A Comparative Analysis of Factors Influencing Two Outbreaks of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in Saudi Arabia and South Korea

Targeting papain-like protease by natural products as novel therapeutic potential SARS-CoV-2

The highly infectious respiratory illness 'COVID-19' was caused by SARS-CoV-2 and is responsible for millions of deaths. SARS-single-stranded viral RNA genome encodes several structural and nonstructural proteins, including papain-like protease (PLpro), which is essential for viral replication and immune evasion and serve as a potential therapeutic target. Multiple computational techniques were used to search the natural compounds that may block the protease and deubiquitinase activities of PLpro. Five compounds showed strong interactions and binding energy (ranges between -8.18 to -8.69 Kcal/mol) in our in-silico studies. Interestingly, those molecules strongly bind in the PLpro active site and form a stable complex, as shown by microscale molecular dynamic simulations (MD). The dynamic movements indicate that PLpro acquires closed conformation by the attachment of these molecules, thereby changing its normal function. In the in-vitro evaluation, compound COMP4 showed the most potent inhibitory potential for PLpro (protease activity: 2.24 ± 0.17 μM and deubiquitinase activity: 1.43 ± 0.14 μM), followed by COMP1, 2, 3, and 5. Furthermore, the cytotoxic effect of COMP1-COMP5 on a human BJ cell line revealed that these compounds demonstrate negligible cytotoxicity at a dosage of 30 μM. The results suggest that these entities bear therapeutic efficacy for SARS-CoV-2 PLpro.

Estimation and sensitivity analysis of a COVID-19 model considering the use of face mask and vaccination

To model the COVID-19 infection and develop effective control measures, this paper proposes an SEIR-type epidemic model considering the impact of face-mask wearing and vaccination. Firstly, the effective reproduction number and the threshold conditions are obtained. Secondly, based on the data of South Korea from January 20, 2022 to March 21, 2022, the model parameters are estimated. Finally, a sensitivity analysis and the numerical study are conducted. The results show that the face-mask wearing is associated with [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] reductions in the numbers of cumulative cases and newly confirmed cases, respectively, after a period of 60 days, when the face mask wearing rate increases by [Formula: see text]. Furthermore, the vaccination rate is associated with [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] reductions in the numbers of cumulative cases and the newly confirmed cases, respectively, after the same period of 60 days when the vaccination rate is increased by [Formula: see text]. A combined measure involving face-mask wearing and vaccination may be more effective and reasonable in preventing and controlling this infection. It is also suggested that disease control departments should strongly recommended the wearing of face masks s as well as vaccination to prevent the unvaccinated people from becoming infected.

Research on Korean Translation in the Context of Epidemic Prevention and Control

An emergency like COVID-19 requires a theoretical framework for policy implementation that involves public and private sector collaborations. After policy failures, new institutions have formed that trigger PPP's later, allowing the incumbent administration to continue in office longer. It focuses on novel approaches to dealing with pandemics. The present administration put these rules in place to keep COVID-19 under control. When it comes to Real Time - polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing, South Korea's government and corporations partnered to swiftly raise the quantity of testing in the country. Models of policy change are shown to be dynamic, cyclical, and recursive. During the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea, an empirical content research was conducted. Even though South Korea's leader was at risk of losing public support to the point where impeachment was mentioned as a possible option, he dramatically reversed public mood to win general elections by a wide margin in April 2020, while the pandemic scenario persisted. To win reelection, democratic administrations are under more pressure to effectively perform crisis management when faced with a crisis. As a result, they are under even more pressure to immediately mobilize public and private resources. The emergency use authorization (EUA) protocol for test kits is an example of "leapfrogging actors" – up-and-coming innovators – who helped turn a pandemic tragedy into a possibility for sustained leadership and for them. The results based on infected premises culling rate ratio is 82.3%, number of measles cases report is 86.4%, spread and epidemic ratio is 84.2%, important of epidemiology is 89.35%, transmission potential of COVID-19 is 91.24% and illustration of epidemic control is 92.45. The results based on infected premises culling rate ratio is 82.3%, number of measles cases report is 86.4%, spread and epidemic ratio is 84.2%, important of epidemiology is 89.35%, transmission potential of COVID-19 is 91.24% and illustration of epidemic control is 92.45.

