Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Jun 26;62(1):e1-e5.
doi: 10.4102/safp.v62i1.5123.

Novel coronavirus pandemic: A clinical overview

Ramprakash Kaswa  1 , Indiran Govender
Affiliations
Review

Novel coronavirus pandemic: A clinical overview

Ramprakash Kaswa et al. S Afr Fam Pract (2004). .

Abstract

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emergent public health crisis threatening the current world health establishment. The SARS-Co-2 was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. There have been about 6.5 million reported cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and about 350 000 reported deaths throughout the world within the last 6 months from the onset of the epidemic. The virus is primarily transmitted by inhalation or contact with infected droplets. The COVID-19 patient usually presents with fever, cough, sore throat and breathlessness. Currently, available data indicate that the majority of people with the disease have mild symptoms, while about 20% present with moderate-to-severe disease. About 5% of these may progress to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome and multi-organ dysfunction. To date, there is no recommended medical treatment, and supportive measures are a crucial part of management. The case fatality rate of SARS-CoV-2 is lower than that of its two coronavirus predecessors, that is, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The full impact of this new pandemic on health, social and economic well-being of humankind is yet to be ascertained.

Keywords: COVID-19; IPC; PPI; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; pneumonia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that they have no competing interests.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Spectrum of clinical presentation and progression of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Algorithm for testing person under investigation for coronavirus disease 2019.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Flow diagram for contact tracing, screening and monitoring of coronavirus disease 2019.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Chen N, Zhou M, Dong X, et al. . Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: A descriptive study. Lancet. 2020;395(10223):507–513. 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30211-7 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. National Department of Health . Standard operating procedures for preparedness, detection and response to a Coronavirus (2019-NCOV) outbreak in South Africa [homepage on the Internet]. 2020. [cited 2020 March 09], p. 1–27. Available from: http://www.health.gov.za/index.php/primaryhealthcare/category/154-commun...
    1. World Health Organization . Household transmission investigation protocol for 2019-novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection. Early investigations 2019 [homepage on the Internet]. 2020. [cited 2020 March 06], p. 1–31. Available from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technica...
    1. World Health Organization (WHO) . Protocol for assessment of potential risk factors for 2019-novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection among health care workers in a health care setting [homepage on the Internet]. 2020. [cited 2020 March 09], p. 1–32. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications-detail/protocol-for-assessment-of-poten...
    1. World Health Organization . Home care for patients with COVID-19 presenting with mild symptoms and management of contacts. Geneva, WHO, 2020; p. 4–6.