Unlocking the Secrets of Coronaviruses: A Comprehensive Analysis

Authors

  • Santana Rani Sarkar Associate Professor & Head, Microbiology, Netrokona Medical College, Netrokona Author
  • Nitai Chandra Ray Assistant Professor, Department of Nephrology, Community Based Medical College and Hospital, Bangladesh Author

Keywords:

COVID-19, Comprehensive Analysis, Coronaviruses, Healthcare Systems

Abstract

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause illness in animals and humans. These viruses are zoonotic, meaning they can be transmitted between animals and people. The outbreak of the coronavirus disease, also known as COVID-19, in late 2019 has had a significant impact on the world, spreading rapidly across countries and causing widespread illness and death. Coronaviruses are characterized by their crown- like spikes, which can be seen under an electron microscope, hence their name "corona." The symptoms can range from mild to severe, and in some cases, it can be fatal. Common signs of infection include fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, and body aches. The virus primarily spreads through respiratory droplets generated when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. It can also spread by to  uching surfaces contaminated by the virus and then touching the face, mouth, or eyes. As of now, there is no specific treatment for COVID-19, although various vaccines have been developed and are being distributed worldwide to mitigate the impact of the virus. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about numerous challenges across the globe. Governments have implemented strict measures such as lockdowns, travel restrictions, and mask mandates to limit transmission and prevent healthcare systems from becoming overwhelmed. The pandemic has also highlighted the importance of public health practices such as hand hygiene, social distancing, and wearing masks. As scientists and researchers continue to study coronaviruses, efforts are being made to develop effective treatments and preventive measures to tackle future outbreaks. The ongoing pandemic serves as a reminder of the need for global cooperation and preparedness against infectious diseases.

References

1. Peiris JSM. Coronaviruses. In: Greenwood D, Barer M, Slack R, Irving W, editors. Medical Microbiology. 18th ed. Elsevier; 2012. p. 587–93. doi:10.1016/B978-0- 7020-4089-4.00072-X.

2. Pal M, Berhanu G, Desalegn C, Kandi V. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2): An Update. Cureus. 2020;12(3):e7423. doi:10.7759/cureus.7423.

3. Desforges M, Le Coupanec A, Dubeau P, Bourgouin A, Lajoie L, Dubé M, et al. Human Coronaviruses and Other Respiratory Viruses: Underestimated Opportunistic Pathogens of the Central Nervous System? Viruses. 2019;12(1):14. doi:10.3390/v12010014.

4. Fehr AR, Perlman S. Coronaviruses: an overview of their replication and pathogenesis. Methods Mol Biol. 2015;1282:1–23. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-2438 -7_1.

5. Singla R, Mishra A, Joshi R, Jha S, Sharma AR, Upadhyay S, et al. Human animal interface of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) transmission: a critical appraisal of scientific evidence. Vet Res Commun. 2020;44(3-4):119–30. doi:10.1007/s11259 -020-09781-0.

6. Jaiswal NK, Saxena SK. Classical Coronaviruses. In: Saxena SK, editor. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Singapore: Springer; 2020. p. 141–50. doi:10.1007/978-981-15-4814-7_12.

7. Al-Rohaimi AH, Al Otaibi F. Novel SARS-CoV-2 outbreak and COVID-19 disease; a systemic review on the global pandemic. Genes Dis. 2020;7(4):491–501. doi:10.1016/j.gendis.2020.06.004.

8. Sharma A, Tiwari S, Deb MK, Marty JL. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2): a global pandemic and treatment strategies. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2020;56(2):106054. doi:10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.106054.

9. Cascella M, Rajnik M, Aleem A, Dulebohn SC, Di Napoli R. Features, Evaluation, and Treatment of Coronavirus (COVID-19) . In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023

10. Naqvi AAT, Fatima K, Mohammad T, Fatima U, Singh IK, Singh A, et al. Insights into SARS-CoV-2 genome, structure, evolution, pathogenesis and therapies: Structural genomics approach. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. 2020;1866(10):165878. doi:10.1016/j.bbadis.2020.165878.

11. Grellet E, L'Hôte I, Goulet A, Imbert I. Replication of the coronavirus genome: A paradox among positive-strand RNA viruses. J Biol Chem. 2022;298(5):101923. doi:10.1016/j.jbc.2022.101923.

12. Yadav R, Chaudhary JK, Jain N, Chaudhary PK, Khanra S, Dhamija P, et al. Role of Structural and Non-Structural Proteins and Therapeutic Targets of SARS-CoV-2 for COVID-19. Cells. 2021;10(4):821. doi:10.3390/cells10040821.

