81. EMERGING VIRUSES

Question 1

1. Define: Emerging Viruses.

Answer 1

• these are viruses that suddenly become apparent

EXAMPLES:
- flu pandemic of 2009
- Covid

Question 2

2. What causes Flu epidemics?

Answer 2

• they are caused by new strains of the influenza virus
• people have little immunity to this

Question 3

3. What has caused the spread of new viral diseases?

Answer 3

• the spread of viruses from animals to humans
• they can cause pandemics

THE VIRAL STRAINS:
- will jump from one species to another
- the highly pathogenic animal virus strain will combine
with the human virus strain
- this will result in a highly pathogenic human strain
- human beings will not have the immunity to protect
themselves against this new strain

Question 4

4. What are pandemics?

Answer 4

• they are global epidemics

Question 5

5. What was the Swine Flu?

Answer 5

• this is the name given to the 2009 Swine Flu
• it was likely passed from pigs to humans

Question 6

6. What happened globally in 1918-1920?

Answer 6

• the 1918 Flu Pandemic
• this was the Spanish Flu

IT KILLED:
- 20 to 100 million people

IT HAD A CASE FATALITY OF:
- 2%

IT WAS CAUSED BY:
- the H1N1 virus

IT HAD A PANDEMIC SEVERITY INDEX OF:
- 5

Question 7

7. What happened globally in 2009-2010?

Answer 7

• the 2009 Flu Pandemic

IT KILLED:
- 18 000 people

IT HAD A CASE FATALITY OF:
- 0.03%

IT WAS CAUSED BY:
- the H1N1 virus

IT HAD A PANDEMIC SEVERITY INDEX OF:
- it was too small to be significant
- this was a result of the Flu Vaccine being developed

Question 8

8. What does SARS-CoV-2 stand for?

Answer 8

• Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2
• it is the 7th Coronavirus that has infected people

Question 9

9. What does the SARS-CoV-2 virus strain cause?

Answer 9

• it causes a respiratory illness
• this is known as CoronaVirus Disease 2019
• COVID-19

Question 10

10. What kind of Virus is the SARS-CoV-2 strain?

Answer 10

• it is an enveloped virus
• it is a Positive Sense Virus
• it runs in the 5’-3’ Orientation
• it is a single stranded RNA virus

Question 11

11. What do viruses such as SARS-CoV (2003),
    MERS (2012), SARS-CoV-2 (2019) result in?

Answer 11

• they cause serious respiratory disease

ANOTHER 4 CORONAVIRUS STRAINS CAUSE:
- common cold symptoms

Question 12

12. Where did Covid-19 originate?

Answer 12

• it originated in China
• in the Hubei Province
• this happened in December 2019

Question 13

13. What is the origin of Covid-19?

Answer 13

• it is a Zoonotic disease
• it was passed from bats to humans
• this happened through the use of an intermediate host

Question 14

14. How does Covid-19 enter the human body?

Answer 14

• it binds to a receptor
• this is called Angiotensin
• it is found in human cells

COVID-19:
- then converts the enzyme 2 (ACE-2)

Question 15

15. What is the current death count due to Covid-19?

Answer 15

• more than 6.87 million deaths

Question 16

16. Why was SARS-CoV-2 given the name
    “Corona Virus”?

Answer 16

• it has a crown like appearance

Question 17

17. What is the life cycle of SARS-CoV-2?

Answer 17

1. ATTACHMENT
   - entry of the viral cells into the host
2. UNCOATING
3. RNA REPLICATION
   - gene expression
4. ASSEMBLY
5. RELEASE
6. MATURATION

Question 18

18. Which antiviral drugs are currently approved to aid with Coronavirus?

Answer 18

1. Remdesivir
2. Molnupravir
3. Nirmatrelvir (Ritonavir)

• they all inhibit Protease
• this is an enzyme found in the Host Cell

Question 19

19. List the common symptoms of Covid-19?

Answer 19

COMMON COLD SYMPTOMS:
- fever
- cough
- fatigue
- shortness of breath
- loss of smell and taste
- loss of appetite
- sputum production
- muscle pains
- joint pains

Question 20

20. What are the complications related with Covid-19?

Answer 20

• pneumonia
• multi-organ failure
• cytokine storm

Question 21

21. How is Covid-19 Transmitted?

Answer 21

• it is an air-borne virus
• it is transmitted through Respiratory Droplets

Question 22

22. How is Covid-19 Diagnosed?

Answer 22

1. REAL-TIME REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION POLYMERASE
   CHAIN REACTIONS (rRT-PCR)L
   - this is a nasopharyngeal swab sample
   - it includes viral particles
   - this helps to detect the viral RNA
2. ANTIGEN TESTS
   - these are rapid tests and self tests
   - the viral antigen is detected from the nasal and
   nasopharyngeal swab

Question 23

23. How do RT-PCR tests work?

Answer 23

THE VIRAL DNA:
- is exposed to Reverse Transcriptase
- this is an enzyme
- it makes copies of the DNA (cDNA)

THE CDNA:
- is exposed to DNA Polymerase
- this is an enzyme
- it produces even more cDNA
- about another 30-40 copies

Question 24

24. What is the function of the PCR?

Answer 24

• it will amplify the viral cDNA
• this makes it produce many more copies
• this is because the viral cDNA is very sensitive to PCR

Question 25

25. How many cases of Covid-19 have been reported to date?

Answer 25

• 689 million

Question 26

26. What is the Case Fatality Rate of Covid-19?

Answer 26

• it is around 1.02%

Question 27

27. Which three categories of drugs treat Covid-19?

Answer 27

1. Anti-viral drugs
2. Anti-inflammatory drugs
3. Neutralising Antibodies

Question 28

28. What are the Anti-Viral drugs that were used to treat Covid-19?

Answer 28

1. REMDESIVIR
   - this is a Viral RNA Polymerase Inhibitor- Nucleoside
   Analogue
   - this drug is used in emergency situations
   - this is when we are dealing with critically ill Covid-19
   patients
   - it was approved in October of 2020
2. MOLNUPIRAVIR
   - this is a Viral RNA Polymerase Inhibitor-Nucleoside
   Analogue
   - it was approved in December of 2021
   - it is used in cases when we cannot use Remdesivir
3. NIRMATRELVIR (RITONAVIR)
   - its market name is Paxlovid
   - it was approved in January of 2022
   - it is a Pfizer Protease Inhibitor

Question 29

29. What are Anti-Inflammatory drugs?

Answer 29

EXAMPLE:
- Dexamethasone

THIS IS A:
- corticosteroid drug
- it serves as an anti-inflammatory
- it serves as an immunosuppressant
- it is used only for patients that require oxygen support

Question 30

30. What are Neutralising Antibodies?

Answer 30

• they are drugs that will mimic the immune system
• they will attack the virus
• they are used for non-hospitalised patients that are at
  high risk
• this was made acceptable in 2022

Question 31

31. What are the different types of Covid-19 vaccines that are approved by the European Union?

Answer 31

1. mRNA VACCINES:
   - Pfizer
   - Moderna
2. VECTOR VACCINES
   - they carry viral genes
   - Johnson and Johnson (Janssen)
3. PROTEIN SUBUNIT VACCINES:
   - Novavax