Fatal Virus Research Articles

Fatal Cowpox Virus Infection in Human Fetus, France, 2017.

Cowpox virus (CPXV) has an animal reservoir and is typically transmitted to humans by contact with infected animals. In 2017, CPXV infection of a pregnant woman in France led to the death of her fetus. Fetal death after maternal orthopoxvirus (smallpox) vaccination has been reported; however, this patient had not been vaccinated. Investigation of the patient’s domestic animals failed to demonstrate prevalence of CPXV infection among them. The patient’s diagnosis was confirmed by identifying CPXV DNA in all fetal and maternal biopsy samples and infectious CPXV in biopsy but not plasma samples. This case of fetal death highlights the risk for complications of orthopoxvirus infection during pregnancy. Among orthopoxviruses, fetal infection has been reported for variola virus and vaccinia virus; our findings suggest that CPXV poses the same threats for infection complications as vaccinia virus.

A Language-independent Network to Analyze the Impact of COVID-19 on the World via Sentiment Analysis

Towards the end of 2019, Wuhan experienced an outbreak of novel coronavirus, which soon spread worldwide, resulting in a deadly pandemic that infected millions of people around the globe. The public health agencies followed many strategies to counter the fatal virus. However, the virus severely affected the lives of the people. In this paper, we study the sentiments of people from the top five worst affected countries by the virus, namely the USA, Brazil, India, Russia, and South Africa. We propose a deep language-independent Multilevel Attention-based Conv-BiGRU network (MACBiG-Net) , which includes embedding layer, word-level encoded attention, and sentence-level encoded attention mechanisms to extract the positive, negative, and neutral sentiments. The network captures the subtle cues in a document by focusing on the local characteristics of text along with the past and future context information for the sentiment classification. We further develop a COVID-19 Sentiment Dataset by crawling the tweets from Twitter and applying topic modeling to extract the hidden thematic structure of the document. The classification results demonstrate that the proposed model achieves an accuracy of 85%, which is higher than other well-known algorithms for sentiment classification. The findings show that the topics which evoked positive sentiments were related to frontline workers, entertainment, motivation, and spending quality time with family. The negative sentiments were related to socio-economic factors like racial injustice, unemployment rates, fake news, and deaths. Finally, this study provides feedback to the government and health professionals to handle future outbreaks and highlight future research directions for scientists and researchers.

Molecular docking studies of Indian variants of pathophysiological proteins of SARS-CoV-2 with selected drug candidates

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has recently made the entire world come to a standstill. The number of cases in the world, especially India, have been increasing exponentially. The need of the hour is to assimilate as much data as possible to fast track the pipeline of bringing in new therapeutic tools against this fatal virus. In this brief communication, we aim to throw light on the various variants of the proteins involved heavily in the pathophysiology of COVID-19, namely Spike protein, ACE2, GRP78, TMPRSS2 and NSP-12. We also portray the molecular docking studies of these proteins with specific drugs that are currently being associated with the same. In our brief study, we come across a few key findings. First of all the combinations of the variants of spike protein and ACE2 binding show overall 25% unfavourable ΔΔG. Second, NSP12 is the most mutation prone among all the NSPs of the SARS-CoV-2 genome and the most common mutations are P323L and A97V. Third, we discovered the variants found in the Indian subpopulation that have greater binding with the currently investigated drugs.

Study on Convolutional Neural Network to Detect COVID-19 from Chest X-Rays

The world is facing a pandemic due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), named as per the World Health Organization. COVID-19 is caused by the virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was initially discovered in late December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Later, the virus had spread throughout the world within a few months. COVID-19 has become a global health crisis because millions of people worldwide are affected by this fatal virus. Fever, dry cough, and gastrointestinal problems are the most common signs of COVID-19. The disease is highly contagious, and affected people can easily spread the virus to those with whom they have close contact. Thus, contact tracing is a suitable solution to prevent the virus from spreading. The method of identifying all persons with whom a COVID-19-affected patient has come into contact in the last 2 weeks is called contact tracing. This study presents an investigation of a convolutional neural network (CNN), which makes the test faster and more reliable, to detect COVID-19 from chest X-ray (CXR) images. Because there are many studies in this field, the designed model focuses on increasing the accuracy level and uses a transfer learning approach and a custom model. Pretrained deep CNN models, such as VGG16, InceptionV3, MobileNetV2, and ResNet50, have been used for deep feature extraction. The performance measurement in this study was based on classification accuracy. The results of this study indicate that deep learning can recognize SARS-CoV-2 from CXR images. The designed model provided 93% accuracy and 98% validation accuracy, and the pretrained customized models such as MobileNetV2 obtained 97% accuracy, InceptionV3 obtained 98%, and VGG16 obtained 98% accuracy, respectively. Among these models, InceptionV3 has recorded the highest accuracy.

