SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, is highly transmissible, with nasal passages being the target of original infection. The nasal passage also shows the highest expression of ACE2, a protein that has been widely linked with increased susceptibility to COVID-19. Now, scientists from Japan have found that nasal inflammation can influence susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2. They also identified the use of short chain fatty acids as a potential COVID-19 management strategy.
Humans are no stranger to coronavirus (CoV) pandemics. Just like SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), another member of the coronavirus family — SARS-CoV — caused the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic across parts of Asia in 2003. But, its spread was contained way faster than COVID-19. So, what makes SARS-CoV-2 so contagious?
Both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 viruses bear…
