What do we know of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan? It has been established that certain animals (pangolins, racoon dogs, bats) carry strains very close to SARS-CoV-2. Racoon dogs were sold in Huanan market as well as 3 other live-animal markets in Wuhan (with 11 million inhabitants). Probably through successive infections, this […]

Coronaviruses contain an RNA genome. The enzymes involved in their replication make more errors than those in DNA viruses. For this reason, the more an RNA virus spreads, i.e. multiplies, the more likely it is that variants will emerge. The mutations that have the greatest effect on the virus are those in the spike (S) […]

RNA viruses are a clear threat to world health, regularly causing epidemics: these include the AIDS virus, the flu virus, Dengue fever, Zika, and of course SARS-CoV-2, responsible for COVID-19. Despite the development of vaccines, the virus continues to circulate, leading to the regular emergence of variants. We therefore need effective treatments against current and […]

The 2nd year of the COVID-19 pandemic has been marked by Variants of Concern (VOCs) that have caused more serious epidemic waves than occurred during the 1st year. These include the Alpha (UK), Beta (South African), Delta (Indian) and Gamma (Brazilian) variants, which are more contagious and are able to evade immune responses to a […]

The COVID-19 pandemic is the result of the rapid spread, on a worldwide scale, of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is responsible for COVID-19. By the 22nd of October 2021, more than 242 million people had been infected by the virus and there were more than 5 million deaths. We are living through one of the […]

The state of mental health in a population is difficult to measure. However, it is a significant parameter in times of crisis. But since it is difficult to identify, it tends to be neglected in favour of more easily quantifiable aspects of behaviour. However, Swiss and German researchers did analyse the mental health of the […]

The majority of vaccines against respiratory infections are effective against symptomatic cases, but do not completely block infection. In the case of COVID-19, first results showed that the mRNA vaccines were very effective against symptomatic and asymptomatic infections, as well as against transmission. This news raised hopes that anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines could stop the spread of […]

Several variants of concern (VOCs) of SARS-CoV-2 are more infectious than the original Wuhan strain. It is therefore crucial to understand why in order to develop effective vaccines and other treatments. However, research is limited by the fact that SARS-CoV-2 must be handled in laboratories with level 3 of biosecurity (BSL-3). The majority of work […]

We are still witnessing the emergence of variants. The more the virus is transmitted, the greater the risk. In general, these variants possess a particular advantage: greater transmissibility or some capacity for evasion of immune responses. Variants that have already appeared include the Beta (South African), Gamma (Brazilian) and Alpha (UK): the latter became the […]

Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 has enabled the prevention of numerous cases of COVID-19, and numerous deaths. But this process of mass vaccination takes its toll on health systems since it involves many health professionals. In several countries, vaccination against COVID-19 is given at the same time as vaccination against winter flu. This latter is important since […]