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Review
. 2020 Apr:76:71-76.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2020.02.034. Epub 2020 Feb 26.

World Health Organization declares global emergency: A review of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

Catrin Sohrabi  1 , Zaid Alsafi  2 , Niamh O'Neill  3 , Mehdi Khan  2 , Ahmed Kerwan  4 , Ahmed Al-Jabir  4 , Christos Iosifidis  1 , Riaz Agha  5
Affiliations
Review

World Health Organization declares global emergency: A review of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

Catrin Sohrabi et al. Int J Surg. 2020 Apr.

Erratum in

Abstract

An unprecedented outbreak of pneumonia of unknown aetiology in Wuhan City, Hubei province in China emerged in December 2019. A novel coronavirus was identified as the causative agent and was subsequently termed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Considered a relative of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), COVID-19 is caused by a betacoronavirus named SARS-CoV-2 that affects the lower respiratory tract and manifests as pneumonia in humans. Despite rigorous global containment and quarantine efforts, the incidence of COVID-19 continues to rise, with 90,870 laboratory-confirmed cases and over 3,000 deaths worldwide. In response to this global outbreak, we summarise the current state of knowledge surrounding COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Global health emergency; Novel coronavirus; Viral transmission; Wuhan.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest No conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Illustration of the geographical spread of confirmed COVID-19. Data accurate as of 3rd March 2020 [23].
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Illustration of the SARS-CoV-2 virion [56].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

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