Covid 19 Pandemic: An Overview

ABSTRACT

In the 1930's the corona virus was first identified as a highly contagious chicken respiratory virus. Two human coronaviruses were later identified, the human coronavirus 229E causing the flu and secondly the human coronavirus OC43. Others are also important as SARS-CoV. In late 2019 the outbreak of Pneumonia occurred in the Chinese city of Wuhan which was investigated as a result of the corona virus, renamed as 2019-nCoV by the World Health Organization (WHO) and. now called as SARS-CoV-2. The WHO has identified the global health problem as an epidemic. Respiratory droplets produced during coughing and sneezing are the main means of transmission of COVID-19. Infection with COVID-19 in an infected person may remain undetected. Common symptoms of fever and dry cough are less common in the production of sputum, fatigue and in some cases may be dyspnoea or shortness of breath. The COVID-19 virus is a type of RNA virus, the outer envelope containing a lipid bilayer in which various proteins are synthesized such as membrane (M), envelope (E) and spike (S). Hand washing, coughing, social isolation, wearing a face mask in public, disinfection areas, and isolation are various ways to prevent the disease. The diagnosis of COVID-19 can be made on the basis of symptoms and confirmed using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests. There are currently no antiretroviral drugs approved for COVID-19, only symptomatic and supportive treatment is used to treat people with this viral infection. Drugs that have been approved for the purpose of treating other viral infections are under investigation. Vaccination is an ultimate prevention and protection;few vaccines are given emergency approval and some are in progressive development phase in various countries to prevent this deadly pandemic. Copyright © 2022, Dr Yashwant Research Labs Pvt Ltd. All rights reserved.