COVAGAL HYPOTHESIS : THE CONNECTION BETWEEN COVID AND VAGUS .

The Coronavirus SARS CoV2 is a part of Coronaviridae family. The virus has overwhelmed the entire world with millions of deaths being reported each day. New variants of the virus are causing havoc in almost all parts of the world. India is witnessing a second wave of this pandemic in 2021. Scrutinizing and correlating data from over thousands of studies, the authors have conceptualized a basic pathophysiology and natural course of the disease. The authors propose a novel understanding of the disease, its epidemiology, symptoms and a targeted treatment protocol for the fatal virus. We shall be referring the SARS CoV2 variant of 2021 causing second wave of pandemic in India as the Rhabid Covid Virus (RCV) for better understanding of our hypothesis. The RCV is a single stranded RNA virus similar to the Rhabdovirus. The Rhabdovirus has neurovirulent action and the human coronaviruses have neuroinvasive properties. The RCV has both neurovirulent and neuroinvasive properties. We have hypothesised that vagus nerve is the main nerve affected by RCV. The symptoms that follow conform to the stages of injury, degeneration and regeneration of vagus nerve along with stages of myelin clearance. Based on our hypothesis, we have classied this disease into three stages. We have also introduced a new treatment protocol contingent on the stage of the disease presented.Our aim behind this hypothesis is to encourage clinical trials based on our protocol such that new and effective targeted treatment can be introduced against this deadly virus.

Challenges and Strategies for Pakistan in the Third Wave of COVID-19: A Mini Review.

The world is currently gripped by the fear of the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The causative agent of COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that attacks humans without prejudice, and primarily targets the respiratory system. Pakistan is a developing country with a large population and a weak economy. Currently, it is facing a major challenge to cope with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the third wave. This fatal virus has increased its presence many folds in Pakistan. On average, 100 deaths per day were being recorded in the late spring of 2021. Delay in the acquisition of vaccine has slowed down the vaccination program for this disease. This in turn will accelerate the spreading of virus, and thus will lead to a lockdown situation.

Investigation of fatal human Borna disease virus 1 encephalitis outside the previously known area for human cases, Brandenburg, Germany \u2013 a case report

BackgroundThe true burden and geographical distribution of human Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) encephalitis is unknown. All detected cases so far have been recorded in Bavaria, southern Germany.Case presentationA retrospective laboratory and epidemiological investigation of a 2017 case of fatal encephalitis in a farmer in Brandenburg, northeast Germany, demonstrated BoDV-1 as causative agent by polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. Next-generation sequencing showed that the virus belonged to a cluster not known to be endemic in Brandenburg. The investigation was triggered by a recent outbreak of animal Borna disease in the region. Multiple possible exposures were identified. The next-of-kin were seronegative.ConclusionsThe investigation highlights clinical awareness for human BoDV-1 encephalitis which should be extended to all areas endemic for animal Borna disease. All previously diagnosed human cases had occurred > 350 km further south. Further testing of shrews and livestock with Borna disease may show whether this BoDV-1 cluster is additionally endemic in the northwest of Brandenburg.

The impact of artificial intelligence and digital style on industry and energy post-COVID-19 pandemic.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus caused crises in social, economic, and energy areas and medical life worldwide throughout 2020. This crisis had many direct and indirect effects on all areas of society. In the meantime, the digital and artificial intelligence industry can be used as a professional assistant to manage and control the outbreak of the virus. The present article’s objective is to investigate the effects of COVID-19 on each of the various fields of medicine, industry, and energy. What sets this article apart is studying the impact of artificial intelligence and digital style on reducing the damage of this fatal virus. Energy and related industries are of the areas affected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The most exciting approach in this article is to encourage countries with economies based on non-renewable energy to develop solar and wind energies. Renewable energies can operate well in the event of another phenomenon such as COVID-19 and reduce the virus’s destructive effects and lead to economic prosperity.

