic Compartments Model and Bangladesh

Md. Shahidul Islam, Jannatun Irana Ira, K. M. Ariful Kabir, Md. Kamrujjaman

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: coronavirus; epidemic model; global pandemic; COVID-19; SEII$_s$R model; sensitivity analysis

Online: 12 April 2020 (14:21:13 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0071.v1

Covid-19: Immunological Lessons from Bats, Pangolins and Old Coronaviruses; And How We Can Apply Them in a Timely Way for a Better Outcome

Devika Dua, Madhur Yadav, Pranav Jetley, Radhika Dua

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; SARS CoV; macrophage activation syndrome; cytokine storm; immunology

Online: 6 April 2020 (16:22:42 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202006.0120.v1

Why Children Are Less Affected by COVID-19 Than Adults: Potential Immunological Factors and the Renin-Angiotensin System Associated Mechanisms

Olga Krogh-Jensen, Irina Nikitina, Andrew Donnikov, Anna Lenyushkina, Nataliya Degtyareva, Anna Degtyareva

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; pathogenesis; children; neonates; immune response; secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis; renin-angiotensin system; genetic polymorphisms; ACE2; AGTR2; AGTR1; NOS; lung injury

Online: 9 June 2020 (08:07:40 CEST)

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The spread of the infection caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) became pandemic on March 11, 2020. From the time of the first cases (in November 2019, Wuhan, China), to date, a large number of COVID-19 observations have been accumulated in different age groups of patients both in China and abroad. Published scientific data allows us to conclude that children suffer from COVID-19 much less often than adults and tolerate the disease in a milder form, often appear to be asymptomatic. There is currently no final answer why children are less susceptible to this virus; however, scientists are increasingly inclined to consider a complex effect of the immune response and components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), which according to recent studies affects not only the cardiovascular system, but is also responsible for the activation of inflammatory reactions. A hypothesis of genetic predisposition to the development of severe forms of COVID-19 has recently been made. We conducted a search for publications in the databases and showed current scientific ideas about COVID-19 pathogenesis and factors influencing the disease development in childhood. Childhood immunity may have several protective features against SARS-CoV-2: immaturity of particular elements of the innate immune response, constitutional lymphocytosis with a shift towards anti-inflammatory Th2-response, as well as "trained" immunity. The influence of renin-angiotensin system reactions in this review is shown from two perspectives: expression of ACE2 receptors and polymorphisms of certain genes of this system. It was established that ACE2 transmembrane protein is not only the entry point for the virus but also plays a regulatory role, turning the pro-inflammatory vasoconstrictor angiotensin II into anti-inflammatory angiotensin (1-7), which has vasodilating properties. Higher ACE2 content in children compared with adults helps maintain balance in the renin-angiotensin system and prevents the development of complications. It was also shown that the presence of certain genetic polymorphisms (AGTR1, AGTR2, ACE2, ACE) could determine the imbalance inside the RAS, leading to more pronounced reactions of alveolocytes, vascular endothelium and smooth muscle fibers in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection due to a shift towards vasoconstrictor, proliferative and profibrotic mechanisms.

Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0217.v1

Medical Basis for Increased Susceptibility of COVID-19 among the Navajo and other Indigenous Tribes

Joseph De Soto, Shazia Hakim

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; Indigenous Tribes; Co-morbidities; Corona Virus; Navaho

Online: 14 April 2020 (08:43:11 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202007.0656.v1

One Shot Cluster Based Approach for the Detection of COVID-19 from Chest X-Ray Images

V.N. Manjunath Aradhya, Mufti Mahmud, Basant Agarwal, D.S. Guru, M. Shamim Kaiser

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19 infection; Chest X-ray image; generalized regression neural network; probabilistic neural network and detection accuracy

Online: 27 July 2020 (00:52:49 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202001.0381.v1

2019 Novel Coronavirus: Where We are and What We Know

Zhangkai J. Cheng, Jing Shan

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: 2019-nCoV; nCoV; China; Wuhan; coronavirus; virology; epidemiology; clinical guidance; literature survey; review

Online: 31 January 2020 (05:36:32 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202007.0203.v1

