COVID-19 Pandemic: Epidemiology, Etiology, Conventional and Non-Conventional Therapies

Abdur Rauf, Tareq Abu-Izneid, Ahmed Olatunde, Anees Ahmed Khalil, Fahad A. Alhumaydhi, Tabussam Tufail, Mohammad Ali Shariati, Maksim Rebezov, Zainab M. Almarhoon, Yahia N. Mabkhot, Abdulrhman Alsayari and Kannan R. R. Rengasamy
Additional contact information
Abdur Rauf: Department of Chemistry, University of Swabi, Swabi, Anbar 23430, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Tareq Abu-Izneid: Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Al Ain Campus 64141, UAE
Ahmed Olatunde: Department of Biochemistry, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauch 740272, Nigeria
Anees Ahmed Khalil: University Institute of Diet and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, The University of Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Fahad A. Alhumaydhi: Department of Medical Laboratories, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah 52571, Saudi Arabia
Tabussam Tufail: University Institute of Diet and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, The University of Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Mohammad Ali Shariati: K.G. Razumovsky Moscow State University of Technologies and Management (the First Cossack University), 73 Zemlyanoy Val, 109004 Moscow, Russian
Maksim Rebezov: V.M. Gorbatov Federal Research Center for Food Systems of Russian Academy of Sciences, 109316 Moscow, Russian
Zainab M. Almarhoon: Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Yahia N. Mabkhot: Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia
Abdulrhman Alsayari: Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha 61441, Saudi Arabia
Kannan R. R. Rengasamy: Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-32

Abstract: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which reported in an outbreak in 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The virus belongs to the beta-coronavirus class, along with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus. Interestingly, the virus binds with angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 found in host cells, through the spike (S) protein that exists on its surface. This binding causes the entry of the virus into cells of the host organism. The actual mechanism used by the COVID-19 virus to induce disease is still speculative. A total of 44,322,504 cases, a 1,173,189 death toll and 32,486,703 recovery cases have been reported in 217 countries globally as of 28 October 2020. Symptoms from the infection of the virus include chest pain, fever, fatigue, nausea, and others. Acute respiratory stress syndrome, arrhythmia, and shock are some of the chronic manifestations recorded in severe COVID-19. Transmission is majorly by individual-to-individual through coughing, sneezing, etc. The lack of knowledge regarding the mechanism of and immune response to the virus has posed a challenge in the development of a novel drug and vaccine. Currently, treatment of the disease involves the use of anti-viral medications such as lopinavir, remdesivir, and other drugs. These drugs show some efficacy in the management of COVID-19. Studies are still on-going for the development of an ideal and novel drug for treatment. In terms of natural product intervention, Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM) have been employed to alleviate the clinical manifestation and severity of the disease and have shown some efficacy. This review presents an updated detailed overview of COVID-19 and the virus, concerning its structure, epidemiology, symptoms and transmission, immune responses, and current interventions, and highlights the potential of TCM. It is anticipated that this review will further add to the understanding of COVID-19 and the virus, hence opening new research perspectives.

Keywords: epidemiology; Traditional Chinese Medicines; anti-viral; angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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