13. Zhu Z, Lian X, Su X, Wu W, Marraro GA, Zeng Y. From SARS and MERS to COVID-19: a brief summary and comparison of severe acute respiratory infections caused by three highly pathogenic human coronaviruses. Respir Res. 2020;21:224. doi:10.1186/s12931-020-01479-w.

14. Wang Y, Grunewald M, Perlman S. Coronaviruses: An Updated Overview of Their Replication and Pathogenesis. Methods Mol Biol. 2020;2203:1–29. doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-0900-2_1.

15. El Hassan M,Assoum H,Bukharin N,Al Otaibi H,Mofijur M,Sakout A. Areview on the transmission of COVID-19 based on cough/sneeze/breath flows. Eur Phys J Plus. 2022;137:1. doi:10.1140/epjp/s13360-021-02162-9.

16. Jayaweera M, Perera H, Gunawardana B, Manatunge J. Transmission of COVID-19 virus by droplets and aerosols: A critical review on the unresolved dichotomy. Environ Res. 2020;188:109819. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2020.109819.

17. Chiu NC, Chi H, Tai YL, Peng CC, Tseng CY, Chen CC, et al. Impact of Wearing Masks, Hand Hygiene, and Social Distancing on Influenza, Enterovirus, and All- Cause Pneumonia During the Coronavirus Pandemic: Retrospective National Epidemiological Surveillance Study. J Med Internet Res. 2020;22(8):e21257. doi:10.2196/21257.

18. Hulswit RJ, de Haan CA, Bosch BJ. Coronavirus Spike Protein and Tropism Changes. Adv Virus Res. 2016;96:29–57. doi:10.1016/bs.aivir.2016.08.004.

19. Compans RW, Herrler G. Virus Infection of Epithelial Cells. In: Ogra PL, Mestecky J, Lamm ME, Strober W, Bienenstock J, McGhee JR, editors. Mucosal Immunology. 3rd ed. Academic Press; 2005. p. 769–82. doi:10.1016/B978-012491543-5/50045-0.

20. Beyerstedt S, Casaro EB, Rangel ÉB. COVID-19: angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) expression and tissue susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Eur J Clin MicrobiolInfect Dis. 2021;40(5):905–19. doi:10.1007/s10096-020-04138-6.

21. Weiss SR,Navas-Martin S. Coronavirus pathogenesis and the emerging pathogen severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 2005;69(4):635–64. doi:10.1128/MMBR.69.4.635-664.2005.

22. Coerdt KM, Khachemoune A. Corona viruses: reaching far beyond the common cold. Afr Health Sci. 2021;21(1):207–13. doi:10.4314/ahs.v21i1.27.

23. Zhong NS,Wong GW. Epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS): adults and children. Paediatr Respir Rev. 2004;5(4):270–4. doi:10.1016/j.prrv.2004.07.011.

24. Burger CD, Mikhail AE, Orenstein R, Ebbert JO, Vergidis P, Badley AD. Research response to SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19. InMayo Clinic Proceedings 2020 Sep 1 (Vol. 95, No. 9, pp. S52-S55). Elsevier.

25. Memish ZA, Perlman S, Van Kerkhove MD, Zumla A. Middle East respiratory syndrome. Lancet. 2020;395(10229):1063–77. doi:10.1016/S0140- 6736(19)33221-0.

26. Omrani AS, Al-Tawfiq JA, Memish ZA. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV): animal to human interaction. Pathog Glob Health. 2015;109(8):354–62. doi:10.1080/20477724.2015.1122852. PMID: 26924345; PMCID: PMC4809235.

27. McFee RB. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Coronavirus. Dis Mon. 2020;66(9):101053. doi:10.1016/j.disamonth.2020.101053. PMID: 32773137; PMCID:PMC7386480.

28. Hui DS, Azhar EI, Kim YJ, Memish ZA, Oh MD, Zumla A. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: risk factors and determinants of primary, household, and nosocomial transmission. Lancet Infect Dis. 2018;18(8):e217–27. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(18)30127-0. PMID: 29680581;PMCID:PMC7164784.

29. Stadnytskyi V, Anfinrud P, Bax A. Breathing, speaking, coughing or sneezing: What drives transmission of SARS-CoV-2? J Intern Med. 2021;290(5):1010–27. doi:10.1111/joim.13326. PMID:34105202;PMCID: PMC8242678.

