COVID-19 belongs to a previously known family of coronaviruses including the common cold, MERS-CoV (middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus), and SARS-CoV (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus). These Coronaviruses are mostly found in different animals i.e. Bats or rats. When such animals came into contact with humans, they make entry to the human body. All the members of this family, cause illness to the respiratory tract of host, and in severe cases, this illness becomes the reason of death for individuals. It is said that the initial spread of this virus was from the “wet market” in Wuhan, China. The wet market is a marketplace with the selling of living animals like cats, rats, bats, and dogs. According to different researchers, COVID-19 is a mutated form of previously present animal coronaviruses, especially SARS-CoV, and then transferred to humans from this wet market.
The newly evolved, Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV 2), commonly named as COVID-19, was 1st time reported on 31 December 2019 to the world health organization and on 11 March 2020, this COVID-19 was declared as a global pandemic. Because the spread of this virus was very quick. When an infected person sneezes or coughs, the expelled water droplets (filled with coronaviruses) fall to the next person, this coronavirus somehow inters into its internal body, as a result, he too becomes infected. The infected person shows symptoms after a few days. The most common symptoms for Covid-19 Infection are dry coughs, fever, difficulty in breathing, and pain in the chest region.
As of writing this, more than 14.3 million cases of COVID-19 are confirmed from more than 200 countries. Because this virus is newly evolved, there is no vaccine yet present to treat or prevent this disease. Since the global inception of COVID-19, different countries are in the race for making its vaccine. For vaccine preparations, different health organizations are using neutralizing antibody test. These COVID-19 neutralizing antibody tests help to monitor antibody levels after vaccination and assist in plasma therapy for COVID-19. Theses neutralization assays work on a very basic principle. Because viruses try to take over the host DNA replication machinery and replicate its viral proteins. These Virus neutralization assays have the capability to stop the replications of the virus because they have the antibodies that can inhibit the viral replications. The most interesting and beneficial fact about these viruses is that they only detect the specific antigen that a particular virus is producing. For example, if we run a neutralization assay for COVID-19 it will only detect the antigen of this particular coronavirus. Over the years for different diseases, health industries are using different neutralization antibody assays to prevent or mild those infectious bodies.
Noman Ahmad Writes 