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
. 2021 Mar;44(1):86-93.
doi: 10.1016/j.bj.2020.10.008. Epub 2020 Oct 28.

SARS-CoV-2, the other face to SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV: Future predictions

T M Abdelghany  1 , Magdah Ganash  2 , Marwah M Bakri  3 , Husam Qanash  4 , Aisha M H Al-Rajhi  5 , Nadeem I Elhussieny  6
Affiliations
Review

SARS-CoV-2, the other face to SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV: Future predictions

T M Abdelghany et al. Biomed J. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is proving to be an unprecedented disaster that lays its dark shadow on global health, economics and personal freedom. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS) epidemics provide scientific data that is useful in better understanding and resolution of COVID-19. Similarities among SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 have been investigated in the light of available data. SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 evolved in bats and have positive-sense RNA genomes of 27.9 kb, 30.1 kb and 29.9 kb, respectively. Molecular and serological tools used for diagnosis of SARS and MERS patients resemble COVID-19 diagnostic tools. Stability and longevity data of SARS and MERS epidemics contribute in the current pandemic precaution policies. Trials to produce vaccines for SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV failed, therefore different strategies were employed for SARS-CoV2 vaccines production and during the past period antiviral agents, Convalescent plasma and monoclonal antibodies provide potential treatments for sever patients. The mortality rate caused by the SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV reached 15% and 37%, respectively. The first declarations about mortality rate of SARS-CoV-2 was around 2-4% but now this rate differed globally and reached more than 13% in some countries. A realistic COVID-19 outbreak scenario suggest that the pandemic might last for three years with fluctuation in the number of infected cases, unless vaccination process goes faster and/or antiviral drug is discovered.

Keywords: Future predictions; MERS-CoV; SARS-CoV; SARS-CoV-2.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Total numbers of infected cases divided into recovered, active, and dead cases until 18th, September, 2020 [16,26,27].
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Covid 19 sex-disaggregated data of confirmed cases and deaths until 21st, September, 2020 [33].
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Human coronaviruses evolution, intermediate hosts, and approximate numbers of infected cases.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Common symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infections and their percentage among patients [58,64].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Pennisi M., Lanza G., Falzone L., Fisicaro F., Ferri R., Bella R. SARS-CoV-2 and the nervous system: from clinical features to molecular mechanisms. Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21:5475. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Giannis D., Ziogas I.A., Gianni P. Coagulation disorders in coronavirus infected patients: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-1, MERS-CoV and lessons from the past. J Clin Virol. 2020;127:104362. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bellinvia S., Edwards C.J., Schisano M., Banfi P., Fallico M., Murabito P. The unleashing of the immune system in COVID-19 and sepsis: the calm before the storm? Inflamm Res. 2020;69:757–763. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Su S., Wong G., Shi W., Liu J., Lai A.C.K., Zhou J. Epidemiology, genetic recombination, and pathogenesis of coronaviruses. Trends Microbiol. 2016;24:490–502. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Weiss S.R., Leibowitz J.L. Coronavirus pathogenesis. Adv Virus res. 2011;81:85–164. - PMC - PubMed