Coronavirus disease 2019 has been declared a pandemic globally by WHO
after its first emergence in Wuhan city of China. The disease was observed to be
caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Although a complete spectrum of clinical
manifestations linked with COVID-19 is yet to be determined, on the basis of virus
evolution and genomic recombination; SARS-CoV-2 is believed to be belonging to the
Coronaviridae family with the zoonotic origin, exhibiting several symptoms in human
patients ranging from being asymptomatic to severe illness, ultimately leading to high
mortality rate. Different molecular, serological, and radiological techniques have been
employed to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection. Epidemiological insights have revealed
that the infection has threatened the health and economy of all the nations worldwide.
Diverse pharmacological interventions are already under place to fight against the
current pandemic, and a few of them have already been approved by FDA. Natural
products and herbal medicine could also play a prominent role as an alternative
therapeutic approach to fight against the current pandemic, and few of their clinical
trials have already been registered. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a
comprehensive overview of the origin, genomic diversity & evolution, epidemiology,
pathogenesis, transmission, diagnosis, possible therapeutic approaches of COVID-19,
and experiential learning to enhance our preparedness for upcoming but unknown
outbreaks.
Keywords: Cathepsin, Chloroquine, COVID-19, Epidemiology, Favipiravir,
HCoV, Helicase, Herbal Medicine, Interspecies Transmission, Methyl
Transferase, mTOR, Pathogenesis, Phyto-Constituents, Plasma Therapy, PLpro,
Radiology, RdRp, Remdesivir, RT-PCR, SARS-CoV-2, Serology, TMPRSS2,
Zoonotic Origin.
