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Review
. 2020 Oct;27(10):2531-2538.
doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.04.033. Epub 2020 Apr 23.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): Emergence, history, basic and clinical aspects

Ahmed A Al-Qahtani  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): Emergence, history, basic and clinical aspects

Ahmed A Al-Qahtani. Saudi J Biol Sci. 2020 Oct.

Abstract

In late December 2019, the world woke to a reality of a pandemic of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), elicited by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which belongs to a group of β-coronavirus. The potential to cause life-threatening respiratory failure and rapid transmission puts COVID-19 in the list of Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). In the last two decades, this is the 3rd deadliest Coronavirus pandemic, following SARS which lasted between 2002 and 2003 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) from 2012 till date. Globally and as of April 23rd 2020, COVID-19 has affected 2,544,792 individuals in over 200 countries, causing 175,694 fatalities. While the SARS-CoV-2 originated in China with 84,302 confirmed cases and 4642 deaths as at the time of writing this review, the rapid transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in exponential increase in the number of cases outside of China to about 10 times the report case and death in mainland China. SARS-CoV-2 is suspected to be zoonotic in nature as genetic studies have shown sequence similarity to viruses originating from bats. Extreme precautionary measures, such as curfew, shutting of borders and quarantining of individuals suspected to be infected have been instituted with immediate effect; however, due to individuals that are asymptomatic, uncontrolled human-to-human transmission has resulted in exponential infection rate and numerous loss of lives even with this lockdown measures. This review article summarizes the developing situation surrounding the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic with respect to its epidemiology, unique genomic structure, possible origins, transmission, pathogenesis, comparison with other deadly species of Coronaviruses (CoV) and emerging treatment strategies built on informed literature.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Emergence; Epidemiology; Pandemic; Review; SARS-CoV-2.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Regional Distribution of COVID-19 (WHO Situation Report–94, as of 23rd of April 2020).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Epidemiological Trend of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases in China and Outside China [WHO Situation Reports (1–94) as of 23rd of April 2020].
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Epidemiological Curve of Confirmed Deaths due to COVID-19 in China and Outside China [WHO Situation Reports (1–94) as of 23rd of April 2020].
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
A diagram showing the genomic structure of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). Structural Proteins in Maroon (S = Spike, E = Envelope, M = Membrane, and N = Nucleocapsid) and Accessory Proteins in Aqua (ORFs = Open Reading Frames).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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