Coronaviruses are a group of viruses belonging to the family of Coronaviridae, which infect both animals and humans. Coronavirus (COVID-19) is an illness caused by a virus that can spread from person to person. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a new coronavirus that has spread throughout the world.
This pandemic (caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2) is the greatest threat not only to global health but also has far-reaching socio-economic impact on nearly all the countries in the world.
The first cases of coronaviruses in human found in 1965 by Tyrrell and Bynoe. They observed that they could passage a virus named B814. It was observed in human embryonic tracheal organ cultures obtained from the respiratory tract of an adult with a common cold symptom. The first 4 cases of COVID-19 were first reported on the 29th December 2019, all linked to Huanan (Southern China) seafood wholesale market. Many of the initial patients were either stall owners, market employees, or regular visitors to this market. Environmental samples taken from this market in December 2019 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, further suggesting that the market in Wuhan City was the source of this outbreak or played a role in the initial amplification of the outbreak.
Another coronavirus, SARS-CoV-1, the cause of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, was also closely related to other coronaviruses isolated from bats. These close genetic relations of SARS-CoV-1, SARSCoV-2 and other coronaviruses, suggest that they all have their ecological origin in bat populations.
Signs and symptoms include respiratory symptoms and include fever, cough and shortness of breath. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome and sometimes death.
Standard recommendations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 include frequent cleaning of hands using alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water; covering the nose and mouth with a flexed elbow or disposable tissue when coughing and sneezing; and avoiding close contact with anyone that has a fever and cough.
Coronavirus disease
