Six months after the publication of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequence, a record number of vaccine candidates were listed, and quite a number of them have since been approved for emergency use against the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This unprecedented pharmaceutical feat did not only show commitment, creativity and collaboration of the scientific community, but also provided a swift solution that prevented global healthcare system breakdown. Notwithstanding, the available data show that most of the approved COVID-19 vaccines protect only a proportion of recipients against severe disease but do not prevent clinical manifestation of COVID-19. There is therefore the need to probe further to establish whether these vaccines can induce sterilizing immunity, otherwise, COVID-19 vaccination would have to become a regular phenomenon. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants could further affect the capability of the available COVID-19 vaccines to prevent infection and protect recipients from a severe form of the disease. These notwithstanding, data about which vaccine(s), if any, can confer sterilizing immunity are unavailable. Here, we discuss the immune responses to viral infection with emphasis on COVID-19, and the specific adaptive immune response to SARS-CoV-2 and how it can be harnessed to develop COVID-19 vaccines capable of conferring sterilizing immunity. We further propose factors that could be considered in the development of COVID-19 vaccines capable of stimulating sterilizing immunity. Also, an old, but effective vaccine development technology that can be applied in the development of COVID-19 vaccines with sterilizing immunity potential is reviewed.
Background: Water is a necessity of life. However, millions of human die annually as a result of waterborne diseases, with 88% associated with unsafe water supply, poor sanitation, and lack of good hygienic practices. Possible contaminants making drinking water unsafe include microorganisms, chemicals and sewage. Most of the microorganisms that are present in water sources are a result of fecal matter contamination from sewage discharges, runoffs from animal lots as well as seepages from septic tanks. The aim of this study is to detect human-pathogenic coccidians, namely Microsporidia, Cryptosporidia and Cyclospora, in various potable water in Cape Coast Metropolitan District, in Ghana.Methods & Materials: A total of 100 samples from different sources of drinking water were sampled within the Cape Coast Metropolis for the detection of human-pathogenic coccidian taxa, including well water, pipe-borne water, boreholes, streams, underground water and harvested rain water. Each sample was initially stained with modified Zeihl-Neelsen stain and observed microscopically. Total genomic DNA of the various water samples have been extracted using the Ezup Column Blood Genomic DNA Extraction Kit in preparation of PCR-based taxonomic validation.Results: Microscopy analysis revealed that about 60% of the samples collected were contaminated with microorganisms. The breakdown among coccidians was as follows; 23% Microsporidium; 13% Cryptosporidium and 11% Cyclospora oocysts. Other parasites of medical importance included Sarcocystis, present in 3% of the samples.Conclusion: These preliminary data obtained thus far suggest that water consumed by the majority of the Cape Coast population is contaminated with parasites and may be the predominant cause of diarrheal cases in the metropolis as well as of other asymptomatic infections. The study is to be expanded to PCR amplification and sequencing of the 18S rDNA and other loci and phylogenetic analysis.
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