Epidemiologic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan, other regions of China, and globally based on data gathered from January 2020 to February 2021

This observation study examines coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) data from outbreak and other sites in China and worldwide in order to examine the epidemiological pattern of COVID-19 before the acquisition of immunity through widespread vaccination and infection. COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality data for January 2020 to February 2021 were obtained from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization. The number of cases was logarithmically transformed for comparison of the rate of increase or decrease with time across areas. From January to February 2020, the number of new confirmed cases in Wuhan grew substantially but returned to zero by May 2020. In other parts of China, the rate of decrease was lower than that in Wuhan, and the mortality rate was lower outside Wuhan (1.93%) than in Wuhan (7.68%). The influenza trends were similar to those of COVID-19, but the mortality rate of influenza was much lower (0.011%) than that of COVID-19. After the early stage, similar increase in the incidence rate with time was observed globally, although the total number of cases differed between regions. The outbreak severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 strain in Wuhan had low epidemic intensity and high virulence, but the epidemiological characteristics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 may not be associated with race, geography, or economic status. Importantly, more effective prevention and control measures and vaccines should be applied for controlling the variants.

Awareness, Practice and Level of Anxiety using Coronavirus Anxiety Scale among the Indian Population regarding COVID -19 Pandemic

Abstract: The most important aspect of Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) involves the circulation of trustworthy and accurate information in the public health interest domain. Strict stringency measures such as nationwide lockdown impacted people's mental health. Hence, this study was planned to assess the knowledge, practice, and anxiety among the Indian population about the ongoing pandemic in the initial phase. Methods: A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted between August 1, 2020, to October 5, 2020. Coronavirus Anxiety Scale was used to determine dysfunctional anxiety. Results: Among 553 participants, 73.6% had overall good knowledge of COVID-19 with mean correct score of 6.9±1.1. Majority of participants (97%) wore mask regularly, and 93% of respondents regularly washed their hands with soap and water. Only 14 participants scored ?9 on CAS, suggesting probable cases of dysfunctional anxiety associated with the COVID-19 crisis. Conclusion: The knowledge and practices of citizens in a nation reflect their preparedness and ability to deal with a pandemic of such proportion. Good knowledge translates to good practices and therefore reduces anxiety among the population. It is deemed necessary that people's knowledge and habits, including the mental impact, be accessed at periodic intervals to track their adaptation to pandemics over time.

Biological Properties of SARS-CoV-2 Variants: Epidemiological Impact and Clinical Consequences

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a virus that belongs to the coronavirus family and is the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As of May 2022, it had caused more than 500 million infections and more than 6 million deaths worldwide. Several vaccines have been produced and tested over the last two years. The SARS-CoV-2 virus, on the other hand, has mutated over time, resulting in genetic variation in the population of circulating variants during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also shown immune-evading characteristics, suggesting that vaccinations against these variants could be potentially ineffective. The purpose of this review article is to investigate the key variants of concern (VOCs) and mutations of the virus driving the current pandemic, as well as to explore the transmission rates of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs in relation to epidemiological factors and to compare the virus's transmission rate to that of prior coronaviruses. We examined and provided key information on SARS-CoV-2 VOCs in this study, including their transmissibility, infectivity rate, disease severity, affinity for angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors, viral load, reproduction number, vaccination effectiveness, and vaccine breakthrough.

MERS-CoV ORF4b employs an unusual binding mechanism to target IMPα and block innate immunity

The MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a highly pathogenic, emerging virus that produces accessory proteins to antagonize the host innate immune response. The MERS-CoV ORF4b protein has been shown to bind preferentially to the nuclear import adapter IMPα3 in infected cells, thereby inhibiting NF-κB-dependent innate immune responses. Here, we report high-resolution structures of ORF4b bound to two distinct IMPα family members. Each exhibit highly similar binding mechanisms that, in both cases, lack a prototypical Lys bound at their P2 site. Mutations within the NLS region dramatically alter the mechanism of binding, which reverts to the canonical P2 Lys binding mechanism. Mutational studies confirm that the novel binding mechanism is important for its nuclear import, IMPα interaction, and inhibition of innate immune signaling pathways. In parallel, we determined structures of the nuclear binding domain of NF-κB component p50 bound to both IMPα2 and α3, demonstrating that p50 overlaps with the ORF4b binding sites, suggesting a basis for inhibition. Our results provide a detailed structural basis that explains how a virus can target the IMPα nuclear import adapter to impair immunity, and illustrate how small mutations in ORF4b, like those found in closely related coronaviruses such as HKU5, change the IMPα binding mechanism.

