Recent Development in Diagnosis and Treatment of COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a transmissible disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The primary clinical expression of COVID-19 is an acute respiratory illness with interstitial and alveolar pneumonia. The virus originated in late 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The infectious agent, based upon genetic studies is of zoonotic origin and spread in the local population possibly through community spread by persons shopping at wet animal market, where live wild game is sold. The rapid spread of COVID-19 led it to be declared a global pandemic by the WHO. As of September 21, 2020, 30,675,675 cummulative cases of COVID-19 have been reported worldwide with 954,417 cumulative deaths. The diagnosis of COVID-19 is based primarily on epidemiological factors, clinical symptoms, and laboratory testing techniques such as hemography, chest computed tomography, and virologic examination. To date, there are no clinically approved vaccines or antiviral drugs available for use against COVID-19. Nevertheless, in clinical trials, a few broad-spectrum antiviral drugs as well as repurposed drugs approved for other indications have been assessed against COVID-19. In this review, we highlight the epidemiology, symptoms, transmission, pathogenesis of the COVID-19, with emphasis on current progress in rapid diagnosis and treatment options.
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