Insights into the Recent 2019 Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in Light of Past Human Coronavirus Outbreaks

Abstract

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are RNA viruses that have become a major public health concern since the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-CoV (SARS-CoV) outbreak in 2002. The continuous evolution of coronaviruses was further highlighted with the emergence of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-CoV (MERS-CoV) outbreak in 2012. Currently, the world is concerned about the 2019 novel CoV (SARS-CoV-2) that was initially identified in the city of Wuhan, China in December 2019. Patients presented with severe viral pneumonia and respiratory illness. The number of cases has been mounting since then. As of late February 2020, tens of thousands of cases and several thousand deaths have been reported in China alone, in addition to thousands of cases in other countries. Although the fatality rate of SARS-CoV-2 is currently lower than SARS-CoV, the virus seems to be highly contagious based on the number of infected cases to date. In this review, we discuss structure, genome organization, entry of CoVs into target cells, and provide insights into past and present outbreaks. The future of human CoV outbreaks will not only depend on how the viruses will evolve, but will also depend on how we develop efficient prevention and treatment strategies to deal with this continuous threat.

La rehabilitación en los tiempos del COVID-19

“…El uso de mascarillas quirúrgicas no protege totalmente y se recomienda no tocar la cara y especialmente los ojos y mucosas con las manos. El lavado de manos durante 30 segundos con agua y jabón así como la desinfección de superficies es efectiva frente a la transmisión 1,2,5 .…”

In-silico approaches to detect inhibitors of the human severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus envelope protein ion channel

“…Hydrophobic region oligomerise and form an ion-conductive pore in membranes. This protein play key role in various phases of the virus' life cycle, such as envelope formation, pathogenesis, budding and assembly (Ashour et al, 2020;Schoeman & Fielding, 2019). Few studies have also suggested that the 'SARS-CoV E' proteins' ion channel activity is modulated via pentameric ion channel (Pervushin et al, 2009).…”

An Ounce of Prevention: Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Mass Gatherings

“…At first, many individuals and nations assumed that it would be contained within China due to rapid implementation of quarantine for the city of Wuhan and the remarkable construction of two hospitals in only 12 days. The zoonotic transmission of COVID-19 from wildlife to humans led to a Chinese ban on wildlife trade; however, the rapid spread of COVID-19 shows a systematic and expeditious transmission between humans [2].…”