MERS-CoV ORF4b antagonizes host innate immune response, partially via blocking nuclear import adapter IMPα activity and preventing nuclear translocation of NF-κB. Here, Munasinghe and Edwards et al. biochemically and structurally define the interaction between ORF4b and IMPα-family members and find a non-canonical interaction between ORF4b NLS and IMPα2 and IMPα3.

Modeling for COVID-19 with the contacting distance

COVID-19 is a public health emergency for human beings and brings some very harmful consequences in social and economic fields. In order to model COVID-19 and develop the effective control measures, this paper proposes an SEIR-type epidemic model with the contacting distance between the healthy individuals and the asymptomatic or symptomatic infected individuals, and the immigration rate of the healthy individuals since the contacting distance and the immigration rate are two critical factors which determine the transmission of COVID-19. Firstly, the threshold values of the contacting distance and the immigration rate are obtained to analyze the presented model. Secondly, based on the data from January 10, 2020, to March 18, 2020, for Wuhan city, all parameters are estimated. Finally, based on the estimated parameters, the sensitivity analysis and the numerical study are conducted. The results show that the contacting distance and the immigration rate play an important role in controlling COVID-19. Meanwhile, the extinct lag decreases as the contacting distance increases and/or the immigration rate decreases. Our study could give some reasonable suggestions for the health officials and the public and provide a theoretical issue for globally controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.

A comprehensive review of COVID-19 biology, diagnostics, therapeutics, and disease impacting the central nervous system

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a highly transmissible disease. SARS-CoV-2 is estimated to have infected over 153 million people and to have caused over 3.2 million global deaths since its emergence in December 2019. SARS-CoV-2 is the seventh coronavirus known to infect humans, and like other coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 infection is characterized by a variety of symptoms including general flu-like symptoms such as a fever, sore throat, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Severe cases often display signs of pneumonia, lymphopenia, acute kidney injury, cardiac injury, cytokine storms, lung damage, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), multiple organ failure, sepsis, and death. There is evidence that around 30% of COVID-19 cases have central nervous system (CNS) or peripheral nervous system (PNS) symptoms along with or in the absence of the previously mentioned symptoms. In cases of CNS/PNS impairments, patients display dizziness, ataxia, seizure, nerve pain, and loss of taste and/or smell. This review highlights the neurological implications of SARS-CoV-2 and provides a comprehensive summary of the research done on SARS-CoV-2 pathology, diagnosis, therapeutics, and vaccines up to May 5.

COVID-19; current situation and recommended interventions

BACKGROUND

The new coronavirus (SARS-COV-2) that emerged at the end of 2019 was stated in China and infected millions of people around the world, with the highest spread rate amongst humans compared with other coronaviruses. This paper aimed to review and analyse the published studies about COVID-19 diagnosis, prevention, and treatment.

METHOD

The reviewed studies were clinical trials, in-vivo, in-vitro, guidelines, reports from the world health organization (WHO), and the centre for disease control and prevention (CDC) in addition to systemic reviews. All data extracted and analysed to stand on the latest updates and recommendations for fighting this severe attack of COVID-19.

RESULTS

Most important antiviral therapy of COVID-19 clinical trials is still running without clear results, but a few trials have indicated the role of numerous drugs in the treatment of COVID-19. Specific recommendations for aerosol therapy should be followed for the management of COVID-19.

CONCLUSION

Nature of COVID-19 is still not very clear, however, management of the condition is similar to the previous attacks of coronaviruses.

Impact of intervention on the spread of COVID-19 in India: A model based study

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the virus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has already created emergency situations in almost every country of the world. The disease spreads all over the world within a very short period of time after its first identification in Wuhan, China in December, 2019. In India, the outbreak, starts on 2^nd March, 2020 and after that the cases are increasing exponentially. Very high population density, the unavailability of specific medicines or vaccines, insufficient evidences regarding the transmission mechanism of the disease also make it more difficult to fight against the disease properly in India. Mathematical models have been used to predict the disease dynamics and also to assess the efficiency of the intervention strategies in reducing the disease burden. In this work, we propose a mathematical model to describe the disease transmission mechanism between the individuals. Our proposed model is fitted to the daily new reported cases in India during the period 2^nd March, 2020 to 12^th November, 2020. We estimate the basic reproduction number, effective reproduction number and epidemic doubling time from the incidence data for the above-mentioned period. We further assess the effect of implementing preventive measures in reducing the new cases. Our model projects the daily new COVID-19 cases in India during 13^th November, 2020 to 25^th February, 2021 for a range of intervention strength. We also investigate that higher intervention effort is required to control the disease outbreak within a shorter period of time in India. Moreover, our analysis reveals that the strength of the intervention should be increased over the time to eradicate the disease effectively.

