Title:COVID-19: Our Current Knowledge of Epidemiology, Pathology, Therapeutic Approaches, and Diagnostic Methods
Volume: 21
Issue: 16
Author(s): Faroogh Marofi , Ramyar Azizi , Roza Motavalli, Ghasem Vahedi, Maryam Nasimi, Mehdi Yousefi , Yalda Motavalli , Safa Tahmasebi , Tohid Gharibi , Rebar N. Mohammed , Jalal Etemadi and Farhad M. Khiavi *
Affiliation:
- Department of Virology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran,Iran
Keywords:
COVID-19, coronavirus, SARS, ARDS, acute respiratory disease syndrome, diagnosis.
Abstract: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) firstly emerged in Wuhan, China
at the end of 2019. After going through the experimental process, the virus was named the novel coronavirus
(2019-nCoV) by the World Health Organization (WHO) in February 2020 which has created a global pandemic.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection is challenging the people who are especially suffering
from chronic health problems such as asthma, diabetes, and heart disease or immune system deteriorating disorders,
including cancers, Alzheimer's, etc. Other predisposing/risk factors consist of smoking and age (elderly
people are at higher risk). The 2019-nCoV attacks epithelial cells in all organs, particularly epithelial cells in
the lungs, resulting in viral pneumonia. The 2019-nCoV starts its invasion with the attachment and entry into
the respiratory tract epithelial cells via Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors on the epithelial
cells. The critical problem with 2019-nCoV is its ability in human to human asymptomatic transmission which
causes the rapid and hidden spread of the virus among the population. Also, there are several reports of highly
variable and tightly case-dependent clinical manifestations caused by SARS-CoV2, which made the virus more
enigmatic. The clinical symptoms are varied from common manifestations which occurred in flu and cold, such
as cough, fever, body-ache, trembling, and runny nose to severe conditions, like the Acute Respiratory Distress
Syndrome (ARDS) or even uncommon/unusual symptoms such as anosmia, skin color change, and stroke. In
fact, besides serious injuries in the respiratory system, COVID-19 invades and damages various organs, including
the kidney, liver, gastrointestinal, and nervous system. Accordingly, to cut the transmission chain of disease
and control the infection spread. One of the major solutions seems to be early detection of the carriers, particularly
the asymptomatic people, with sensitive and accurate diagnostic techniques. Moreover, developing novel
and appropriate therapeutic approaches will contribute to the suitable management of the pandemic. Therefore,
there is an urgent necessity to make comprehensive investigations and study reviews about COVID-19, offering
the latest findings of novel therapies, drugs, epidemiology, and routes of virus transmission and pathogenesis.
In this review, we discuss new therapeutic outcomes and cover and the most significant aspects of COVID-19,
including the epidemiology, biological features, organs failure, and diagnostic techniques.
