The COVID-19 Pandemic

A Multidisciplinary Review of Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment

Hanadi Talal Ahmedah, Muhammad Riaz, Sagheer Ahmed, Marius Alexandru Moga

• Publisher: Apple Academic Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781774910504
• eBook ISBN: 9781000577266
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Clinical Medicine

This timely volume is a comprehensive review of the evolution, diagnosis, prevention, control, and treatment strategies (both modern as well as complementary and alternative) being used against COVID-19. With chapters written by experts in diverse medical fields from around the world, the volume presents authentic and easily understood information on this novel and often deadly virus.

The book is organized in sections that cover pathology, epidemiology, and diagnosis; prevention strategies; and treatment. The book first covers the morphology, pathogenesis, genome organization and replication of coronavirus (COVID-19) and then goes on to address epidemiology and pathogenesis, the psychological effects, and detection assays and techniques. Chapters on prevention strategies discuss social distancing and quarantine, face masks and hand sanitizers, lockdown strategies, and vaccines. The authors also cover diverse treatment strategies, including using medicinal plants, natural products, and traditional Chinese medicines as well as nanomedicines.

PART I Pathology, Epidemiology, and Diagnosis

CHAPTER 1 Morphology, Pathogenesis, Genome Organization, and Replication of Coronavirus (COVID-19)

SADIA JAVED,¹ BAHZAD AHMAD FARHAN,¹ MARIA SHABBIR,¹ AREEBA TAHSEEN,¹ HANADI TALAL AHMEDAH,² MARIUS MOGA³

¹Department of Biochemistry, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan

²Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Rabigh, Saudi Arabia

³Faculty of Medicine, Transilvania University of Brasov, Brasov-500036, Romania

ABSTRACT

Coronaviruses (COVID-19), the family of Coronaviridae, is a universally contagious and pathogenic viral infection which is known to contaminate humans and cause severe respiratory diseases. COVID-19 recently appears, and the World Health Organization (WHO) proclaimed it is a pandemic disease. A new family of Coronavirus named the novel CoV was recognized in Wuhan, the city of China, in December 2019, resulting in a redoubtable eruption in many of China’s cities and expanding worldwide. On February 11, 2020, the viral pandemic disease was named the COVID-19 by WHO. Genomic research reveals that the COVID-19 virus is bat originating from the Wuhan Seafood market, China, and has been transmitted to people via unknown intermediate hosts. The COVID-19 viral genome is +ssRNA (~30 kb) ORFs from 6 to 11 having 50 and 30 untranslated regions (UTRs) are included in the genome. COVID-19 has a composition same as SARS-CoV. Spike protein, membrane protein, viral envelope surface protein is incorporated into a host membrane lipid bilayer that encapsulates viral RNA viral helical nucleocapsids. Inhaling or contact with infected droplets is the transmission of the disease and the 2–14 days of incubation time. Symptoms for COVID-19 disease include high fever, weakness, and cough are usually initiated by non-specific syndromes. Special biochemical techniques are used for the diagnosis of the virus in respiratory secretions; Standard laboratory results include low WBC levels and abnormal CRP levels. The computed tomography (CT) chest scan is normally irregular, even though there are no signs or symptoms of sickness. Since the therapy is mostly successful, it is also necessary to decide how antiviral agents work. Home quarantine of suspected and minor illness cases is one way of preventing, and the implementation of strict hospital infection prevention measures, including touch and droplet precautions. The vaccine against COVID-19 has been developed in around 90 institutions worldwide, and it is considered to be an effective prophylactic strategy for control and prevention. Sadly, the WHO on world health scientific advancement to combat the new Coronavirus is addressed.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

For human beings and vertebrates, coronaviruses (CoVs) are major pathogens and can cause the degenerative infectious effects on the respiratory system, nervous system, hepatic, and digestive system of various vertebrates like humans, birds, bats, and other wild animals. The epidemic SARS in 2002/2003 and MERS in 2012 demonstrated the potential for newly developed CoVs to propagate from wild animals to human beings and then transferred exponentially from human to human. Since December 2019, a mystery pneumonia epidemic in Wuhan has drawn immense interest around the globe. The Chinese government and researchers have taken rapid steps to monitor the epidemic and carry out etiological studies. At least five different laboratories in China have detected the mystery pneumonia infectious virus as a novel coronavirus through DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) sequencing and etiological tests (nCoV). World Health Organization (WHO) on January 12, 2020 designated the infectious virus as the 2019-nCoV (novel coronavirus 2019) [1]. The MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 are all members of the Corona family Coronaviridae, with SARS-CoV-2 having the genomic sequence structure that is identical to SARS-CoV. COVID-19 disease is the diagnosed viral strain that is infected by the exposure of SARS-CoV-2 [1].

