Scientists Present First-Ever High-Powered Microscopic COVID-19 Image

Scientists from the University of North Carolina Children's Research Institute recently released the first-ever high-powered microscopic images of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the lungs.

The research team, which includes Camille Ehre, was able to capture COVID-19 infection as it progressed on lab-grown respiratory tract cells, demonstrating the infection's strength across lung tissues. They also showed how fast the disease could spread to others.

The captured images illustrate coronavirus particles in a large number, which are settled on the human respiratory surface, initially recorded as monochrome, then recolorized and published later in the New England Journal of medicine.

Viruses included in the family of coronaviruses have small dissimilarities in their genome, with just five nucleotide discrepancies between three of the viruses.

Nonetheless, the said viruses can remarkably have different presentations in terms of human transmissions.

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The Communicable Form of SARS-CoV-2

The scientists said that their captured images display the infectious form of SARS-CoV-2 as released onto respiratory surfaces by infected host cells.

The researchers injected a novel coronavirus into laboratory-grown bronchial epithelial cells. They then investigated the disease's progress for nearly 96 hours using high-powered scanning electron microscopy.

Later, images were taken showing the importance of using masks and the large quantity of virus examined in the lung airways.

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Infected Cells

In their research, the UNC scientists proposed that the immense burden of coronavirus on the respiratory surfaces could quickly result in the infection of multiple organs in a COVID-19-positive individual.

To limit the amount of coronavirus load as the disease's strength, wearing of face masks must be required or mandated.

In the scientists' captured images, it can be observed that the hairy ciliated cells in the lungs are infected with mucus strands attached to the cilia tips.

These hair-like form constructions transfer mucus and stuck viruses from the airway epithelial cells' surface in the lungs.

COVID-19 in the US

In a report, California has the highest number of cases with more than 765,000 and over 14,400 deaths in the United States.

When adjusted based on population, the figure translates to approximately 1,936 known cases and 37 deaths for every 100,000 residents.

According to experts, these numbers do not present the whole scenario as many cases as diagnosed, taking into account both mild and asymptomatic transmissions.

It is also important to note that each state follows a different COVID-19 trajectory. For instance, New York and Washington were severely affected during the early days of the pandemic, while confirmed cases and deaths have increased more slowly in other parts of the country, some of which have not even reached their peaks yet.

Worldwide, more than 29 million COVID-19 cases and over 930,000 deaths have already been recorded since the onset of the pandemic.

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