The Epidemiology and Pathogenesis of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak

A new coronavirus (CoV) was discovered in the wet animal market of Hubei province in
Wuhan, China, toward the end of 2019, and the World Health Organization named it coronavirus
diseases 2019 (COVID-19). COVID-19 is primarily defined by the severe acute respiratory
syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV2), which poses a substantial threat to global public health
as well as the economy and other sectors, particularly education. COVID-19's pathophysiology is
unknown, and there is no effective treatment for this new life-threatening and lethal viral
infection. As a result, it's critical to look for innovative techniques to reduce or limit the spread
of COVID-19.

The novel CoV has been spreading in 210 nations and territories throughout the world on
a daily basis (WHO, 2020). In humans, CoV makes a normal cold worse, leading to severe
respiratory infections and mortality. The outbreaks of this novel CoV began at the end of
December 2019 in Wuhan, China, where seafood, bats, snacks, dogs, and other animals are often
sold and bought, and the virus spread quickly within a short time, causing serious disease and
death. Following that, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the disease and named
it as Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). COVID-19 is thought to be a virus that spreads by
unknown ways rather than being a particularly heat-dispersive virus (transmitted from one patient
to many others). Human transmission of COVID-19 has been reported in a variety of methods,
including through the eyes, nose, and mouth, as well as through sneezing, coughing, inhalation,
and other mechanisms. COVID-19 can also be spread by medical waste or contaminated
personal protective equipment (PPE). In order to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, the mode
of transmission is critical. This virus, on the other hand, affects a variety of organs, including the
heart, brain, neurological system, and kidney. Because of the person-to-person transmission of
COVID-19 infection, patients were isolated and given several interventions. There are currently
no particular antiviral medicines or vaccines available for the treatment of COVID19 infection in
humans. The sole alternative is to use broad-spectrum antiviral medications such as nucleoside
analogues and HIV-protease inhibitors to prevent virus infection until a particular antiviral is
developed.
 Infectious diseases have been threatening the existence of life for ages and can be deadly
if appropriate measures and actions are not done to manage outbreaks. However, because to the
inherent nature of mutations and other genetic modifications, monitoring and therapeutic
management of microorganisms, particularly viruses, is extremely difficult. Coronaviruses
(CoVs) are enveloped viruses with a single positive-stranded RNA genome (∼26–32 kb in
length). They belong to the subfamily Orthocoronavirinae under the family Coronaviridae, and
are classified into four genera: Alphacoronaviruses (α), Betacoronaviruses (β),
Gammacoronaviruses (γ), and Deltacoronaviruses (δ).[1,2] The viral genome normally encodes
four structural proteins, spike (S), envelope (E), membrane (M), and nucleocapsid (N), as well as
several non-structural proteins and multiple unique accessory proteins (Chinese Medical Journal,
n.d.). Furthermore, the WHO determined that COVID-19 was epidemiologically linked to
Wuhan's wholesale seafood and wet animal market.

After an incubation period of around 5.2 days, COVID-19 infection symptoms occur. The
timeframe between the emergence of COVID-19 symptoms and death varied between 6 and 41
days, with a median of 14 days. The length of time depends on the patient's age and the state of
his or her immune system. Patients beyond the age of 70 had a shorter time than those under the
age of 70. Fever, cough, and exhaustion are the most prevalent symptoms of COVID-19
infection, although other symptoms include sputum production, headache, hemoptysis, diarrhea,
dyspnea, and lymphopenia. A chest CT scan confirmed pneumonia, but there were also aberrant
characteristics such as RNAaemia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute heart damage, and
an increased prevalence of grand-glass opacities, all of which contributed to death. COVID-19
and preceding betacoronaviruses have symptoms that are quite similar. COVID-19, on the other
hand, presented some distinct clinical characteristics, such as targeting the lower airway, as
evidenced by upper respiratory tract symptoms such as rhinorrhea, sneezing, and sore throat.
Patients infected with COVID-19 also developed intestinal symptoms like as diarrhea, whereas
only a small number of MERS-CoV or SARS-CoV patients did.

A course of action were taken to identify a specific reservoir host or carriers in Hubei
Province, China, where COVID infected people were first discovered. The initial analysis
revealed two snake species as potential COVID-19 reservoirs. However, until recently, there has
been no conclusive evidence of COV reservoirs other than birds or mammals. COVID-19's
genomic sequence shared 88 percent identity with a bird-derived SARS-like COV, indicating a
relationship between humans and COVID-19.

Since the beginning of March 2020, when the "Great Lockdown" progressively spread
throughout the globe as an initial response to the exponential spread of a novel coronavirus,
SARS-CoV-2, few could have predicted that we would still be encased as if under siege by
December of the same year. Indeed, this overpowering reality has cut us off from our loved ones,
colleagues, and coworkers, and has imposed tight rules that have compelled us to change and
adapt our habits and routines to strict social distancing. COVID-19's onslaught has been
relentless around the world, with close to 80 million people infected – and about 1.7 million
premature deaths and millions of people unemployed or underemployed as a result of the
disintegration and slowdown of economic activity, trade, and the flow of people and capital
across countries. This crisis has revealed and brought to the fore with great conviction the
manifestations and impacts of glaring, pre-existing inequalities in our societies, where minorities
and others at the bottom of the economic ladder, the frail and sicker, have been hit the hardest,
while the well-off, while still at risk and working from home, have been able to withstand better.

We have managed to hold on to memories of times past, as if in a sunken ship, as a way

to recharge and remind ourselves that this, too, shall pass, and we can look forward to future
times when we can hug and laugh with family and friends, work in close proximity to others,
travel and discover new geographies and people, without the fear that COVID-19 is waiting for
us "just around the corner." But, more importantly, I believe we are recognizing and accepting
that change is required in our lives as well as in existing social arrangements within and between
countries.