Related papers: Emerging dominant SARS-CoV-2 variants
Genomic surveillance of infectious diseases allows monitoring circulating and emerging variants and quantifying their epidemic potential. However, due to the high costs associated with genomic sequencing, only a limited number of samples…
In the present article we introduce an epidemiological model for the investigation of the spread of epidemics caused by viruses. The model is applied specifically to COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-Cov-2 virus (aka "novel…
Researchers across the globe are seeking to rapidly repurpose existing drugs or discover new drugs to counter the the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). One promising…
Mechanistic models fit to streaming surveillance data are critical to understanding the transmission dynamics of an outbreak as it unfolds in real-time. However, transmission model parameter estimation can be imprecise, and sometimes even…
SARS-CoV-2 usually evolves at a relatively constant rate over time. Occasionally, however, lineages arise with higher-than-expected numbers of mutations given the date of sampling. Such lineages can arise for a variety of reasons, including…
The outbreak of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 has rapidly spread worldwide and has caused over 1,400,000 infections and 80,000 deaths. There are currently no drugs or vaccines with proven efficacy for its prevention and little knowledge was…
New COVID-19 epidemic strains like Delta and Omicron with increased transmissibility and pathogenicity emerge and spread across the whole world rapidly while causing high mortality during the pandemic period. Early prediction of possible…
RNA virus (e.g., SARS-CoV-2) evolves in a complex manner. Studying RNA virus evolution is vital for understanding molecular evolution and medicine development. Scientists lack, however, general frameworks to characterize the dynamics of RNA…
We used a spatially explicit agent-based model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission combined with spatially fine-grained COVID-19 observation data from Public Health Scotland to investigate the initial rise of the Omicron (BA.1) variant of concern.…
In 2022 new subvariants of Coronavirus appeared in South Africa, and spread rapidly to other parts of the world. The effects of selective evolution on increasing the already high contagiousness of CoV19 up to Omicron were previously…
With the huge spike in the COVID-19 cases across the globe and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test remains a key component for rapid and accurate detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2…
More infectious virus variants can arise from rapid mutations in their proteins, creating new infection waves. These variants can evade one's immune system and infect vaccinated individuals, lowering vaccine efficacy. Hence, to improve…
Since December 2019 the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has been identified as the cause of the pandemic COVID-19. Early symptoms overlap with other common conditions such as common cold and Influenza, making early screening and diagnosis are…
The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a worldwide public health crisis. When the SARS-CoV-2 enters the biological fluids in the human body,…
SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection is mediated by the binding of its spike protein to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which plays a pivotal role in the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). The study of RAS dysregulation due to…
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has created a global race for a cure. One approach focuses on designing a novel variant of the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) that binds more tightly to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and diverts it from…
With the present highly infectious dominant SARS-CoV-2 strain of B1.1.529 or Omicron spreading around the globe, there is concern that the COVID-19 pandemic will not end soon and that it will be a race against time until a more contagious…
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected near 5 million people and led to over 0.3 million deaths. Currently, there is no specific anti-SARS-CoV-2…
Since December 2020, variants of COVID-19 (especially Delta and Omicron) appeared with different characteristics that influenced death and transmissibility emerged around the world. To address the novel dynamics of the disease, we propose a…
After more than 6 million deaths worldwide, the ongoing vaccination to conquer the COVID-19 disease is now competing with the emergence of increasingly contagious mutations, repeatedly supplanting earlier strains. Following the near-absence…