Mustard surgery three months after a COVID-19 infection: A case report

Introduction: This past year, on a global scale, since 2019, public health warnings have gone off because of the recent epidemiological crisis set of the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic holds responsibility for millions of infections, manifesting broadly in its clinical presentation, which ranges from asymptomatic carriers to respiratory failure, myocardial pathology and death; increasing the rates of hospitalization. Pediatric patients are at high risk of contracting the disease including those with congenital cardiomyopathy that are in need of surgical intervention in order to survive. Objective: Show that there exists an opportunity for elective surgical treatment and short term and medium term recovery in these patients in spite of respiratory and cardiovascular sequelae. Case presentation of an eleven-month infant diagnosed with Transposition of the Great Vessels, who after three months of idleness for having tested positive for COVID-19, received definitive surgical care for the initial diagnosis. Results: The perioperative strategy was based in the probable sequelae due to the infection. There are not respiratory complications like consequence for the previous lung injury. The auriculoventricular dysfunctional immediate post-operative was related with the surgical technique. Conclusion: A period no less than three months could be offer security for surgery using extracorporeal circulation in pediatric patients who suffered COVID-19. Patient with favorable post-op prognosis resulting from the work of a multi-disciplinary team that met all challenges of the complications inherent in the post-operative period following a complex cardiovascular surgery along with those of a potentially fatal virus.

Identification of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 inhibitors through in silico structure-based virtual screening and molecular interaction studies.

The novel coronavirus Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) or COVID‐19 has caused a worldwide pandemic. The fatal virus has affected the health of human beings as well as the socio‐economic situation all over the world. To date, no concrete medicinal solution has been proposed to combat the viral infection, calling for an urgent, strategic, and cost‐effective drug development approach that may be achievable by applying targeted computational and virtual screening protocols. Immunity is the body's natural defense against disease‐causing pathogens, which can be boosted by consuming plant‐based or natural food products. Active constituents derived from natural sources also scavenge the free radicals and have anti‐inflammatory activities. Herbs and spices have been used for various medicinal purposes. In this study, 2,96 365 natural and synthetic derivatives (ligands) belonging to 102 classes of compounds were obtained from PubChem and assessed on Lipinski's parameters for their potential bioavailability. Out of all the derivatives, 3254 obeyed Lipinski's rule and were virtually screened. The 115 top derivatives were docked against SARS‐CoV‐2, SARS‐CoV, MERS‐CoV, and HCoV‐HKV1 main proteases (Mpros) as receptors using AutoDock Vina, AutoDock, and iGEMDOCK 2.1. The lowest binding energy was exhibited by ligands 2 and 6 against all the four Mpros. The molecular dynamic simulation was also performed with ligand 6 using the GROMACS package. Good bioactivity scores, absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity profile and drug‐like pharmacokinetic parameters were also obtained. Hydroxychloroquine was used as the control drug.

IoT-to-the-Rescue: A Survey of IoT Solutions for COVID-19-Like Pandemics

The atmospheric buoyancy and intangible nature of fatal communicable viruses lead to rapid transmissions among individuals, resulting in global pandemics. Strategic lockdowns and mandatory social distancing are immediate solutions in such scenarios. However, this leads to operational disruptions in education, manufacturing, economy, transportation, governance, and community. Although technological assistance is beneficial in overcoming such issues, the current Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure has limitations. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of the possible IoT-based solutions that have the capacity of combating the COVID-19-like viruses. We highlight the societal impacts due to pandemics and identify the specific lacunae in current IoT solutions. We also provide comprehensive detail on how to overcome the challenges along with directions toward the possible technological trends for future research. Compared to existing reviews, our work offers a holistic view of the cause, effects, and the possible solutions that are existing, along with already existing solutions that can be customized to serve the special needs during the pandemic.

The concomitant effects of self-limiting insect releases and behavioural interference on patterns of coexistence and exclusion of competing mosquitoes.

