FEARED PANDEMIC DISEASE (COVID-19)-A CASE STUDY

Md. Aminul Islam* and Tofael Ahmed Sony

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic originated with a cluster of mysterious, suspected pneumonia cases in the city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, China. A Wuhan hospital notified the local center for disease control and prevention (CDC) and health commissions on 27 December 2019. On 31 December, the Wuhan CDC disclosed to the media that there was a cluster of unknown pneumonia cases related to Huanan Seafood Market after the unverified documents appeared on the Internet. The emergence of new COVID-19 by the severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARSCoV-2) create great public health crises in the world. Its genome sequence analysis indicated that the virus originated in bats and was transmitted to humans through yet unknown intermediary animals in Wuhan, Hubei province, China in December 2019. There have been millions of confirmed cases of Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and thousands of deaths have been reported. The disease is transmitted by inhalation or contact with infected droplets and the incubation period ranges from 2 to 14 days. The symptoms are usually fever, cough, sore throat, breathlessness, fatigue, malaise among others. The disease is mild, moderate and severe forms in different age group of immunocompromised people. It may progress to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multi organ dysfunction. Many people are asymptomatic. The case fatality rate is estimated to range from 2 to 3%. Diagnosis is by demonstration of the virus in nasal as well as throat secretions by special molecular tests. Common laboratory findings include normal/ low white cell counts with elevated Creactive protein (CRP). The computerized tomographic chest scan is usually abnormal even in those with no symptoms or mild disease. Treatment is essentially supportive and role of antiviral agents is yet to be established. Prevention entails home isolation of suspected cases and those with mild illnesses and strict infection control measures at hospitals that include contact and droplet precautions. The virus spreads faster than its two ancestors the SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome corona virus (MERS-CoV), but has lower fatality. The global impact of this new epidemic is yet uncertain.

Keywords: COVID-19, Origin, Phylogenetic Relationship, Transmission, Symptoms, Therapeutics, Prevention And Control Methods.