COVID-19: Origin, epidemiology, virology, pathogenesis, and treatment

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 (or Coronavirus Disease) originated in China (Hubei provenance, Wuhan city). The first recorded illness occurred in December 2019. It has affected all parts of the world, and the WHO designated the COVID-19 disease, caused by the new Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Some debatable speculations indicate that it is a man-made virus, intentionally synthesized in the laboratory but was unintentionally emancipated from a laboratory of Wuhan, China. The primitive theory suggested the spread from the Hunan seafood market of China probably from an animal source. However, this theory is not fully supported. COVID-19 infection has a varying range of signs and symptoms from low fever, dry cough to lower respiratory tract infection, breathing difficulties, pulmonary edema, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), metabolic acidosis, sepsis, coagulation, lymphopenia, hypoxemia, multiorgan failure, and eventually, mortality. In patients with comorbidity such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and kidney disease, fatality rate is higher. Young and elderly people are more likely to experience unfavorable outcomes due to poor immunity. There have been several treatment methods explored to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, including medications, interferon, vaccines, oligonucleotides, peptides, and monoclonal and immunomodulatory antibodies, among other things. The World Health Organization has recommended preventive measures like washing hands, using face masks, sanitizers, and maintaining a safe distance to prevent the spread of the pandemic. One of the promising alternatives is the vaccine. One must take all preventive measures in the pandemic until it becomes feeble.