Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2): An Emerging Zoonotic Respiratory Pathogen in Humans
Epidemiology, coronavirus, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19
Two highly human pathogenic coronaviruses outbreak in the beginning of 21st century i.e. Severe AcuteRespiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus(MERS-CoV) in 2002 and 2012 respectively caused high pathogenicity and fatality rates in humanpopulations. Recently, a new coronavirus named as SARS-CoV-2 or nCoV-2019 was first reportedin Wuhan, China in December 2019 which is responsible for an acute human respiratory illnessreferred as Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), an ongoing pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 is the third knownhighly pathogenic virus affecting human population. This virus spread globally within few weeks offirst identification and nearly 5.52 million confirmed cases with more than 3,47,000 deaths reportedas of May 25, 2020. Till date, there are no specific anti-viral drugs, therapies or vaccines to containand prevent this infectious pathogen outbreak. The global spread of this virus to over 210 countriesresulted in both human and economic losses, highlighting the need for an immediate imperativeresearch exploration on prophylactic and therapeutic measures. Current knowledge and understandingof the pathogenesis of similar coronavirus SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV might be helpful for the rapiddevelopment of treatment strategies to prevent the further spread of this virus. In this review, werecapitulate the topical understanding on the structure, pathogenesis and epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2that has emerged as a major health concern worldwide.
Balamurugan Shanmugaraj, Ashwini Malla, Sathishkumar Ramalingam
Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology