2020 update on human coronaviruses: One health, one world

Xinbin Zhao; Yuecheng Ding; Jing Du; Yubo Fan

doi:10.1016/j.medntd.2020.100043

2020 update on human coronaviruses: One health, one world

Med Nov Technol Devices. 2020 Dec:8:100043. doi: 10.1016/j.medntd.2020.100043. Epub 2020 Aug 29.

Authors

Xinbin Zhao¹, Yuecheng Ding², Jing Du^{1

3}, Yubo Fan^{1

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Chinese Education Ministry, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China.
² School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
³ Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Human Motion Analysis and Rehabilitation Technology of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, National Research Center for Rehabilitation Technical Aids, Beijing, 100176, China.

Abstract

Since human coronavirus (HCoVs) was first described in the 1960s, seven strains of respiratory human coronaviruses have emerged and caused human infections. After the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a pneumonia outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has represented a pandemic threat to global public health in the 21st century. Without effectively prophylactic and therapeutic strategies including vaccines and antiviral drugs, these three coronaviruses have caused severe respiratory syndrome and high case-fatality rates around the world. In this review, we detail the emergence event, origin and reservoirs of all HCoVs, compare the differences with regard to structure and receptor usage, and summarize therapeutic strategies for COVID-19 that cause severe pneumonia and global pandemic.

Keywords: Gene structure; Human coronavirus; Receptor usage; Reservoirs; Therapeutic strategies.

Publication types

Review