Dependency of COVID-19 Spread on Temperature in Rajasthan

MUKUL SOLANKI

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; Rajasthan; ajasthan; dependency; temprature

Online: 10 July 2020 (03:44:43 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202003.0103.v1

MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV Infections in Animals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prevalence Studies

D. Katterine Bonilla-Aldana, María C. Cardona-Trujillo, Alejandra García-Barco, Yeimer Holguin-Rivera, Isabella Cortes-Bonilla, Hugo A. Bedoya-Arias, Leidy Jhoana Patiño-Cadavid, Alberto Paniz-Mondolfi, Lysien I. Zambrano, Kuldeep Dhama, Ranjit Sah, Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Coronavirus; SARS-CoV; MERS-CoV; serology; molecular diagnosis; reservoir; public health

Online: 6 March 2020 (03:41:31 CET)

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Preprint COMMUNICATION | doi:10.20944/preprints202003.0366.v1

Combating Recent Pandemic of COVID-19 - An Urgent Solution

Indrani Roy

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus; temperature; humidity; solutions

Online: 25 March 2020 (04:00:09 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0397.v1

Forecasting COVID-19-Associated Hospitalizations under Different Levels of Social Distancing in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy: Results from an Extended SEIR Compartmental Model

Chiara Reno, Jacopo Lenzi, Antonio Navarra, Eleonora Barelli, Davide Gori, Alessandro Lanza, Riccardo Valentini, Biao Tang, Maria Pia Fantini

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: coronavirus; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; pandemic; public health intervention; lockdown; resurgence; forecasting; mathematical modelling; SEIR model

Online: 22 April 2020 (08:48:16 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202011.0532.v2

COVID-19 Lockdown and Lifestyles – A Narrative Review

Sathyanarayanan Doraiswamy, Sohaila Cheema, Ahmad Al Mulla, Ravinder Mamtani

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; Lifestyle; Diet; Physical activity; Stress; Smoking; Substance; Alcohol; Emotional well-being; Social connectedness

Online: 15 March 2021 (13:39:05 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0325.v1

Blockchain and AI-Based Solutions to Combat Coronavirus (COVID-19)-like Epidemics: A Survey

Dinh C. Nguyen, Ming Dinh, Pubudu N. Pathirana, Aruna Seneviratne

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; artificial intelligence; AI; blockchain; epidemic; pandemic; machine learning; deep learning; coronavirus; SARS-CoV-2

Online: 19 April 2020 (04:44:37 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0473.v1

A Short-Term Forecast Scenario for COVID-19 Epidemic and Allocated Hospital Readiness in Egypt

Engy El-Ghitany

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; Egypt; prediction exponential growth rate; hospital preparedness

Online: 27 April 2020 (03:27:47 CEST)

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BackgroundThe novel virus COVID-19, also known as SARS-CoV‑2, is currently rapidly spreading around the globe and pushing healthcare systems to the limits of their capacity. One of the functions of predictive models is to timely act for epidemic preparedness including hospital preparedness. In Egypt, like many other countries in the world, the epidemic situation and forecasting have not yet sufficiently studied. ObjectiveThe study was carried out to develop a short-term forecast scenario for the COVID-19 epidemic situation in Egypt and predict the hospital needs to accommodate the growing number of cases.MethodsSecondary data from the COVID-2019 daily reports and the report issued 8^thof April by the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population were used. Due to the daily changing level of knowledge and data, the article reflects the status up to 18 April 2020. The prediction was based on the exponential growth rate model. For the depiction of the situation, the full length of the epidemic timeline was analyzed (from February 14^th till April 18^th). The growth rates and their rates of decline during the period from the 22^nd of March till the 18^th of April were calculated and extrapolated in the coming 7 weeks. The predicted hospital needs were assessed against the announced allocated resources.ResultsThe epidemic curve in Egypt is on the ascending arm as of April, 18. The active cases showed exponential growth from the start of the epidemic till April, 18. At the end of this period time, the recovery rate was 23.12% and the case fatality rate (CFR) was7.39. The case fatality rate median level during the last four weeks was 6.64. The active cases are expected to reach more than 20,000 by late May then starts to decline. The allocated regular hospital beds are predicted to show shortage by the time of the release of the paper. The intensive care units (ICU) beds and ventilators are predicted to show insufficiency on May 6.Conclusions: The COVID-19 epidemic in Egypt is expected to continue on the rise for the next few weeks and expected to start to decline late in May, 2020. Our estimates should be useful in preparedness planning. Serious actions should be taken to provide ICU beds and ventilators enough for the predicted number of cases that would need them, not later than the end of April. Mitigation actions have to continue for the coming 6 weeks or until the epidemic situation is more clearly seen.

