COVID-19, MERS and SARS; Understanding Similarities and Differences
Abstract
Sever acute respiratory syndrome corona virus (SARS-CoV) , Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are members of the corona virus family that have been implicated for epidemics and deaths globally. These viruses have similar structural features and pathogenesis, yet are different in terms of genome sequence, coat protein and infectivity. There are no proven treatments or vaccines for previous epidemics caused by MERS COV and SARS CoV and the infection spread by SARS COV-2 has been more pronounced as compared to the other two. So far, the spread of SARS CoV 2 can be prevented by social distancing and treated with supportive therapies. This article reviews the three corona viruses and draws comparison between their features to better understand the disease process.
References
Fehr AR, Perlman S. Coronaviruses: an overview of their replication and pathogenesis. In Coronaviruses. Humana Press, New York, NY. 2015; pp: 1-23.
LuR,ZhaoX,LiJ,NiuP,YangB,WuH,etal.Genomic characterisation and epidemiology of 2019 novel coronavirus: implications for virus origins and receptor binding. The Lancet. 2020; 395: 565-74.
Chen Y, Liu Q, Guo D. Emerging coronaviruses: genome structure, replication, and pathogenesis. Journal of medical virology. 2020; 92: 418-23.
Cucinotta D, Vanelli M. WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic. Acta bio-medica: Atenei Parmensis. 2020; 91: 157-60.
Cascella M, Rajnik M, Cuomo A, Dulebohn SC, Di Napoli R. Features, evaluation and treatment coronavirus (COVID- 19). InStatpearls [internet] 2020 Mar 8. StatPearls Publishing.
World Health Organization [Internet]. Geneva , Switzerland : Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.; July 8, 2020 [updated 2020 Jul 8; cited 2020 Jul 8]. Available from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel- coronavirus-2019
World Health Organization [Internet]. Geneva, Switzerland: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Situation Report – 169.; July 8, 2020 [updated 2020 Jul 7; cited 2020 Jul 8]. Available from: https://www.who.int/docs/default- source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200707-covid- 19-sitrep-169.pdf?sfvrsn=c6c69c88_2
Bai Y, Yao L, Wei T, Tian F, Jin DY, Chen L, et al. Presumed asymptomatic carrier transmission of COVID-19. Jama. 2020; 323: 1406-7.
Virlogeux V, Park M, Wu JT, Cowling BJ. Association between severity of MERS-CoV infection and incubation period. Emerging infectious diseases. 2016; 22: 526-28.
Center of Diasease Control and Prevention (CDC), [Internet]. USA: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).; July 8, 2020 [updated May 3, 2005; cited 2020 Jul 8]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/sars/ about/faq.html
Liu P, Jiang JZ, Wan XF, Hua Y, Li L, Zhou J, et al. Are pangolins the intermediate host of the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS- CoV-2)?. PLoS Pathogens. 2020; 16: e1008421.
World Health Organization [Internet]. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO MERS-CoV Global Summary and risk assessment.; Dec 5, 2016 [updated 2016 Dec 5; cited 2020 Jul 8]. Available from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/ mers-cov/mers-summary-2016.pdf?ua=1
Amirian ES. Potential fecal transmission of SARS-CoV-2: current evidence and implications for public health. International Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2020; 95: 363- 70.
Alshahrani MS, Sindi A, Alshamsi F, Al-Omari A, El Tahan M, Alahmadi B, et al. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for severe Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. Annals of intensive care. 2018; 8: 3-10.
National Health Service. SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrom). NHS, United Kingdom. [Updated on October 24th 2019, Accessed May 30th 2020]. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sars/
World Health Organization. Infection prevention and control during health care when novel coronavirus (ýýýýýnCoV)ýýýýýý infection is suspected: Interim Guidance, 25 January 2020. Available at: https://apps.who.int/iris/rest/bitstreams/1272420/retriev e
The Economist. Understanding SARS-CoV-2 and the drugs that might lessen its power. United Kingdom, 2020. [Updated on March 12th 2020, Accessed on May 30th 2020]. Available at: https://www.economist.com/briefing/ 2020/03/12/understanding-sars-cov-2-and-the-drugs- that-might-lessen-its-power
Stadler K, Masignani V, Eickmann M, Becker S, Abrignani S, Klenk HD, et al. SARS-beginning to understand a new virus. Nature Reviews Microbiology. 2003; 1: 209-18.
Ramadan N, Shaib H. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV): A review. Germs. 2019; 9: 35-42.
Assiri A, Al-Tawfiq JA, Al-Rabeeah AA, Al-Rabiah FA, Al- Hajjar S, Al-Barrak A, et al. Epidemiological, demographic, and clinical characteristics of 47 cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease from Saudi Arabia: a descriptive study. The Lancet infectious diseases. 2013; 13: 752-61.
Hui DS. Epidemic and emerging coronaviruses (severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory syndrome). Clinics in Chest Medicine. 2017; 38: 71-86.
Novel CP. The epidemiological characteristics of an outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) in China. Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi. 2020; 41: 145-51. 23. Taneja V. Sex hormones determine immune response.
Frontiers in immunology. 2018; 9: 1931-35.
Chen Y, Guo Y, Pan Y, Zhao ZJ. Structure analysis of the
receptor binding of 2019-nCoV. Biochemical and
biophysical research communications. 2020; 525: 135-40. 25. Xia S, Liu M, Wang C, Xu W, Lan Q, Feng S, et al. Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 (previously 2019-nCoV) infection by a highly potent pan-coronavirus fusion inhibitor targeting its spike protein that harbors a high capacity to mediate membrane
fusion. Cell research. 2020; 30: 343-55.
Zang R, Castro MF, McCune BT, Zeng Q, Rothlauf PW, Sonnek
NM, et al. TMPRSS2 and TMPRSS4 promote SARS-CoV-2 infection of human small intestinal enterocytes. Science immunology. 2020; 5: 1-15.
Wrapp D, Wang N, Corbett KS, Goldsmith JA, Hsieh CL, Abiona O, et al. Cryo-EM structure of the 2019-nCoV spike in the prefusion conformation. Science. 2020; 367: 1260-3.
Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Zhao J, Hu Y, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. The lancet. 2020; 395: 497-506.
Assiri A, Al-Tawfiq JA, Al-Rabeeah AA, Al-Rabiah FA, Al- Hajjar S, Al-Barrak A, et al. Epidemiological, demographic, and clinical characteristics of 47 cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease from Saudi Arabia: a descriptive study. The Lancet infectious diseases. 2013; 13: 752-61.
Yang Y, Peng F, Wang R, Guan K, Jiang T, Xu G, et al. The deadly coronaviruses: The 2003 SARS pandemic and the 2020 novel coronavirus epidemic in China. Journal of autoimmunity. 2020; 109: 1-16.
Hassan SA, Sheikh FN, Jamal S, Ezeh JK, Akhtar A. Coronavirus (COVID-19): a review of clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment. Cureus. 2020; 12: e7355.
Al Hajjar S, Memish ZA, McIntosh K. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV): a perpetual challenge. Annals of Saudi medicine. 2013; 33: 427-36.
Sampathkumar P, Temesgen Z, Smith TF, Thompson RL. SARS: epidemiology, clinical presentation, management, and infection control measures. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2003; 78: 882-90.
Beigel JH, Tomashek KM, Dodd LE, Mehta AK, Zingman BS, Kalil AC, et al. Remdesivir for the treatment of Covid- 19—preliminary report. N. Engl. J Med. 2020 ;8 : NEJMoa2007764.
Food and Drug Regulation Authority. [Internet]. USA. Fact sheet for health care providers emergency use authorization (EUA) of Remdesivir (GS-5734TM). July, 2020 [updated 2020 Jul, cited 2020 Jul 8]. Available from: https://www.fda.gov/media/137566/download
Doggrell SA. Does lopinavir measure up in the treatment of Covid-19?. Expert Opinion on Inestigational Drugs. 2020 Aug 2.
Kolilekas L, Loverdos K, Giannakaki S, Vlassi L, Levounets A, Zervas E, et al. Can steroids reverse the severe COVID-19 induced 'cytokine storm'?. Journal of Medical Virology. 2020; 12: 1-4.
Rajendran K, Narayanasamy K, Rangarajan J, Rathinam J, Natarajan M, Ramachandran A. Convalescent plasma transfusion for the treatment of COVID-19: Systematic
review. Journal of Medical Virology. 2020; 92: 1475-83.
Vankadari N. Arbidol: a potential antiviral drug for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 by blocking the trimerization of viral spike glycoprotein? International Journal of
Antimicrobial Agents. 2020; 56: 1-3.
Alshahrani MS, Sindi A, Alshamsi F, Al-Omari A, El Tahan M,
Alahmadi B, et al. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for severe Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. Annals of intensive care. 2018; 8: 2-10.
Lai ST. Treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome. European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 2005; 24: 583-91.
Kim JY, Song JY, Yoon YK, Choi SH, Song YG, Kim SR, et al. Middle East respiratory syndrome infection control and prevention guideline for healthcare facilities. Infection & chemotherapy. 2015; 47: 278-302.
Geller C, Varbanov M, Duval RE. Human coronaviruses: insights into environmental resistance and its influence on the development of new antiseptic strategies. Viruses. 2012; 4: 3044-68.
Eastern Mediterranean Region [Internet]. World Health Organization. World Health Organization; [cited 2020Nov18]. Available from: http://www.emro.who.int/ health-topics/corona-virus/transmission-of-covid-19-by- asymptomatic-cases.html
