Open AccessEpidemiology, Evolution, Transmission, and Therapeutics of COVID-19 Outbreak: An Update on the Status
Author(s) -
K. P. Singh,
Amit Mittal,
Akash Gujral
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
coronaviruses
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2666-7975
pISSN - 2666-7967
DOI - 10.2174/2666796702666210210140840
Subject(s) - outbreak , transmission (telecommunications) , pandemic , coronavirus , pneumonia , disease , medicine , epidemiology , virology , virus , etiology , mortality rate , novel virus , covid-19 , biology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , genome , electrical engineering , engineering , biochemistry , gene
: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an etiologic agent ofthe respiratory disease in humans known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The beginningof the outbreak of the disease was initially reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December2019, where patients felt SARS pneumonia-like symptoms with unknown etiology. Since then,it has been noticed that SARS-CoV-2 positive patients show mild to severe upper respiratory illness.SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the class of Coronavirus, which is known to make its transfer fromanimals to humans and for the concerned virus; investigators have claimed its origin from bat coronavirusat whole-genome level with a 96% sequence identity. The COVID-19 virus is extremelycontagious and communicable in nature and has spread across the world since its first outbreak documentedin Wuhan, China. On March 9, 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) declared it as apandemic, and within a month, it was already reported to have shown its presence in 213 countriesand territories or areas. As of Nov15, 2020, this novel virus has infected approximately. 53.7 millionpeople and caused 1.3 million mortalities worldwide. However, the mortality rate varied between3-13% and was influenced by a number of factors, including the demographic distributionand maybe age, comorbidities, etc. Diagnosis of the disease is a key component of controlling thespread of the virus, and several techniques, including RT-PCR, ELISA, and sequencing-based approaches,are in use. To cure COVID-19 patients, as of now, we do not have any safe and effectivetreatment. Currently, there is no safe and effective drug for the disease. Furthermore, various pharmaceuticalindustries are working on vaccine developments, which are in progress with the finalstages of clinical studies. Therapeutic options are also currently under investigation in various regionsof the world. However, there are various potential therapeutic targets to repurpose the presentantiviral therapy for developing potential interventions against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Boostingthe immune system can also help to prevent the spread of COVID-19 using various medicationsand exercises. Here, this review summarizes and discusses the epidemiology, evolution, transmission,and therapeutics scientific advancements related to this novel pandemic.