Understanding COVID-19: From Origin to Potential Therapeutics

Authors

Muhammad Moazzam, University of Central Punjab, LahoreFollow
Muhammad Imran Sajid, Chapman UniversityFollow
Hamza Shahid, University of Central Punjab, LahoreFollow
Jahanzaib Butt, University of Central Punjab, LahoreFollow
Irfan Bashir, University of Central Punjab, LahoreFollow
Muhammad Jamshaid, University of Central Punjab, LahoreFollow
Amir Nasrolahi Shirazi, Marshall B. Ketchum UniversityFollow
Rakesh Kumar Tiwari, Chapman UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-14-2020

Abstract

Currently, a global pandemic era of public health concerns is going on with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first case of COVID-19 was reported from Wuhan’s Huanan seafood market in China late December 2019. Bats, pangolins, and snakes have been nominated as salient carriers of the virus. Thanks to its high pathogenicity, it can cause severe respiratory infections. Fever, dry cough, sore throat, pneumonia, septic shock, and ground-glass opacities are the foremost clinical manifestations of COVID-19. Immunocompromised patients are at high risk for COVID-19 infection and may lead to death. Scientist and government agencies around the globe are putting forward their best efforts and resources for the effective treatment of human coronavirus infections; however, neither vaccines nor antiviral drugs are available for the treatment of human coronaviruses (HCoV) infections such as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), MERS (Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome), and COVID-19. Since the outbreak, a plethora of research and review articles have been published. Moreover, the mass media has bombarded the public with conflicting opinions about the pandemic. There is a dire need for accurate and reliable information concerning this pandemic. In this review, we have compiled the up to date information about the origins, evolution, epidemiology, and pathogenesis of this disease. Moreover, very few reports have addressed the clinical features and current status of treatment for COVID-19; we have adequately addressed these topics in detail in this review. Finally, a detailed account of clinical trials of vaccines and other therapeutics currently in progress has been delineated.

Comments

This article was originally published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , volume 17, in 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17165904

This scholarship is part of the Chapman University COVID-19 Archives.

Recommended Citation

Moazzam M, Sajid MI, Shahid H, et al. Understanding COVID-19: From origin to potential therapeutics. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17:5904. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17165904

Copyright

The authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.