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Review
. 2021 May 3;10(9):1962.
doi: 10.3390/jcm10091962.

SARS-CoV-2-Morphology, Transmission and Diagnosis during Pandemic, Review with Element of Meta-Analysis

Katarzyna Grudlewska-Buda  1 , Natalia Wiktorczyk-Kapischke  1 , Ewa Wałecka-Zacharska  2 , Joanna Kwiecińska-Piróg  1 , Katarzyna Buszko  3 , Kamil Leis  4 , Klaudia Juszczuk  5 , Eugenia Gospodarek-Komkowska  1 , Krzysztof Skowron  1
Affiliations
Review

SARS-CoV-2-Morphology, Transmission and Diagnosis during Pandemic, Review with Element of Meta-Analysis

Katarzyna Grudlewska-Buda et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

The outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Thus far, the virus has killed over 2,782,112 people and infected over 126,842,694 in the world (state 27 March 2021), resulting in a pandemic for humans. Based on the present data, SARS-CoV-2 transmission from animals to humans cannot be excluded. If mutations allowing breaking of the species barrier and enhancing transmissibility occurred, next changes in the SARS-CoV-2 genome, leading to easier spreading and greater pathogenicity, could happen. The environment and saliva might play an important role in virus transmission. Therefore, there is a need for strict regimes in terms of personal hygiene, including hand washing and surface disinfection. The presence of viral RNA is not an equivalent of active viral infection. The positive result of the RT-PCR method may represent either viral residues or infectious virus particles. RNA-based tests should not be used in patients after the decline of disease symptoms to confirm convalescence. It has been proposed to use the test based on viral, sub-genomic mRNA, or serological methods to find the immune response to infection. Vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is still a little-known issue. In our review, we have prepared a meta-analysis of the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from mother to child depending on the type of delivery. Our study indicated that the transmission of the virus from mother to child is rare, and the infection rate is not higher in the case of natural childbirth, breastfeeding, or contact with the mother. We hope that this review and meta-analysis will help to systemize knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 with an emphasis on diagnostic implications and transmission routes, in particular, mother-to-child transmission.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; childbirth; laboratory diagnosis; pandemic; transmission route.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Expression of known and possible receptors for SARS-CoV-2; red color—expression of ACE-2, green color—expression of DPP4, blue color—expression of NRP1.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection of human cells via the interaction of spike glycoprotein, the ACE2 receptor protein, and the CD147 receptor. Genomic structure and proteins encoded by SARS-CoV-2.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Possible transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from human to animals. Natural infection of animals—orange circle, experimental infection of animals—blue circle [116,117,118,119].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Search plot diagram.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Forest plots estimating the odd ratios of infection in vaginal birth and caesarean birth [169,170,171,172,173,174,175,176,177,178,179,180,181,182,183,184,185,186,187,188,189,190,191,192,193,194,195,196,197,198,199,200,201,202,203,204,205,206,207,208,209,210,211,212,213,214,215,216,217,218,219,220,221,222,223,224,225,226,227].
Figure 6
Figure 6
Stages of infection and possibility of using genetic and serological tests.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Types of serological tests based on antibodies used in SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics [263].
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