Preprint CASE REPORT | doi:10.20944/preprints202002.0156.v1

Clinical Reports on Early Diagnosis of Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Pneumonia in Stealth Infected Patients

Yang Zhou, Le Yang, Ming Han, Mingqiang Huang, Xuedong Sun, Weidong Zhen, Junqing Xu, Jinhong Wang, Wei Han

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: 2019-nCoV; Chest CT; Epidemic; Diagnosis

Online: 12 February 2020 (09:14:56 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0262.v1

ACE-1 I/D Polymorphism Associated with COVID-19 Incidence and Mortality: An Ecological Study

Chris Kenyon

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: angiotensin-converting enzyme; I/D polymorphism; ACE; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19 mortality rate; testing intensity

Online: 16 April 2020 (08:04:35 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202007.0181.v1

Insights into the Nigerian COVID19 Outbreak

Chinedu Ugwu, Adewole Adekola, Opeoluwa Adewale Fasoro, Oyebola Oyesola, Jonathan Heeney, Christian Happi

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Nigeria; disease drivers; public health; COVID19

Online: 9 July 2020 (10:49:11 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202005.0285.v1

Clinical, Laboratory, and Radiological Features Indicative of Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Emergency Departments – A Multicentre Case-Control Study in Hong Kong

Rex Pui Kin Lam, Kevin Kei Ching Hung, Eric Ho Yin Lau, Chun Tat Lui, Kin Ling Chan, Chin San Leung, Ion Wa Wong, Kin Wa Wong, Colin A. Graham, Patrick Chiu Yat Woo

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; emergency department; early diagnosis; case-control studies

Online: 17 May 2020 (08:27:12 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201801.0058.v1

A Narrative Review on the Human Health Effects of Ambient Air Pollution in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Urgent Need for Health Effects Studies

Eric Coker, Samuel Kizito

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: ambient air pollution; epidemiology; narrative review; sub-Saharan Africa

Online: 8 January 2018 (09:52:02 CET)

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Preprint COMMUNICATION | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0062.v1

Screening of FDA Approved Drugs Against COVID-19 Main Protease: Coronavirus Disease

Vijayakumar Balakrishnan, Karthik Lakshminarayanan

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; FDA approved drugs; High Throughput Virtual Screening; Sincalide; Pentagastrin.

Online: 6 April 2020 (14:09:04 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202006.0161.v1

Applications of Artificial Intelligence Technologies in COVID-19 Research: A Bibliometric Study

Md Mahbub Hossain, Shah Akib Sarwar, E. Lisako J. McKyer, Ping Ma

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Artificial intelligence; Machine learning; Data mining

Online: 14 June 2020 (03:34:22 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202003.0328.v1

Nations’ Responses and Control Measures in Confrontation with the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak: A Rapid Review

Parinaz Tabari, Mitra Amini, Mohsen Moghadami, Mahsa Moosavi

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; disease management; prevention and control; public health; disease outbreaks

Online: 23 March 2020 (01:49:47 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202002.0378.v2

Clinical, Laboratory and Imaging Features of COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales, Jaime A. Cardona-Ospina, Estefanía Gutiérrez-Ocampo, Rhuvi Villamizar-Peña, Yeimer Holguin-Rivera, Juan Pablo Escalera-Antezana, Lucia Elena Alvarado-Arnez, D. Katterine Bonilla-Aldana, Carlos Franco-Paredes, Andrés F. Henao-Martinez, Alberto Paniz-Mondolfi, Guillermo J. Lagos-Grisales, Eduardo Ramírez-Vallejo, Jose A. Suárez, Lysien I. Zambrano, Wilmer E. Villamil-Gómez, Ali A. Rabaan, Harapan Harapan, Kuldeep Dhama, Hiroshi Nishiura, Hiromitsu Kataoka, Tauseef Ahmad, Ranjit Sah

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Coronavirus Disease 2019; SARS-CoV-2; clinical features; laboratory; outcomes; epidemic.