Assessment of awareness and hygiene practices regarding COVID-19 among adults in Gaza, Palestine

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide and become an emerging life-threatening pandemic disease since 2019. This study aimed to evaluate the basic knowledge, awareness, personal hygiene and healthy practices regarding COVID-19 during its outbreak among the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. It is a cross-sectional survey carried out between July and August 2020 and included 458 participants, aged 18 years or older, belonging to the five Gaza Strip governorates, Palestine, with a variety of socio-economic status. Sociodemographic data and data on COVID-19 knowledge, awareness, personal hygiene and healthy practices were collected via email and social media applications (WhatsApp and Facebook) from the study participants. Statistical analyses were performed using Vr 22 of the SPSS software. Overall, the mean ± SD age of the participants was 26.5 ± 4.2 years. Our findings showed that most of the Gazan adults had very good knowledge regarding COVID-19 in terms of host sources, causative agents, incubation period, symptoms, transmission, treatment and prevention. Additionally, most of the participants had a high level of personal hygiene and healthy practices during the COVID-19 outbreak, where personal hygiene and healthy practices against COVID-19 was 77.4%. Furthermore, a higher educational level did not affect the quality of personal hygiene and healthy practice behaviours during the COVID-19 outbreak. Although most of the Gazans had good knowledge regarding the healthy practices, a significant percentage of the population did not practice the hygiene protocol. Despite the majority of the Gazan population having very good knowledge regarding COVID-19 and a high level of personal hygiene and healthy practices during the COVID-19 outbreak, a small proportion require education about avoiding physical contact and maintaining social distancing with others during the pandemic.

Dental Practitioners' Knowledge, Attitude and Practices for Mouthwash Use Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction

COVID-19 created a peculiar situation worldwide, thus altering the fundamental dynamics of clinical dentistry. This KAP survey was carried out to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices among dental practitioners regarding the use of mouthwashes and emphasize on pre-procedural utilization of mouthwashes.

Methodology

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted during 1st to 15th July 2020, among working dental practitioners across the globe. A questionnaire was formed on Kwiksurveys.com, it comprised of demographic details, it further investigated the level of knowledge and new precautionary measures adopted. A total number of 707 dental practitioners from eighteen different countries responded.

Results

Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. A "fisher exact test" was applied to assess the difference between the mouthwashes prescribed by various countries. Knowledge section revealed a requisite understanding regarding the disease and its transmission. Only 38.9% of the participants knew that Povidone-iodine (PVP-I) mouthwashes are more efficient in reducing coronaviruses in contrast to mouthwashes made of chlorhexidine (CHX). Whereas 33.9% knew that 0.23% of PVP-I had substantial virucidal activity against SARS-COV, MERS-CoV, influenza virus and rotavirus while 31.1% recognized that oral rinses of Cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) remained successful in the oral cavity for up to 180-300 minutes.

Conclusion

There is an immense need to raise awareness among practitioners, regarding the viricidal activity of commercially available mouthwashes as demonstrated by numerous in-vitro studies and urge health workers to carry out more clinical trials and to get a translational step towards clinical practice.

New Caputo-Fabrizio fractional order SEIASqEqHR model for COVID-19 epidemic transmission with genetic algorithm based control strategy

Fractional derivative has a memory and non-localization features that make it very useful in modelling epidemics’ transition. The kernel of Caputo-Fabrizio fractional derivative has many features such as non-singularity, non-locality and an exponential form. Therefore, it is preferred for modeling disease spreading systems. In this work, we suggest to formulate COVID-19 epidemic transmission via SEIASqEqHR paradigm using the Caputo-Fabrizio fractional derivation method. In the suggested fractional order COVID-19 SEIASqEqHR paradigm, the impact of changing quarantining and contact rates are examined. The stability of the proposed fractional order COVID-19 SEIASqEqHR paradigm is studied and a parametric rule for the fundamental reproduction number formula is given. The existence and uniqueness of stable solution of the proposed fractional order COVID-19 SEIASqEqHR paradigm are proved. Since the genetic algorithm is a common powerful optimization method, we propose an optimum control strategy based on the genetic algorithm. By this strategy, the peak values of the infected population classes are to be minimized. The results show that the proposed fractional model is epidemiologically well-posed and is a proper elect.

