A comprehensive review of COVID-19 characteristics

Esakandari, Hanie; Nabi-Afjadi, Mohsen; Fakkari-Afjadi, Javad; Farahmandian, Navid; Miresmaeili, Seyed-Mohsen; Bahreini, Elham

In December 2019, a novel coronavirus, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or (2019-nCoV) with unknown origin spread in Hubei province of China. The epidemic disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 called coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). The presence of COVID-19 was manifested by several symptoms, ranging from asymptomatic/mild symptoms to severe illness and death. The viral infection expanded internationally and WHO announced a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. To quickly diagnose and control such a highly infectious disease, suspicious individuals were isolated and diagnostic/treatment procedures were developed through patients’ epidemiological and clinical data. Early in the COVID-19 outbreak, WHO invited hundreds of researchers from around the world to develop a rapid quality diagnosis, treatment and vaccines, but so far no specific antiviral treatment or vaccine has been approved by the FDA. At present, COVID-19 is managed by available antiviral drugs to improve the symptoms, and in severe cases, supportive care including oxygen and mechanical ventilation is used for infected patients. However, due to the worldwide spread of the virus, COVID-19 has become a serious concern in the medical community. According to the current data of WHO, the number of infected and dead cases has increased to 8,708,008 and 461,715, respectively (Dec 2019 –June 2020). Given the high mortality rate and economic damage to various communities to date, great efforts must be made to produce successful drugs and vaccines against 2019-nCoV infection. For this reason, first of all, the characteristics of the virus, its pathogenicity, and its infectious pathways must be well known. Thus, the main purpose of this review is to provide an overview of this epidemic disease based on the current evidence.