Devyani Goswami, Amity University Kolkata
It is about a year now that the SARS-CoV-2 has disturbed and changed the daily lifestyle of people all over the world. A vaccine against this virus is what we are hoping for, but that too comes with a drawback that it won’t be able to provide a long-term immunity as it is expected from it. It is not the first time that we are experiencing a coronavirus outbreak; 2002, 2004, 2012, 2015, 2018 had reported outbreaks of coronavirus.
Coronavirus disease is a seasonal disease, occurring mainly in winter months and affecting the temperate regions (severity might be less in the tropical regions). Researchers have majorly focused on the strains of human infecting coronaviruses which are known for producing common cold-like symptoms, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-HKU1, HCoV-229E and HCoV-NL63 for the last 35 years and concluded that a long-term immunity is unlikely to achieve.
Researchers analyzed 513 samples collected since the 1980s from 10 healthy males in Amsterdam and noticed several spikes of proteins attached to the coronavirus. These spikes were interpreted to be as reinfection and studying all the strains of human infecting coronavirus, found 3-17 infections per patient. Reinfection cases showed up as early as six months to one year after the first infection. Samples were collected in an interval of every six months, as some coronavirus infections are asymptomatic.
It is not yet confirmed whether SARS-CoV-2 follows the same features, although there are cases of reinfection. Researchers believe that like other strains, SARS-CoV-2 might be more prevalent in the winter. As in the study, the months of July, August, September showed lower rate of infection than in the months of winter in Amsterdam. Although more studies are required on this topic.
It is already the beginning of the autumn, what the future holds for us is totally unknown. Whether the vaccine would be able to provide a complete immunity remains in dark. Following the precautions is what we can do for now and lower the percentage of transmission.
Also read: Organic Pesticides- a boon or a bane?
REFERENCE: 35 Years of research into coronavirus infection show long-term immunity is unlikely – Carly Cassella
Climate change and Antibiotic resistance development
Soumya Sarathi Ganguly, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur Bacterial infections leading to diseases or in many of the times increasing the severity of another disease are one of the most common issues faced by human beings. Increased resistance against mostly used antibiotics (drugs) is presently the biggest concern for healthcare professionals and the general public. […]