A study on COVID-19 transmission dynamics: stability analysis of SEIR model with Hopf bifurcation for effect of time delay

This paper deals with a general SEIR model for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with the effect of time delay proposed. We get the stability theorems for the disease-free equilibrium and provide adequate situations of the COVID-19 transmission dynamics equilibrium of present and absent cases. A Hopf bifurcation parameter τ concerns the effects of time delay and we demonstrate that the locally asymptotic stability holds for the present equilibrium. The reproduction number is brief in less than or greater than one, and it effectively is controlling the COVID-19 infection outbreak and subsequently reveals insight into understanding the patterns of the flare-up. We have included eight parameters and the least square method allows us to estimate the initial values for the Indian COVID-19 pandemic from real-life data. It is one of India's current pandemic models that have been studied for the time being. This Covid19 SEIR model can apply with or without delay to all country's current pandemic region, after estimating parameter values from their data. The sensitivity of seven parameters has also been explored. The paper also examines the impact of immune response time delay and the importance of determining essential parameters such as the transmission rate using sensitivity indices analysis. The numerical experiment is calculated to illustrate the theoretical results.

Assessment of Epidemiological Determinants of COVID-19 Pandemic Related to Social and Economic Factors Globally

The COVID-19 pandemic has manifested more than a health crisis and has severely impacted on social, economic, and development crises in the world. The relationship of COVID-19 with countries’ economic and other demographic statuses is an important criterion with which to assess the impact of this current outbreak. Based on available data from the online platform, we tested the hypotheses of a country’s economic status, population density, the median age of the population, and urbanization pattern influence on the test, attack, case fatality, and recovery rates of COVID-19. We performed correlation and multivariate multinomial regression analysis with relative risk ratio (RRR) to test the hypotheses. The correlation analysis showed that population density and test rate had a significantly negative association (r = −0.2384, p = 0.00). In contrast, the median age had a significant positive correlation with recovery rate (r = 0.4654, p = 0.00) and case fatality rate (r = 0.2847, p = 0.00). The urban population rate had a positive significant correlation with recovery rate (r = 0.1610, p = 0.04). Lower-middle-income countries had a negative significant correlation with case fatality rate (r= −0.3310, p = 0.04). The multivariate multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that low-income countries are more likely to have an increased risk of case fatality rate (RRR = 0.986, 95% Confidence Interval; CI = 0.97−1.00, p < 0.05) and recovery rate (RRR = 0.967, 95% CI = 0.95–0.98, p = 0.00). The lower-income countries are more likely to have a higher risk in case of attack rate (RRR = 0.981, 95% CI = 0.97–0.99, p = 0.00) and recovery rate (RRR = 0.971, 95% CI = 0.96–0.98, p = 0.00). Similarly, upper middle-income countries are more likely to have higher risk in case of attack rate (RRR = 0.988, 95% CI = 0.98–1.0, p = 0.01) and recovery rate (RRR = 0.978, 95% CI = 0.97–0.99, p = 0.00). The low- and lower-middle-income countries should invest more in health care services and implement adequate COVID-19 preventive measures to reduce the risk burden. We recommend a participatory, whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach for responding to the socio-economic challenges of COVID-19 and ensuring more resilient and robust health systems to safeguard against preventable deaths and poverty by improving public health outcomes.

Identification of a druggable binding pocket in the spike protein reveals a key site for existing drugs potentially capable of combating Covid-19 infectivity

BACKGROUND

Following the recent outbreak of the new coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19), the rapid determination of the structure of the homo-trimeric spike glycoprotein has prompted the study reported here. The aims were to identify potential "druggable" binding pockets in the protein and, if located, to virtual screen pharmaceutical agents currently in use for predicted affinity to these pockets which might be useful to restrict, reduce, or inhibit the infectivity of the virion.

