A Systematic Review of the Potential Implication of Salivary Secretions in Covid-19 Patients

As reported on 23rd May 2021, there are a total of 167,313,629 confirmed cases of Covid-19 all across the world with a mortality of about 3,473,851 whereas in Saudi Arabia 439,847 were registered cases of covid-19 and 7,237 deaths. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) a total of 12,244,264 people were vaccinated with Covid-19 vaccination. Covid-19 is a respiratory infectious disease. More recent researches on SARS-COV-2 suggests the entry of the virus into the host cell using the host entry factors like TMPRSS-2, TMPRSS-4 and ACE-2 in the oral tissues. The spike proteins of the SARS COV-2 attaches to the ACE-2 and TMPRSS2 of the salivary gland. Saliva provides the lubrication of the oral cavity, initiation of digestion and provides immunity in host. A complete research of all the articles was done using databases like: SCOPUS, PUBMED, EMBASE and WEB OF SCIENCE. In case of SARS CoV-2, the salivary glands act as reservoir for the virus. Intake of these viruses present in infectious saliva droplets found in the air would lead to the transmission of infection to an individual. Saliva is more efficient when compared to the blood as it doesn't clot. A reduced secretion of saliva is observed in patients post the covid 19 disease.