COVID-19 Pandemic: from Molecular Biology, Pathogenesis, Detection, and Treatment to Global Societal Impact

Abstract

Purpose of review: In December 2019, there was an outbreak of viral disease in Wuhan, China which raised the concern across the whole world. The viral disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or novel coronavirus or COVID-19 (CoV-19) is known as a pandemic. After SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-related CoV, COVID-19 is the third most pathogenic virus, hazardous to humans which have raised worries concerning the capacity of current security measures and the human services framework to deal with such danger.

Recent findings: According to WHO, the mortality rate of COVID-19 exceeded that of SARS and MERS in view of which COVID-19 was declared as public health emergency of international concern. Coronaviruses are positive-sense RNA viruses with single stranded RNA and non-segmented envelopes. Recently, genome sequencing confirmed that COVID-19 is similar to SARS-CoV and bat coronavirus, but the major source of this pandemic outbreak, its transmission, and mechanisms related to its pathogenicity to humans are not yet known.

Summary: In order to prevent the further pandemic and loss to humanity, scientists are studying the development of therapeutic drugs, vaccines, and strategies to cure the infections. In this review, we present a brief introduction to emerging and re-emerging pathogens, i.e., coronavirus in humans and animals, its taxonomic classification, genome organization, its replication, pathogenicity, impact on socioeconomic growth, and drugs associated with COVID-19.

Keywords: Coronavirus; MERS-CoV; RNA genomes; SARS-CoV.

Fig. 1

Characteristics of Nidoviriales family of coronavirus

Fig. 2

Structure of coronavirus: (1) spike (S), (2) membrane protein (M), (3) envelope protein (E), (4) lipid bilayer, (5) nucleocaspid (N), (6) RNA

Fig. 3

Illustrations of reservoirs and TransmissionCoV Strain

Fig. 4

Systematic comparison and outbreak of common coronavirus (1960) with COVID (2019)