Open AccessCOVID-19: Review of Epidemiology and Potential Treatments Against 2019 Novel Coronavirus
Author(s) -
Hasnain Jan,
Shah Faisal,
Ayyaz Ali Khan,
Salman Khan,
Hazrat Usman,
Rabia Liaqat,
Sajjad Ali Shah
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
discoveries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2359-7232
DOI - 10.15190/d.2020.5
Subject(s) - coronavirus , medicine , epidemiology , pneumonia , covid-19 , pandemic , transmission (telecommunications) , virology , intensive care medicine , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , electrical engineering , engineering
An epidemic of extreme respiratory deterrence, pneumonia and shortness of breath, the SARS-CoV-2 viral infection began in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in December 2019, and rapidly spread across China and beyond, with human to human transmission. On February 12, 2020, World Health Organization officially named the new coronavirus disease as coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). Most COVID-19 patients were diagnosed with pneumonia and many were treated using Chinese medicines and other secondary therapies. As of April 22, 2020, the total figure of infected patients has crossed 2.6 million people worldwide with over 180,000 deaths and 700,000 patients that have recovered. Preliminary reports suggest that certain drugs, such as chloroquine and antiviral nucleotide analogues such as remdesivir, which inhibit viral replication, can target the new coronavirus, although their usefulness in the clinic is still under debate. An expert US committee developed the US NIH guidelines for COVID-19 treatment, which was just released and will be regularly updated. This manuscript reviews the epidemiology, etiology, mortality, COVID-19 clinical symptoms, and potential therapeutic drugs, while highlighting the seriousness and damage-induced by SARS-CoV-2.