SARS CoV-2 was spread all over the world. SARS CoV-2 virus was bat-borne and transferred to human beings through an unidentified middle hosts in the Wuhan the city of China. Since December 2019, the Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been circulating globally [2]. The COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) is spreading internationally since December 2019, with hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions of virus-infected (COVID-19), and millions more [3]. Corona is a corona spike on the virus’ outer surface; it was sometimes referred to as a coronavirus [4]. Coronavirus (CoV) is a +ssRNA genome sequence, that is around 26–32 kb in genome size, the largest known RNA virus genome. Coronavirus infection mostly affects humans in the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and ranges from moderate, self-limiting conditions such as the common cold to severe symptoms of bronchitis and renal pneumonia [5]. Bronchoalveolar secretion and nasal swabs were obtained to identify the novel coronavirus from 9 infected patients that came from the market of Wuhan seafood after their preliminary outburst. Special pathogen-free cells from human airways (HAE) were used to capture the virus. Inoculation was done in the human alveoli cells via the apical surfaces. For RT-PCR experiments, HAE cells were tracked and supernatants obtained [6]. However, in nasopharyngeal and or pharyngeal samples were collected with symptoms of COVID-19 disease. The COVID-19 viral structure was detected by analyzing the SARS-CoV coronavirus morphology was discovered by electron microscopy of infected cells after 3 days of infection, with viral sizes varying from 70 to 90 nm, most often in vesicles [6]. However, conventionally been known that the intermediate source of transmission to humans is not understood. No antiviral medications or vaccines that have been clinically approved for COVID-19 use are eligible. Nevertheless, COVID-19 has been studied for therapeutic therapy in clinical experiments with few broad-spectrum antivirals [4].

1.2 COVID-19 HISTORY AND ORIGIN

RNA viruses containing single-stranded genome sequence that are enveloped present in infected persons, but also a huge diversity of species, are CoVs. On January 30, 2020, the WHO Emergency Committee raises up an international health threat, citing an increasing alert rate in China and other countries. Tyrell and Bynoe, who cultivated the virus in common cold patients in 1966, were the first to identify CoVs family [7]. The very first incident occurred in China the province of Guangdong, in 2002–2003, when a new genus Coronaviridae circulating in bats was transmitted from bats to human beings by the intermediate host for viral infection of palm civet cats. This viral infection is estimated to affect 8,422 persons, mainly in Hong Kong and China, contributing to 916 deaths before it was discovered (11% mortality rate) [8]. In Saudi Arabia, bat-borne respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) with dromedary camels has become the intermediary host almost 10 years later those results in 858 deaths in 2494 people (34% fatality rate; Figure 1.1) [9, 10].

FIGURE 1.1 Classification of coronavirus.

As a result, on the 26^th of December 2019, six days after onset of the infection, a 41 years old person was reported to Wuhan Central Hospital. He has no diagnosis of tuberculosis, hepatitis or diabetes and had been recorded for one week for pneumonia, chest infection, unproductive cough, pain, and exhaustion. The Wuhan CDCP performed an epidemiological study. The infected persons worked in a neighboring indoor marine store, which sold live marine wildlife (such as badgers, hedgehogs, birds, rabbits) as well as dead animals and shellfish and fish. No bats were there saleable, though, and while he may have contacted wild animals, the patient did not mention exposure to live poultry [11]. Between December 31, 2019 and January 3, 2020, public government in China reported 44 unspecified infected persons with causative pneumonia with the WHO. During this process of identification, no cause was found. WHO then received more information on the outbreak in Wuhan City in conjunction with one of the marine markets on 11 and 12 January 2020 by the China’s National Health Commission (NHC) on 7 January the Chinese extracted a new form of Coronaviridae and identified it in order to establish unique diagnostic kits for other countries. On January 12, 2020, China declared the genomic sequence of a novel coronavirus [12].

Thailand’s Ministry of Health announced the very first confirmed case from laboratory (nCoV-2019) transmitted case from Wuhan origin, Hubei Province, China, on January 13, 2020. The MHLW (Ministry of Health, Labor, and welfare) of Japan identified a novel coronavirus patient (COVID-19) from the similar origin on 15 January, 2020. The first novel coronavirus outbreak in Korea, similar in Wuhan, China, was verified by the National IHR Focal Point (NFP) for Korea on January 20, 2020 [13, 14].

1.3 SYMPTOMS

COVID-19 incubation, on the other hand, is predicted to last 14 days, with a mean interval from indication of symptoms of 4–5 days. In one study, 97.5% of patients were diagnosed with the symptoms of COVID-19 illnesses within 11.5 days of respiratory distress disorder, according to the CDCP. COVID-19 signs normally occur between 2–14 days of infection, with normal duration of 5.2 days [15]. Pneumonia, now known as COVID-19 disease, is a common symptom of a contaminated patient, as shown by a computed tomography (CT) examination or chest X-ray [16]. Early on, infected person showed signs of severe respiratory disease, with certain developing chronic obstructive pulmonary failure and other potential complications. The first three infected persons identified by the China’s novel SARS-CoV-2 discovering and testing team had severe illness, and 2 out of the 3 infected persons with relevant clinical profiling had a distinct fever condition [17]. At the beginning of COVID-19 disease, typical signs include fever, dry cough, muscle weakness, and disease, as well as other symptoms such as headache, lymphopenia, and dyspnea. However, 1 to 2 days before infection, some individuals can develop diarrhea or nausea [18, 19]. Patients may report problems with breathability 5 days after the onset of infection and ARDS on day 8 of infection. Abdominal pain and pneumonia will occur if the patient’s condition worsens; most physiological deficiencies depend on your immune state and health history [20].

As a result, the interval between diagnosis and death varies from 6 to 40 days, with an average range of 14 days [21]. The length is determined by a number of factors, including age and health, and is lower for infection above the age of 70 who have comorbidities [21]. The type of the disease differs from the symptoms. Cough, fever, and difficulty breathing are more frequent than people with milder illnesses (non-hospitable patients) among persons who are diagnosed with COVID-19. There are common symptoms of fever and respiratory i...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• About the Editors
• Table of Contents
• Contributors
• Abbreviations
• Preface
• Part I: Pathology, Epidemiology, and Diagnosis
• Part II: Prevention Strategies
• Part III: Treatment
• Index