New Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: A Review on Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, and Global Scenario

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), a β-CoV, and a seventh member of family Coronaviridae causing infection in humans, are the causative agent of the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). For the 1st time, the disease was reported as an outbreak on December 31, 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, when patients with the symptoms of pneumonia were admitted in hospitals. Soon, the disease became epidemic and spread in 25 provinces in China with a total of 571 cases up to January 24, 2020. At present, COVID-19 has spread across 216 countries. As of July 18, 2020, the World Health Organization confirmed 13,876,441 cases and 593,087 deaths globally, despite rigorous containment and quarantine efforts. The main symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, fever, and fatigue and other symptoms such as headache, hemoptysis, sputum production, dyspnea, and diarrhea and lymphopenia may also arise. The diagnosis of COVID-19 is by demonstrating ribonucleic acid of SARS-CoV-2 in respiratory secretions by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Treatment is supportive, and the role of antiviral agents is yet to be found. Preventive measures include regular and thorough cleaning of hands with soap and water for at least 20 s or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and social distancing. It is important to develop simple, fast, and accurate technologies for the detection and treatment of COVID-19 to control the spread of the disease