COVID-19 & other Diseases

**** 1992 "Rhizopus species vary markedly in their sensitivity to chemicals: for example DCNA (dichloran, Botran ) controls R. stolonifer but is not effective against R. circinans and R. arrhizus ." "Solutions containing chlorine dioxide and ozone have been less effective than chlorinated water. With both of these chemicals, concentrations over 2 fil^l are difficult to establish and maintain. Furthermore, the release of chlorine and ozone, both highly toxic to humans, makes the use of these materials in enclosed packing sheds questionable. Currently, chlorine dioxide in foam for sterilisation of packing house equipment shows promise." "In the preparation ofchlorine water, the pH of the solution determines the concen-tration of the hypochlorous acid (active ingredient) with aneutral or slightly basic solution preferred. Acidic chlorinesolutions have a tendency to release chlorine gas, and basicsolutions are less effective as the concentration of hypochlor-ous acid is reduced."

As the COVID-19 pandemic has developed, concern for invasive fungal infections in critically ill COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syn… "bronchoalveolar lavage or serum is supported by expert groups in Europe pending further research [8]. Experience with empirical or directed use of antifungal agents in the setting of COVID-19 is required, particularly in regards to efficacy, duration of treatment and possible adverse drug reactions in the setting of hepatotoxicity (a not uncommon feature of severe COVID-19), renal compromise, renal dialysis, arrhythmias, and electrolyte imbalance. Drug interactions with concurrent critical care agents or new or proposed COVID-19 specific therapies may influence the choice of an antifungal agent."

{Includes causative organisms and prevalence}

"increasingly reported as complication of severe COVID-19. Despite the marked immune dysregulation in COVID-19, no prominent defects have been reported in immune cells that are critically required for immunity to Candida. This suggests that relevant clinical factors, including prolonged ICU stays, use of central venous catheters and often broad-spectrum antibiotics may dominate over immune-mediated mechanisms... Echinocandins and azoles are the primary antifungal used to treat invasive candidiasis, yet therapeutic failures exerted by prominent nosocomial pathogens such as C. auris and C. glabrata calls for the development of new antifungal drugs with novel mechanisms of action." "non-albicans Candida (NAC) species, with intrinsic resistance to antifungals and/or with a propensity to rapidly acquire antifungal resistance [12]. More troubling is the recent emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Candida species, including C. glabrata and C. auris [13][14][15][16], the increasing trend of fluconazole-resistant C. parapsilosis and C. tropicalis [13][17], and inherently resistant C. krusei, which notoriously affect the efficacy of antifungal treatment."

Lv et al. associate the gut mycobiota with clinical features and the bacterial microbiota by comparing COVID-19 patients to those infected with H1N1 and healthy controls. They find that gut mycobiota dysbiosis occurs in both COVID-19 patients and those infected with H1N1 and that it does not improve until patients no longer require medical attention, providing insights into a better healthcare guideline.

****** Recently published articles from Medical Mycology Case Reports.

Mucormycosis is an opportunistic, uncommon and serious systemic fungal infection mostly presenting in immunocompromised patients. The combination of surgical debridement, parenteral therapy with Amphotericin B and management of the underlying systemic ...

"This genome analysis revealed 773 truncated, discontiguous and absent genes in the NRRL3631 strain. We also examined phenotypic traits resulting in reduced heat stress tolerance, chitosan content and lower susceptibility to toxic compounds (calcofluor white and sodium dodecyl sulphate) in the virulent strain, suggesting the influence of cell wall on pathogenesis. Based on these results, we focused on studying extracellular protein-coding genes by gene deletion and further pathotype characterization of mutants in murine models of pulmonary and systemic infection. Deletion of gene ID112092, which codes for a hypothetical extracellular protein of unknown function, resulted in significant reduction of virulence. Although pathogenesis is a multifactorial process, these findings highlight the crucial role of surface and secreted proteins"

{Links to several papers on mucormycosis}

Doctors say India's battle with COVID-19 has led to an unprecedented rise in mucormycosis, a rare but dangerous fungal infection that preys on people with weakened immune systems.