Online: 2 March 2020 (15:34:49 CET)

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Preprint SHORT NOTE | doi:10.20944/preprints202006.0325.v1

National Health-GIS Portal-A Conceptual Framework for Effective Epidemic Management and Control in India

Vikram Ranga, Padmini Pani, Shruti Kanga, Gowhar Meraj, Majid Farooq, M. S. Nathawat, Suraj Kumar Singh

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: GIS; health Infrastructure; National Portal; COVID-19; Hot-Spot mapping; Accessibility to services

Online: 28 June 2020 (09:00:04 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202001.0364.v2

A Review on the Factors Contributing to 2019-nCoV Virus Outbreaks in Wuhan

Zhong Sun, Thilakavathy Karuppiah, S. Suresh Kumar, Guozhong He

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: 2019-nCoV; SARS-CoV; drought; bat; green light

Online: 4 February 2020 (10:31:47 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202011.0532.v1

COVID-19 Lockdown and Lifestyles – A Narrative Review

Sathyanarayanan Doraiswamy, Sohaila Cheema, Ahmad Al Mulla, Ravinder Mamtani

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: COVID-19; Lifestyle; Diet; Physical activity; Stress; Smoking; Substance; Alcohol; Emotional well-being; Social connectedness

Online: 20 November 2020 (10:03:00 CET)

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Background: While controlling the COVID-19 pandemic has been the primary objective worldwide, its effect on human behavior, altered lifestyles, and in turn, the impact on chronic non-communicable diseases cannot be ignored. Ten months into the pandemic, much-published literature has emerged on altered lifestyles following the lockdown measures imposed by governments all over the world to control the virus spread. Objective: In this narrative review, we explore the impact of lockdown measures on the six lifestyle factors – namely, diet, physical activity, sleep, stress, social connectedness, and the use of tobacco, alcohol, or other harmful substances. Methods: We searched PubMed and the World Health Organization’s global literature database on COVID-19 and included 298 articles. Using a meta-ethnographic approach, we provide an interpretative synthesis of relevant articles. Results: Among the six lifestyle factors, most of the retrieved articles focused on stress, emotional well-being, and physical activity. Fewer articles discussed alterations in dietary habits, sleep patterns, and the use of tobacco, alcohol, and other harmful substances. Most of the articles included in our review identified the negative effect of lockdown measures on each of the lifestyle factors in many parts of the world. Interestingly, encouraging lifestyle trends were also highlighted in a small number of articles included in our review. Such trends can positively influence the outcome of lifestyle-related chronic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. Conclusions: These unprecedented circumstances provide an opportunity to better understand the negative impact of strict lockdown measures on lifestyles, and at the same time, help identify and initiate positive behavioral changes, which if consolidated, may improve chronic disease outcomes in the long run. It would be up to governments, communities, and academia to learn - and benefit from lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic - with the ultimate objective of better educating and promoting healthy lifestyles among communities.

Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0246.v2

Dengue Outbreak is a Global Recurrent Crisis: Review of the Literature

Yusha Araf, Md. Asad Ullah, Nairita Ahsan Faruqui, Sadrina Afrin Mowna, Durdana Hossain Prium, Bishajit Sarkar

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF); Aedes Aegypti; epidemic; pathogenesis; identification; vaccine

Online: 14 May 2020 (08:36:39 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0052.v1

Estimation of Unreported Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Infections from Reported Deaths: a Susceptible Exposed Infectious Recovered Dead Model

Andrea Maugeri, Martina Barchitta, Sebastiano Battiato, Antonella Agodi

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Epidemiology And Infectious Diseases Keywords: novel coronavirus; epidemiology; COVID-19; epidemic model

Online: 6 April 2020 (12:30:42 CEST)

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Medicine and Pharmacology