Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19): Different Models and Treatment Strategies

With the emergence of new coronavirus variants, epidemiology, host tropism presents an opportunity for a thorough analysis of their evolution and acquired adaptability to their host. These studies require different animal models and treatment approaches. No studies are complete without animal models closely related to human physiology to replicate the disease and observe the pathological conditions for comparison to human cases. Such animal models play a vital role in virus pathogenesis and prepare a therapeutic immune response in the organism studied. This volume focuses on two aspects of COVID-19 infection: Models for SARS-CoV-2 infection and Treatment Strategies for SARS-CoV-2 infection, respectively. Chapters in the first part describe bio-engineered transgenic mouse models with specific genes (including models created with CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tools used previously for SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV), cell culture lines for COVID-19 studies and the histopathology of COVID-19. The section also includes a chapter covering essential proteins that up or down-regulate SARS-CoV-2 multiplication. The last chapter of this part describes other diseases having similar signs and symptoms and their differential diagnosis. The next section covers different treatment strategies for COVID-19. There is no specific treatment available to date, just symptomatic therapy. However, scientists have been testing antiviral drugs in clinical trials, phytochemicals, photomedicine such as UV A&B light, homemade remedies, blood plasma transfusion, stem cell therapy, and computational approaches in both in vivo and in vitro trials. This book serves as an ideal resource on these aspects of COVID-19 for academicians, scientists, and health professionals.