30. Han E, Tan MMJ, Turk E, Sridhar D, Leung GM, Shibuya K, et al. Lessons learnt from easing COVID-19 restrictions: an analysis of countries and regions in Asia Pacific and Europe. Lancet. 2020;396(10261):1525–34. doi:10.1016/S0140- 6736(20)32007-9. PMID:32979936;PMCID: PMC7515628.

31. McIntosh K, Hirsch MS, Bloom A. COVID-19: Epidemiology, virology, and prevention. UpToDate. Available online: https://www. uptodate. com/contents/covid-19-epidemiology-virology-and-prevention (accessed on 18 March 2021). 2021 Mar 18.

32. Temmam S,Vongphayloth K,Baquero E,et al. Bat coronaviruses related to SARS- CoV-2 and infectious for human cells. Nature. 2022;604:330–6. doi:10.1038/s41586-022-04532-4.

33. Hu B, Guo H, Zhou P, et al. Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2021;19:141–54. doi:10.1038/s41579-020-00459-7.

34. Banerjee A, Doxey AC, Mossman K, Irving AT. Unraveling the Zoonotic Origin and Transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Trends Ecol Evol. 2021;36(3):180–4. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2020.12.002. PMID:33384197;PMCID: PMC7733689.

35. Nicola M, Alsafi Z, Sohrabi C, Kerwan A, Al-Jabir A, Iosifidis C, et al. The socio- economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19): A review. Int J Surg. 2020;78:185–93. doi:10.1016/j.ijsu.2020.04.018. PMID: 32305533; PMCID: PMC7162753.

36. Rong G, Zheng Y, Chen Y, Zhang Y, Zhu P, Sawan M. COVID-19 Diagnostic Methods and Detection Techniques. In: Encyclopedia of Sensors and Biosensors. 2023. p. 17–32. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-822548-6.00080-7. PMCID: PMC8409760.

37. Pavia CS, Plummer MM. The evolution of rapid antigen detection systems and their application for COVID-19 and other serious respiratory infectious diseases. J Microbiol Immunol Infect. 2021;54(5):776–86. doi:10.1016/j.jmii.2021.06.003. PMID:34272205;PMCID: PMC8234251.

38. Humphreys J. The importance of wearing masks in curtailing the COVID-19 pandemic. J Family Med Prim Care. 2020;9(6):2606–7. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_578_20. PMID:32984094;PMCID: PMC7491844.

39. Moghadas SM, Vilches TN, Zhang K, Wells CR, Shoukat A, Singer BH, et al. The impact of vaccination on COVID-19 outbreaks in the United States. medRxiv. 2021 Jan 2:2020.11.27.20240051. doi:10.1101/2020.11.27.20240051. Update in: Clin Infect Dis. 2021;73(12):2257–64. PMID: 33269359; PMCID: PMC7709178.

40. Contreras S, Dehning J, Loidolt M, Zierenberg J, Spitzner FP, Urrea-Quintero JH, et al. The challenges of containing SARS-CoV-2 via test-trace-and-isolate. Nat Commun. 2021;12(1):378. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-20699 8. PMID: 33452267; PMCID: PMC7810722.

41. Veronin MA, Lang A, Reinert JP. Remdesivir and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Essential Questions and Answers for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians. J Pharm Technol. 2021;37(1):62–74. doi:10.1177/8755122520967634. PMID: 34752546;PMCID:PMC7809328.

42. Mornese Pinna S, Lupia T, Scabini S, Vita D, De Benedetto I, Gaviraghi A, et al. Monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of COVID-19 patients: An umbrella to overcome the storm? Int Immunopharmacol. 2021;101(Pt A):108200. doi:10.1016/j.intimp.2021.108200. PMID: 34607231;PMCID: PMC8479899.

43. Kumari M, Lu RM, Li MC, et al. A critical overview of current progress for COVID- 19: development of vaccines, antiviral drugs, and therapeutic antibodies. J Biomed Sci. 2022;29:68. doi:10.1186/s12929-022-00852-9.

44. Amaya AB, De Lombaerde P. Regional cooperation is essential to combatting health emergencies in the Global South. Global Health. 2021;17:9. doi:10.1186/s12992-021-00659-7.

Downloads

Published

2024-12-31

Issue

Section

Review Article

How to Cite

Sarkar, S. R., & Nitai Chandra Ray. (2024). Unlocking the Secrets of Coronaviruses: A Comprehensive Analysis. Journal of Netrokona Medical College, 1(1), 23-28. https://nmcj.org/jnmc/article/view/4