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; Kannan R R Rengasamy

doi:10.3390/ijerph17218155

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

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Nov 4;17(21):8155. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17218155.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of Swabi, Swabi, Anbar 23430, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
² Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Al Ain Campus 64141, UAE.
³ Department of Biochemistry, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauch 740272, Nigeria.
⁴ University Institute of Diet and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, The University of Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan.
⁵ Department of Medical Laboratories, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah 52571, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ K.G. Razumovsky Moscow State University of Technologies and Management (the First Cossack University), 73 Zemlyanoy Val, 109004 Moscow, Russian.
⁷ V.M. Gorbatov Federal Research Center for Food Systems of Russian Academy of Sciences, 109316 Moscow, Russian.
⁸ Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, 119991 Moscow, Russian.
⁹ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia.
¹¹ Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha 61441, Saudi Arabia.
¹² Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam.
¹³ Faculty of Environment and Chemical Engineering, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam.
¹⁴ Indigenous Knowledge Systems Centre, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho 2745, North West Province, South Africa.

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: Traditional Chinese Medicines; angiotensin-converting enzyme-2; anti-viral; epidemiology.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Betacoronavirus
COVID-19
Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
Coronavirus Infections / therapy*
Humans
Medicine, Chinese Traditional
Pandemics
Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
Pneumonia, Viral / therapy*
SARS-CoV-2