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Almost a century after the devastating pandemic of the Spanish flu, humankind is facing the relatively comparable global outbreak of COVID‐19. COVID‐19 is an infectious disease caused by SARS‐CoV‐2 with an unprecedented transmission pattern. In the face of the recent repercussions of COVID‐19, many have argued that the clinical experience with influenza through the last century may have tremendous implications in the containment of this newly emerged viral disease. During the last 2 years, from the emergence of COVID‐19, tremendous advances have been made in diagnosing and treating coinfections. Several approved vaccines are available now for the primary prevention of COVID‐19 and specific treatments exist to alleviate symptoms. The present review article aims to discuss the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of SARS‐CoV‐2 and influenza A virus coinfection while delivering a bioinformatics‐based insight into this subject matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autophagy‐dependent cell death is a prominent mechanism that majorly contributes to homeostasis by maintaining the turnover of organelles under stressful conditions. Several viruses, including coronaviruses (CoVs), take advantage of cellular autophagy to facilitate their own replication. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is a beta‐coronavirus (β‐CoVs) that mediates its replication through a dependent or independent ATG5 pathway using specific double‐membrane vesicles that can be considered as similar to autophagosomes. With due attention to several mutations in NSP6, a nonstructural protein with a positive regulatory effect on autophagosome formation, a potential correlation between SARS‐CoV‐2 pathogenesis mechanisms and autophagy can be expected. Certain medications, albeit limited in number, have been indicated to negatively regulate autophagy flux, potentially in a way similar to the inhibitory effect of β‐CoVs on the process of autophagy. However, there is no conclusive evidence to support their direct antagonizing effect on CoVs. Off‐target accumulation of a major fraction of FDA‐approved autophagy modulating drugs may result in adverse effects. Therefore, medications that have modulatory effects on autophagy could be considered as potential lead compounds for the development of new treatments against this virus. This review discusses the role of autophagy/virophagy in controlling SARS‐CoV‐2, focusing on the potential therapeutic implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Months after the outbreak of a new flu‐like disease in China, the entire world is now in a state of caution. The subsequent less‐anticipated propagation of the novel coronavirus disease, formally known as COVID‐19, not only made it to headlines by an overwhelmingly high transmission rate and fatality reports, but also raised an alarm for the medical community all around the globe. Since the causative agent, SARS‐CoV‐2, is a recently discovered species, there is no specific medicine for downright treatment of the infection. This has led to an unprecedented societal fear of the newly born disease, adding a psychological aspect to the physical manifestation of the virus. Herein, the COVID‐19 structure, epidemiology, pathogenesis, etiology, diagnosis, and therapy have been reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]