Causes and Inner workings of the SARS-CoV-2

Causes and Inner workings of the SARS-CoV-2

Shi Zhenglis, Chief virologist, Wuhan Institute, China for the first time in 2004 found natural reservoir of corona viruses in bat caves of Southern China. Shi is also recognized world over as "Bat Women". In the last 16 years Shi and her co-workers visited various bat caves in southern subtropical provinces of China. They noted that there is a great risk of corona viruses jumping to humans from animals – particularly bats. Her team has identified SARS-CoV-2 that spread like wild fire across 210 countries all over the world. It is the first emergence of deadly corona virus with pandemic potential.

"Shiton Cave" of Kunming the capital of Yunnan is main cave where, Shi's team worked for five consecutive years on hundreds of bat corona viruses. According to Ralph Baric, University of North Carolina, USA – constant mixing of different viruses creates a great opportunity for dangerous new pathogens to emerge. Multiple viral strains had infected a single animal (bat), for new corona virus COVID-19. During three decades six different bat borne viruses: Hendra, Nipah, Marburg, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and Ebola. But, animal themselves are not the problem. Problem arise when human get in contact with them. Growing human population encroaching on wild life habitats with the use of land for agriculture purpose, wild life and live stock transportation across countries around world, sharp increase in domestic and international flight are the major cause of such viral epidemic. Now pandemics of new viral diseases are near certainty in coming years of 21st century.

Extensive researches in the last one year on Covid-19 disease has open an incredible amount of knowledge regarding inner workings of the novel corona virus. A SARS-CoV-2 virus is about 100 nanometers in diameter. Virus is consist of spherical protein inside a fatty membrane

Extensive researches in the last one year on Covid-19 disease has opened an incredible amount of knowledge regarding the inner workings of the novel coronavirus. A SARS-CoV-2 virus is about 100 nanometers in diameter. The virus consists of spherical protein inside a fatty membrane that is studded with spike proteins. These spikes attach to receptors on human cells and allow the virus to enter. Once inside the cell, the virus hijacks the cellular machinery to replicate itself, creating thousands of copies that then burst out to infect new cells.

Mechanism of Infection

The infection begins when the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 binds to the ACE2 receptor on the surface of a human cell. This interaction triggers the fusion of the viral envelope with the cell membrane, allowing the viral RNA to enter the cell. The RNA is then translated by the host cell's ribosomes to produce viral proteins. These proteins are assembled into new viral particles, which are released from the cell to infect other cells.

Immune Response

The body's immune response to SARS-CoV-2 involves both the innate and adaptive immune systems. The innate immune system responds quickly to the infection by recognizing viral components and producing interferons that inhibit viral replication. The adaptive immune system, which takes longer to respond, generates specific antibodies that target the virus and cytotoxic T cells that destroy infected cells.

Vaccines and Treatments

The development of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 has focused on inducing an immune response against the spike protein, preventing the virus from entering human cells. mRNA vaccines, such as those developed by Pfizer and Moderna, use a small piece of the virus's mRNA to instruct cells to produce the spike protein, which then triggers an immune response. Other vaccines, like those from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, use a viral vector to deliver the spike protein gene into cells.

In addition to vaccines, treatments for COVID-19 include antiviral drugs that target various stages of the viral life cycle, as well as monoclonal antibodies that neutralize the virus by binding to its spike protein. Dexamethasone, a corticosteroid, has also been found to reduce mortality in severe cases of COVID-19 by dampening the excessive immune response known as a cytokine storm.