" This article considers reasons why studies of mold exposure after the hurricane do not show a greater health impact."

At midnight on April 17, as a deadly new wave of the coronavirus overwhelmed India, Mumbai’s Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal learned that six hospitals in his city would run out of oxygen within hours -- putting the lives of 168 patients at risk.

Rhinocerebral mucormycosis is a life-threatening infection caused by saprophytic fungi seen almost exclusively in immunocompromised patients.The objec…

OVERVIEW: What every clinician needs to know Pathogen name and classification Mucormycosis is a general term for infections caused by a group of filamentous fungi belonging to the class Glomeromycetes, which because of recent taxonomic reclassification has replaced the former class name Zygomycetes.

Information on risk of fungal diseases in patients with severe COVID-19; information about fungal co-infection with COVID-19.

Although considered to be a rare infection, mucormycosis (zygomycosis) has emerged as the second most common invasive mould infection. Despite the advent of newer antifungal agents, mortality rate of...

2020 "COVID-19 patients, especially severely ill or immunocompromised, have a higher probability of suffering from invasive mycoses. Aspergillus and Candida infections in COVID-19 patients will require early detection by a comprehensive diagnostic intervention (histopathology, direct microscopic examination, culture, (1,3)-β-d-glucan, galactomannan, and PCR-based assays) to ensure effective treatments. We suggest it is prudent to assess the risk factors, the types of invasive mycosis, the strengths and limitations of diagnostic methods, clinical settings, and the need for standard or individualized treatment in COVID-19 patients. We provide a clinical flow diagram to assist the clinicians and laboratory experts in the management of aspergillosis, candidiasis, mucormycosis, or cryptococcosis as co-morbidities in COVID-19 patients."

The majority of opportunistic oral mucosal fungal infections are due to Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus species. Mucor and Cryptococcus also have a major role in causing oral infections, whereas Geotrichum, Fusarium, Rhodotorula, Saccharomyces ...

2004. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) [**** Not the same as SARS-CoV-2] synthesizes several putative viral envelope proteins, including the spike (S), membrane (M), and small envelope (E) glycoproteins. Although these proteins likely are essential for viral replication, ...

Research team at Nankai University finds the new virus SARS-CoV-2 has mutated gene similar to those found in HIV and Ebola which makes it is far more likely to bond to human cells than Sars.The mutation could not be found in Sars, Mers or Bat-CoVRaTG13, the bat coronavirus that was considered to be the original […]

Instructions: search for your need type (e.g. plasma, oxygen, beds, food…) and for cities refer to “locations” column.

Background. Health care workers continued to contract severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), even after barrier precautions were widely implemented

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a life-threatening disease caused by a novel coronavirus termed SARS-CoV. Due to the severity of this dise…

**** {Effects of Prilosec/omeprazole} "the pH of normal gastric acid is generally between 1.5 and 3.5. The SARS-CoV-1 virus is inactivated at a pH  12.0 [5]. Assuming these inactivation levels are similar for SARS-CoV-2, gastric acid will not inhibit all the viruses in the stomach (and some viruses will be hidden in food boluses). However, the inhibition that does occur may be enough to decrease the viral load entering the small intestine. In many older adults, the gastric acid pH is higher than normal, either because of atrophic gastritis or because of antacid and acid-reducing medications. One oral dose of a proton pump inhibitor raises the gastric acid pH from 2.0 to over 6.0, which will not inhibit the virus" "abdominal pain was associated with a near fourfold increased odds of severe disease," "many intubated patients are given acid-reducing drugs and gastrointestinal feeding may be continuous rather than intermittent. Such factors could result in a gastric pH of around 4.0 or 5.0. This would not inactivate these viruses, which might then pass into the small intestine where the relevant ACE2 receptors are abundant."

Hydrochloric acid or HCl is made in the stomach. It can be a very helpful chemical. Too much or too little acid or HCl in the wrong place can cause problems, however.

*****!!!!*****!!!!***** 2020 July "What scientists know about the inner workings of the pathogen that has infected the world."

Correspondence from The New England Journal of Medicine — Aerosol and Surface Stability of SARS-CoV-2 as Compared with SARS-CoV-1