RESULTS

Our analyses of this structure have revealed a key potentially druggable pocket where it might be viable to bind pharmaceutical agents to inhibit its ability to infect human cells. This pocket is found at the inter-chain interface that exists between two domains prior to the virion binding to human Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) protein. One of these domains is the highly mobile receptor binding domain, which must move into position to interact with ACE2, which is an essential feature for viral entry to the host cell. Virtual screening with a library of purchasable drug molecules has identified pharmaceuticals currently in use as prescription and over the counter medications that, in silico, readily bind into this pocket.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights possible drugs already in use as pharmaceuticals that may act as agents to interfere with the movements of the domains within this protein essential for the infectivity processes and hence might slow, or even halt, the infection of host cells by this new coronavirus. As these are existing pharmaceuticals already approved for use in humans, this knowledge could accelerate their roll-out, through repurposing, for affected individuals and help guide the efforts of other researchers in finding effective treatments for the disease.

Pediatric SARS, H1N1, MERS, EVALI, and Now Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pneumonia: What Radiologists Need to Know

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to review new pediatric lung disorders-including disorders that have occurred in recent years years such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), swine-origin influenza A (H1N1), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI), and coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pneumonia-to enhance understanding of the characteristic imaging findings. CONCLUSION. Although the clinical symptoms of SARS, H1N1, MERS, EVALI, and COVID-19 pneumonia in pediatric patients may be nonspecific, some characteristic imaging findings have emerged or are currently emerging. It is essential for radiologists to have a clear understanding of the characteristic imaging appearances of these lung disorders in pediatric patients to ensure optimal patient care.

Current Status of Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Therapeutics, and Vaccines for Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which causes serious respiratory illness such as pneumonia and lung failure, was first reported in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, China. The etiological agent of COVID-19 has been confirmed as a novel coronavirus, now known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is most likely originated from zoonotic coronaviruses, like SARS-CoV, which emerged in 2002. Within a few months of the first report, SARS-CoV-2 had spread across China and worldwide, reaching a pandemic level. As COVID-19 has triggered enormous human casualties and serious economic loss posing global threat, an understanding of the ongoing situation and the development of strategies to contain the virus's spread are urgently needed. Currently, various diagnostic kits to test for COVID-19 are available and several repurposing therapeutics for COVID-19 have shown to be clinically effective. In addition, global institutions and companies have begun to develop vaccines for the prevention of COVID-19. Here, we review the current status of epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and vaccine development for COVID-19.

COVID-19 in the Shadows of MERS-CoV in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has plagued the Middle East since it was first reported in 2012. Recently, at the end of December 2019, a cluster of pneumonia cases were reported from Wuhan city, Hubei Province, China, linked to a wet seafood market with a new coronavirus identified as the etiologic agent currently named SARS-CoV-2. Most cases are in Mainland China with international spread to 25 countries. The novelty of the virus, the rapid national and international spread, and the lack of therapeutic and preventative strategies have led the WHO International Health Regulation emergency committee to declare the disease as Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on January 30, 2020. As it relates to countries with the ongoing MERS-CoV community cases and hospital acquired infections, there will be a huge challenge for HCWs to deal with both coronaviruses, especially with the lack of standardized and approved point of care testing. This challenge will now be faced by the whole global health community dealing with COVID-19 since both coronaviruses have similar presentation. Those patients should now be tested for both MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 simultaneously, and with the continuing wide international spread of SARS-CoV-2, the travel history to China in the last 14 days will be of less significance.

Estimation of the Transmission Risk of the 2019-nCoV and Its Implication for Public Health Interventions

Since the emergence of the first cases in Wuhan, China, the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection has been quickly spreading out to other provinces and neighboring countries. Estimation of the basic reproduction number by means of mathematical modeling can be helpful for determining the potential and severity of an outbreak and providing critical information for identifying the type of disease interventions and intensity. A deterministic compartmental model was devised based on the clinical progression of the disease, epidemiological status of the individuals, and intervention measures. The estimations based on likelihood and model analysis show that the control reproduction number may be as high as 6.47 (95% CI 5.71-7.23). Sensitivity analyses show that interventions, such as intensive contact tracing followed by quarantine and isolation, can effectively reduce the control reproduction number and transmission risk, with the effect of travel restriction adopted by Wuhan on 2019-nCoV infection in Beijing being almost equivalent to increasing quarantine by a 100 thousand baseline value. It is essential to assess how the expensive, resource-intensive measures implemented by the Chinese authorities can contribute to the prevention and control of the 2019-nCoV infection, and how long they should be maintained. Under the most restrictive measures, the outbreak is expected to peak within two weeks (since 23 January 2020) with a significant low peak value. With travel restriction (no imported exposed individuals to Beijing), the number of infected individuals in seven days will decrease by 91.14% in Beijing, compared with the scenario of no travel restriction.