PR85890

BALTIMORE, Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

- Rapid Diagnostic Testing, Repurposing Drug Therapies and Vaccines Targeting

Innate Immunity, Are Integral Factors in Mitigating COVID-19

The Global Virus Network (GVN) (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2934576-1&h=1215489453&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gvn.org%2F&a=The+Global+Virus+Network+(GVN) ),

a coalition of the world's leading medical and basic virology research

centers working to prevent illness and death from viral disease, convened a

press conference with attendees from across the globe to discuss key takeaways

from the GVN virtual 2020 Special Annual Meeting held September 23-24, 2020.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1179678/GVN_Logo.jpg    

A video of the full press conference, can be found here (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2934576-1&h=736721525&u=https%3A%2F%2Fgvn.org%2Fglobal-virus-network-international-press-conference-september-24-2020%2F&a=here ).

"We do not know what the future holds for COVID-19 – there may be seasonal

variations or chronic infections or maybe a slowdown," said Dr. Christian

Bréchot, GVN President. "However, we know that we have to prepare and that this

for now and not after the end of this pandemics; in the spirit of preparation,

it is very timely that we used the Special Annual Meeting to band together

international experts to identify and analyze what went wrong, what has been

properly handled and what recommendations we can confidently make."

Key findings during the meeting regarding SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 research include:

    -- "Super-spreaders" and "super-spreading" events are major drivers

       of the pandemic, indicating that only a handful of those infected

       seem be exponentially contagious. Further, short-range

       aerosol-driven transmission contributes to the dissemination

       of the virus, particularly in the context of the super

       spreading events.

    -- Key pandemic response strategies – the need to take better

       advantage of the major technology progress in diagnostics,

       a key driver for the control of infectious diseases; salivary

       sampling will very much increase our testing capacity, including

       in school settings; novel rapid and cheap molecular rapid

       diagnostic tests combined with digital-based transmission

       of the results, tracing and isolation should be widely

       emphasized, an understanding of communicability and transmission

       and, most importantly, the creation of a unified and

       multidisciplinary response with mechanisms for information

       sharing among international virologists and independent authorities.

    -- An evaluation of vaccine development – timing, an analysis

       of the candidates, side-effects and managing the world's

       expectation for a satisfactory and timely vaccine. Until a

       classical, effective vaccine is available, vaccines that

       stimulate the body's innate immune system, such as the oral

       polio vaccine and BCG, are integral in protecting against infection.

    -- A very strong statement against SARS-CoV-2 being the result

       of human manipulation.

    -- An update on the available and future therapies, emphasizing the

       need to combine novel antiviral and immunomodulatory molecules as

       well as the need to contemplate in the future antivirals with

       broad spectrum against several viruses.

Dr. Brechot, who also is a professor at the University of South Florida in

Tampa, continued, "This is not just a crisis – it is a new era. We have major

challenges ahead, we need a new organization and we need it now.  Global

collaborations will build a strong foundation. This is where the GVN is very

important, and complementary to national and international agencies. The GVN is

well positioned to establish with all partners a Viral Pandemic Readiness

Alliance to facilitate collaborations with universities, industry, governments

and communities to merge efforts and find solutions together."

"Simple, safe, oral, inexpensive, live vaccines such as the oral polio vaccine

(OPV) will have a broad benefit against COVID-19. This can also likely be used

in future pandemics, particularly of respiratory viruses, by inducing innate

immunity, which is immediate and not as limiting as a specific vaccine," said

Dr. Robert Gallo, co-founder of GVN; The Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished

Professor in Medicine, co-founder and director of the Institute of Human

Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Dr. Gallo, who is most renowned for discovering human retroviruses,

co-discovering HIV as the cause of AIDS and developing the HIV blood test

continued, "Nothing is needed more than a rapid diagnostic test. Molecular

tests that can be done cheaply and at home, within two hours or less time –

nothing could be more valuable "We need to be able to trace; we need to be able

to follow people; we need to be able to educate. This is absolutely basic, and

without it we can do nothing. There is singularly nothing else more important

in my mind than having rapid and reliable diagnostics."  

Dr. Brechot was joined at the press event by presenters from the annual meeting including:  

    -- Dr. Linfa Wang, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore

    -- Dr. Konstantin Chumakov, FDA Office of Vaccines Research and Review, USA

    -- Dr. Ab Osterhaus, TiHo Hannover, Germany

    -- Dr. Johan Neyts, Rega Institute, Belgium

    -- Dr. Raymond Schinazi, Emory University, USA

Next, David Scheer, an advisor and entrepreneur in life sciences with a

lifelong career in global public health non-profits, moderated a discussion

titled, "From HIV to SARS-CoV-2 and Beyond." Panelists were Dr. Gallo

(https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2934576-1&h=1519214775&u=https%3A%2F%2Fnam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com%2F%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.ihv.org%252Fabout%252FAbout-Dr-Robert-C-Gallo%252F%26data%3D02%257C01%257Cdberg%2540sardverb.com%257C0ac0694522ff4c6b2aca08d85ff623b0%257Cdfc7827b9c274ffbb94f96d3b0b06aa1%257C0%257C1%257C637364858103160731%26sdata%3DP7xbdIoosLHkjD3aKLSyYO17DZz8O8KbTI6AxcCyJpM%253D%26reserved%3D0&a=Dr.+Gallo ),

Dr. Brechot and Dr. Eric Rubin, New England Journal of Medicine Editor. The frank

COVID-19 discussion included historical perspectives, the emergence of variant

strains of SARS-CoV-2, vaccine development and innate immunity, the use

of existing and new drug therapies, pandemic preparedness as it relates to

industry, government and academia, and that SARS-CoV-2 is naturally occurring

and not manmade.  

The meeting program can be found here (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2934576-1&h=2557985352&u=https%3A%2F%2Fgvn.org%2Fevents%2Fgvn-special-annual-meeting-2020%2F&a=here ).

About the Global Virus Network (GVN)

The Global Virus Network (GVN) is essential and critical in the preparedness,

defense and first research response to emerging, exiting and unidentified

viruses that pose a clear and present threat to public health, working in close

coordination with established national and international institutions. It is a

coalition comprised of eminent human and animal virologists from 57 Centers of

Excellence and 10 Affiliates in 33 countries worldwide, working collaboratively

to train the next generation, advance knowledge about how to identify and

diagnose pandemic viruses, mitigate and control how such viruses spread and

make us sick, as well as develop drugs, vaccines and treatments to combat them.

No single institution in the world has expertise in all viral areas other than

the GVN, which brings together the finest medical virologists to leverage their

individual expertise and coalesce global teams of specialists on the scientific

challenges, issues and problems posed by pandemic viruses. The GVN is a

non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. For more information, please visit

www.gvn.org. Follow us on Twitter @GlobalVirusNews (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2934576-1&h=1624694664&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FGlobalVirusNews&a=GlobalVirusNews ).

SOURCE  Global Virus Network

CONTACT: Sard Verbinnen & Co, Kelly Kimberly/Kelly Langmesser,

GVN-SVC@sardverb.com, +1.212.687.8080; GVN, Nora Samaranayake, +1 410-706-1966,

nsamaranayake@gvn.org