Aedes aegypti is the dominant vector of dengue, a potentially fatal virus whose incidence has increased eightfold in the last two decades. As dengue has no widely available vaccine, vector control is key to reducing the global public health burden. A promising method is the release of self-limiting Ae. aegypti, which mate with wild Ae. aegypti and produce non-viable offspring. The resultant decrease in Ae. aegypti population size may impact coexistence with Ae. albopictus, another vector of dengue. A behavioural mechanism influencing coexistence between these species is reproductive interference, where incomplete species recognition results in heterospecifics engaging in mating activities. We develop a theoretical framework to investigate the interaction between self-limiting Ae. aegypti releases and reproductive interference between Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus on patterns of coexistence. In the absence of self-limiting Ae. aegypti release, coexistence can occur when the strength of reproductive interference experienced by both species is low. Results show that substantial overflooding with self-limiting Ae. aegypti prevents coexistence. For lower release ratios, as the release ratio increases, coexistence can occur when the strength of reproductive interference is increasingly high for Ae. albopictus and increasingly low for Ae. aegypti. This emphasizes the importance of including behavioural ecological processes into population models to evaluate the efficacy of vector control.

Epidemic manifestation in daniel defoe's a journal of the plague year and COVID 19: A comparative study

Epidemic manifestation in Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year seems to be a guiding picture that shows people how to deal with the current global epidemic. This novel is meant to support a precise chronological sequence of the pace of the development of an epidemic, from the appearance of the first symptoms to the disastrous climax, and then back to ordinary life. The study has aimed at making comparative study about the current epidemic (Covid 19 ) with the epidemic (Bubonic Plague) that is mentioned in Daniel Defoe's novel, as fatal viruses. However, the present study has adopted the descriptive analytical comparative study;where the two epidemics have been comparatively studied. The analysis is focused on clarifying the similarities and differences between the current situation and what happened in the 1665. The researcher has come up with several results, the most important of which are: Bubonic plague and Covid 19 are similar because they have the same effect on the people who are contemporary with them, but the plague is more dangerous health crisis. They are not only regarded as health epidemics, but actual disease that affected societies in all their aspects;religion, economy, political issues, sports, educational systems, etc. People suffers from desperation, pain and sadness. Furthermore, the present study recommends from a literary point of view that history repeats itself and that people should learn from past mistakes to be ready for any kind of disaster. © 2021 Karadeniz Technical University. All rights reserved.

Finding Prediction of Interaction Between SARS-CoV-2 and Human Protein: A Data-Driven Approach

COVID-19 pandemic defined a worldwide health crisis into a humanitarian crisis. Amid this global emergency, human civilization is under enormous strain since no proper therapeutic method is discovered yet. A wave of research effort has been put toward the invention of therapeutics and vaccines against COVID-19. Contrarily, the spread of this fatal virus has already infected millions of people and claimed many lives all over the world. Computational biology can attempt to understand the protein–protein interactions between the viral protein and host protein. Therefore, potential viral–host protein interactions can be identified which is known as crucial information toward the discovery of drugs. In this study, an approach was presented for predicting novel interactions from maximal biclusters. Additionally, the predicted interactions are verified from biological perspectives. For this, a study was conducted on the gene ontology and KEGG-pathway in relation to the newly predicted interactions.

Social Media and The COVID-19 Response: A Case Study of Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) in New Zealand

COVID-19 pandemic is spreading across the globe, causing huge losses to humans and changing people’s lifestyles. New Zealand has also suffered from this fatal virus outbreak. Social media has been used by governments from many countries for communication about COVID-19, but the research on social media used in COVID-19 remains limited. This research aims to study how the leading New Zealand business agency, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), used Facebook to disseminate COVID-19, and how businesses and the public benefitted from it. Facebook posts from MBIE published over two months from March 18, 2020, to May 12, 2020, as well as user reviews were collected and thematically analysed. Before the research was conducted, an Official Information Act request was submitted to MBIE and an approval confirmation was received for using any publicly available information released by MBIE. The findings indicate Facebook was used by MBIE as a comprehensive channel to address COVID-19, as well as being an avenue to interact with businesses and people, and businesses and people benefitted from it in multiple aspects.

Expanding the Differential During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Fatal West Nile Virus Neuroinvasive Disease.

The ever-evolving pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has the potential to drown out other viruses continuing to infect communities. To highlight this, we present 2 cases of fatal West Nile virus neuroinvasive disease that occurred within 2 weeks of each other. Since the first positive case of West Nile virus in the United States, there have been 2 epidemics in the past 2 decades, most often occurring in regions of North Texas and Southern California, which have been areas of high-incidence for COVID-19. It is important for the health care provider to recognize diagnostic biases and maintain broad differentials for the patient presenting with fever and other symptoms associated with COVID-19.

Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Host miRNAs Correlated with Immune Gene Dysregulation during Fatal Disease Progression in the Ebola Virus Cynomolgus Macaque Disease Model.

Ebola virus is a continuing threat to human populations, causing a virulent hemorrhagic fever disease characterized by dysregulation of both the innate and adaptive host immune responses. Severe cases are distinguished by an early, elevated pro-inflammatory response followed by a pronounced lymphopenia with B and T cells unable to mount an effective anti-viral response. The precise mechanisms underlying the dysregulation of the host immune system are poorly understood. In recent years, focus on host-derived miRNAs showed these molecules to play an important role in the host gene regulation arsenal. Here, we describe an investigation of RNA biomarkers in the fatal Ebola virus disease (EVD) cynomolgus macaque model. We monitored both host mRNA and miRNA responses in whole blood longitudinally over the disease course in these non-human primates (NHPs). Analysis of the interactions between these classes of RNAs revealed several miRNA markers significantly correlated with downregulation of genes; specifically, the analysis revealed those involved in dysregulated immune pathways associated with EVD. In particular, we noted strong interactions between the miRNAs hsa-miR-122-5p and hsa-miR-125b-5p with immunological genes regulating both B and T-cell activation. This promising set of biomarkers will be useful in future studies of severe EVD pathogenesis in both NHPs and humans and may serve as potential prognostic targets.

COVID-19 Related Information and Psychological Wellbeing: Mediating Role of Employment Uncertainty Among Pakistani People

In December 2019, the confirmed Coronavirus (COVID-19) patient was initially reported in Wuhan which later spread quickly in other cities of China resulting in severe acute respiratory disorder. This virus is not confined only to China but has affected billions of people living globally. Media has served as an important platform in educating the masses about precautionary measures to be taken by the general public to protect themselves from becoming patients of this fatal virus. Currently, the majority population of the world is getting information through different media platforms. This paper observes the impact of COVID-19 related media coverage role in developing mental problems among the Pakistani people as well as the mediating role of employment uncertainty due to COVID-19 related information. An online questionnaire was circulated to collect data. This study includes 405 respondents using random sampling techniques resided in Lahore. The results explained that most of the people got COVID-19 related information from different media platforms that have developed depression and fear among people. Moreover, this study suggests that government as well as media practitioners should take initiatives to prevent mental health problems, particularly employment certainty developed due to watching COVID-19 related information.

Unique Noncontact Monitoring of Human Respiration and Sweat Evaporation Using a CsPb2Br5-Based Sensor.

Respiration monitoring and human sweat sensing have promising application prospects in personal healthcare data collection, disease diagnostics, and the effective prevention of human-to-human transmission of fatal viruses. Here, we have introduced a unique respiration monitoring and touchless sensing system based on a CsPb2Br5/BaTiO3 humidity-sensing layer operated by water-induced interfacial polarization and prepared using a facile aerosol deposition process. Based on the relationship between sensing ability and layer thickness, the sensing device with a 1.0 μm thick layer was found to exhibit optimal sensing performance, a result of its ideal microstructure. This sensor also exhibits the highest electrical signal variation at 0.5 kHz due to a substantial polarizability difference between high and low humidity. As a result, the CsPb2Br5/BaTiO3 sensing device shows the best signal variation of all types of breath-monitoring devices reported to date when used to monitor sudden changes in respiratory rates in diverse situations. Furthermore, the sensor can effectively detect sweat evaporation when placed 1 cm from the skin, including subtle changes in capacitance caused by finger area and motion, skin moisture, and contact time. This ultrasensitive sensor, with its fast response, provides a potential new sensing platform for the long-term daily monitoring of respiration and sweat evaporation.

COVID-19: Considerations for Children and Families During the Pandemic.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a fatal virus caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a pandemic across the world. Despite early concerns, children appear to be less susceptible to acquiring SARS-CoV-2 and manifest minor clinical symptoms compared with adults. However, there still exists a risk of physical and psychological health problems in children and their families. In this review, we summarize the existing information about the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the epidemiology of COVID-19, and the clinical manifestations, treatments, and further considerations regarding COVID-19 in children.