A Likely Cure For SARS-Covid-19

A FOUR YEAR LIAMA ANTIBODIES LIKELY TO BE A CURE FOR COVID-19.

Researchers say antibodies produced by a four-year-old Belgian llama has shown early promise in laboratory tests by blocking COVID-19 from invading and infecting cells.

The research was conducted by a 16-man team of scientists drawn variously from the United States, Belgium, Germany and Lebanon.

In a paper titled, Structural Basis for Potent Neutralization of Betacoronaviruses by Single-Domain Camelid Antibodies and published Tuesday in the journal Cell, the scientists said they had identified “neutralising cross-reactive single-domain camelid antibodies, which may serve not only as useful reagents for researchers studying the viruses causing MERS, SARS, and COVID-19, but also potential therapeutic candidates.”

The scientists said the antibodies, harvested from the blood of a four-year-old llama named Winter, were deployed in the engineering of a new antibody that binds to the spiky proteins that stud the surface of the novel coronavirus, “neutralising” its insidious effect.

They note that coronaviruses make use of a large envelope protein called spike (S) to engage host cell receptors and catalyze membrane fusion.

“Because of the vital role that these S proteins play, they represent a vulnerable target for the development of therapeutics.

“Here, we describe the isolation of single-domain antibodies (VHHs) from a llama immunised with prefusion-stabilised coronavirus spikes.

“These VHHs neutralize MERS-CoV or SARSCoV-1 S pseudotyped viruses, respectively.

“Crystal structures of these VHHs bound to their respective viral targets reveal two distinct epitopes, but both VHHs interfere with receptor binding.

“We also show cross-reactivity between the SARS-CoV-1 S-directed VHH and SARS-CoV-2 S and demonstrate that this cross-reactive VHH neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 S pseudotyped viruses as a bivalent human IgG Fc-fusion.

“These data provide a molecular basis for the neutralization of pathogenic betacoronaviruses by VHHs and suggest that these molecules may serve as useful therapeutics during coronavirus outbreaks,” the scientists added.

The study is in its preliminary stage, but the researchers believe that it points to a possible treatment for the ravaging COVID-19 global pandemic if the results hold up in animal and human studies.

Winter’s antibodies are considered a niche kind generally referred to as nanobodies, and are much sought after by researchers because of their ability to get into nooks and crannies and also because they are slow to degrade in the body.

Late April, some governments had suggested that the detection of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 [the virus that causes COVID-19] could serve as the basis for an ‘immunity passport’ or ‘risk-free certificate’ that would enable individuals to travel or to return to work, assuming that they are protected against re-infection.

However, the World Health Organisation had warned that there was no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection.

It said, “WHO continues to review the evidence on antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection.2-17 Most of these studies show that people who have recovered from infection have antibodies to the virus.

“However, some of these people have very low levels of neutralizing antibodies in their blood,4 suggesting that cellular immunity may also be critical for recovery.

“As of 24, April, 2020, no study has evaluated whether the presence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 confers immunity to subsequent infection by this virus in humans.”

In the animal antibody study, however, one of the co-authors and graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, Daniel Wrapp, said Winter’s blood was enlisted as far back as 2016 when researchers immunised her with spike proteins from MERS and SARS.

“Then they drew her blood and isolated antibodies, one of which showed potential for neutralising MERS, and another of which neutralised SARS,” Wrapp said.

He added that researchers had been trying to develop a universal vaccine for human coronaviruses, four of which are common and cause cold-like symptoms.

“While the researchers were hoping to find a single antibody that could target all the coronaviruses, the consolation prize was finding two that showed promise against MERS and SARS,” Washington Post quoted Wrapp as saying.

“We were writing up what we’d learned from Winter when the novel coronavirus emerged.

“We quickly got to work. Soon, we found that a new antibody — which we created by linking two copies of the llama antibody that had hindered the original SARS — was able to bind to and neutralise the novel coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2.

“If the small antibodies work in humans, their stability means they possibly could be delivered as treatment via an inhaler.

“Larger monoclonal antibodies must be administered by injection,” he said.

Dangers of Dog meat Consumption

The Dangers of Dog Meat Consumption.

In parts of southern Nigerian, dog meat is a widely consumed delicacy. In recent times we have recorded a number of cases of rabies associated with bites and scratches from such dogs bought for consumption. Below are reasons why dog meat might be injurious to your health;

1. Rabies

One of the largest dangers of dog meat is the spread of rabies to both animals and people. In the Philippines, approximately 10,000 dogs and 300 people are killed by rabies each year. Despite efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) to mass vaccinate dogs to prevent the spread of rabies through the processes of sourcing, slaughter, and sale of dogs, the dog meat trade moves tens of thousands of dogs across international borders making rabies prevention enormously difficult.

Workers can easily be infected with rabies during slaughter and spread the disease to other dogs and humans alike. In 2008, 20 percent of dogs in slaughterhouses in Hoai Duc, Vietnam were found to have rabies. The previous year, Vietnam suffered from a rabies outbreak with approximately 30 percent of the deaths attributable to the slaughter of dogs for meat. According to the Center for Disease Control’s records, only 10 people have ever survived this horrific disease. This is clearly a major concern when such a dangerous and deadly disease can be so easily spread.

2. Other Diseases

There are many other diseases and infections associated with dog meat that can endanger human health. The regional director of the Philippines National Meat Inspection Commission admitted that they do not inspect dog meat. Unfortunately, this is also the trend in China, according to Qin Xiaona, President of the Capital Animal Welfare Association.

Possible infections include parasites such as E. Coli 107 and salmonella. There is also a danger that bacterial infections like anthrax, brucellosis, hepatitis, and leptospirosis can be spread through the meat to people.