ESAI VANI C

Abstract: The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China beginning in December 2019. This epidemic had spread to 200 countries/territories with 2,471,930 confirmed cases, including 170,129 deaths, as of April 21, 2020. The World Health Organization declared it as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. This study analyzed and discussed the epidemiology, transmission, symptoms, treatment and prevention of knowledge surrounding COVID-19 based on the current published evidence for a better understanding of the control of this virus. The reported symptoms include fever, cough, fatigue, pneumonia, headache, diarrhoea, haemoptysis, and dyspnea. Preventive measures such as masks, hand hygiene practices, avoidance of public contact, case detection, contact tracing, and quarantines are being recommended for reducing the transmission. To date, no specific antiviral treatment is proven effective; hence, infected people primarily rely on symptomatic treatment and supportive care. This review in the hope of helping the public effectively recognize and deal with the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), and providing a reference for future studies.

Development of microbial resistance to various existing antimicrobial drugs has become a serious public health concern and the search for new classes of antimicrobial agents is a challenging task. The antimicrobial activity of the coelomic fluid (CF) obtained from Eudrilus eugeniae was investigated against five bacterial strains as well as four fungal strains using disc diffusion method to verify its claimed pharmaceutical use in the treatment of many infections. 75µl of coelomic fluid exhibited strongest antibacterial activity against Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Klebsiella pneumoniae, and antifungal activity against Candida albicans. This inhibitory effect of CF was compared with the commercial antibiotics like Ciprofloxacin and Fluconazole. For the antimicrobial screening, five species of bacterial isolate and four species of fungal isolates were selected. The bacterial cultures were used for antimicrobial testing maintained on nutrient agar slant and the fungal strains were maintained on Sabouraud dextrose agar slant at 4oC. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined using micro dilution broth method. The MIC results indicated that CF at a dose of 200µl for bacteria and 100µl for fungi was found to be minimum concentration to inhibit the growth of selected pathogenic bacteria and fungi. The results of the present investigation indicates that the CF of E.eugeniae has a significant capacity of antibacterial and antifungal activities, which makes them interesting for screening CF of E.eugeniae as natural product.