Advances in SARS-CoV-2 Infection—Third Edition

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is a continuation of our previous Special Issue, “Advances in SARS-CoV-2 Infection”.

More than a year has passed since the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 entered our lives, causing worldwide grief and economic devastation in the form of COVID-19. The virus made a species jump (spillover) from an animal (bat) to man, and, in a short time through sequential waves, has caused an uncontrolled epidemic that has resulted in 295 million cases worldwide and almost 6 million deaths to date—an apocalyptic scenario caused by a highly contagious disease, which sees governments and experts of all medical disciplines committed to facing a common enemy that continues to claim thousands of victims around the world.

COVID-19 is multifaceted, with a variety of clinical expressions from mild or moderate symptoms that generally heal without the need for any treatment to more severe and devastating effects, especially in unvaccinated patients over 60 or those who are frail or have other coexisting diseases. It can also seriously affect children, in whom the virus can cause a deadly disease: multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), which is particularly perilous to the pediatric age group. Moreover, long COVID syndrome is becoming increasingly recognized as a new clinical entity in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

In the therapeutic field, there is still no definitive curative drug; however, monoclonal antibodies are available and new antivirals will soon be commercialized. Several currently available vaccines were manufactured in just 18 months, a unique event in the history of highly prevalent infectious diseases that have plagued humanity. The positive effects of the vaccination campaign are being seen in many parts of the world, with a reduction in admissions to intensive care units and overall mortality. However, the disappearance of this new infection is still far from being a reality, as it is also threatened by the presence of numerous viral variants that could compromise the efficacy of the vaccine, especially when there are segments of the population not yet immunized.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to focus on the main biological, epidemiological, and clinical aspects of the virus, but, above all, on therapeutic and preventive aspects in light of newly acquired knowledge.

Prof. Dr. Carlo Contini
Guest Editor

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• SARS-CoV-2
• COVID-19
• spillover
• epidemiology and pathogenesis
• clinical presentation
• advanced diagnosis
• therapeutics
• vaccines
• variants
• long-COVID syndrome
• opportunistic infections
• multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C)