Immune Competency in a Coronavirus Environment

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19] belongs to the class of coronaviruses - one of a group of RNA[ribonucleic acid] viruses that infect animals and humans, primarily the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tract and these are zoonotic, meaning that they can be transmitted between animals and people. The elderly and immunocompromised persons were considered more vulnerable to severe infections of such respiratory tract diseases but the spread of this recent pandemic raises fear that immunodeficiency is not quite the main factor. Vaccines and treatment options are currently being investigated and deployed but there is no definitive evidence that certain medications are effective with regard to preventing illness or transmission of the COVID-19. As is wont in a pandemic of this nature, claims are being made that nutritional regime which is of value in boosting the immune system will either prevent such infections as COVID-19 or enhance recovery. There are also claims that some people are more genetically predisposed to the infection than others. This review brings to the fore information that will clear speculations and make sense of confusing and often conflicting scientific data about the role of immune competence in the prevention, transmission of and recovery from COVID-19 and other similar infections. This involved a Google search for keywords like immunecompetence, influenza, coronaviruses, COVID-19, Nutrient value, Vitamin C and Vitamin D, in all available publications in the public domain without regard to the age of publication. This broad search spectrum is intended to capture all the historical effort to understand the role of immune function in the treatment and recovery to the influenza virus which seems to be the primogenitor of COVID-19.