Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19): The epidemic and the challenges

Arguments in favour of remdesivir for treating SARS-CoV-2 infections

“…Recently, the antiviral activity of remdesivir was exhibited at the stage after virus entry into Vero E6 cells, supporting its antiviral mechanism as a nucleotide analog [18]. 6 In 2016, GS-5734 or remdesivir was reported to be active against Ebola virus in multiple human cell types, including primary macrophages and human endothelial cells, with low half maximal effective concentration (EC 50 ) values of 0.06 to 0.14 μM [15]. In addition, remdesivir was reported to exhibit antiviral activity in vitro against Marburg virus [15], Paramyxoviridae (such as parainfluenza type 3 virus, Nipah virus, Hendra virus, Measles and Mumps virus), and Pneumoviridae (such as respiratory syncytial virus) [19].…”

“…Since the end of 2019, the increasing number cases of pneumonia were reported in Wuhan, then other cities and provinces in China and many countries [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], and the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [8], a new human pathogen, was identified as the cause of Wuhan pneumonia. The disease spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 infection, so called Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID- 19), was known to be diverse in severity, ranging from asymptomatic carriage, mild respiratory tract infection to severe or fatal pneumonia.…”

Global epidemiology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): disease incidence, daily cumulative index, mortality, and their association with country healthcare resources and economic status

“…Since the first reported case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019, COVID-19 has rapidly spread throughout China and also involved many other countries in spite of the global effort to prevent its spread. [1][2][3][4] According to the report of World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 has affected 84,503 patients in 57 countries/territories and caused 2,924 deaths by February 29, 2020, of which approximately 92.9% of cases and 97.1% of deaths are in China. 1 Among these 57 countries/territories, the cases reported in 20 countries/territories were attributed to local transmission of COVID-19, while those in 37 countries/regions were imported cases.…”

Teicoplanin: an alternative drug for the treatment of COVID-19?

“…In December 2019, a new coronavirus has emerged from China causing pneumonia outbreaks first in the Wuhan region and have now spread worldwide because of its probable high transmission efficiency [1,2]. This coronavirus, named SARS-CoV-2 (formerly 2019-nCoV), is responsible for respiratory infections including pneumonia with a mortality rate estimated about 2%-2.5%, increasing with age and the existence of underlying diseases.…”