The chemical mechanism of pestilences or Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

ABSTRACT

Around the end of 2019, a new viral species caused large-scale transmissions and infections, discovered in Wuhan (WHO Emergencies Preparedness, Response, 2020) and subsequently around the world (WHO COVID-19 Disease Dashboard, 2020). Symptoms caused include coughing, shortness of breath, and fever. Around 1% to 5% (Worldometer, 2020) of confirmed infections have resulted in deaths, mainly due to severe respiratory failure (CDC, 2020). Genealogical tree studies of the new virus strains have later revealed them to be phylogenetically intimate relatives of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, namely (SARS-CoV), first identified in 2003 [1]. This new virus has been named SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) (Gorbalenya et al., 2020) on February 11th, 2020.