Question: what is the origin of COVID-19

Title: Origin of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19): A Computational Biology Study using Artificial Intelligence Content: Origin of the COVID-19 virus has been intensely debated in the scientific community since the first infected cases were detected in December 2019. The disease has caused a global pandemic, leading to deaths of thousands of people across the world and thus finding origin of this novel coronavirus is important in responding and controlling the pandemic. Recent research results suggest that bats or pangolins might be the original hosts for the virus based on comparative studies using its genomic sequences. This paper investigates the COVID-19 virus origin by using artificial intelligence (AI) and raw genomic sequences of the virus. More than 300 genome sequences of COVID-19 infected cases collected from different countries are explored and analysed using unsupervised clustering methods. The results obtained from various AI-enabled experiments using clustering algorithms demonstrate that all examined COVID-19 virus genomes belong to a cluster that also contains bat and pangolin coronavirus genomes. This provides evidences strongly supporting scientific hypotheses that bats and pangolins are probable hosts for the COVID-19 virus. At the whole genome analysis level, our findings also indicate that bats are more likely the hosts for the COVID-19 virus than pangolins.

Title: The Human Coronavirus Disease COVID-19: Its Origin, Characteristics, and Insights into Potential Drugs and Its Mechanisms Content: The emerging coronavirus disease (COVID-19) swept across the world, affecting more than 200 countries and territories. Genomic analysis suggests that the COVID-19 virus originated in bats and transmitted to humans through unknown intermediate hosts in the Wuhan seafood market, China, in December of 2019. This virus belongs to the Betacoronavirus group, the same group of the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and for the similarity, it was named SARS-CoV-2. Given the lack of registered clinical therapies or vaccines, many physicians and scientists are investigating previously used clinical drugs for COVID-19 treatment. In this review, we aim to provide an overview of the CoVs origin, pathogenicity, and genomic structure, with a focus on SARS-CoV-2. Besides, we summarize the recently investigated drugs that constitute an option for COVID-19 treatment.

Title: [What is the origin of SARS-CoV-2?] Content: Every time a pandemic occurs, dozens of theories emerge to attribute the origin of the event to different facts. The COVID-19 pandemic that has hit virtually all the globe has been no exception. What is known so far about the origin of the virus that causes COVID 19? The first investigations on the origin of this disease have determined that it is a new type of virus, the origin of which is most likely zoonotic.

Title: Understanding Coronavirus Content: Since the identification of the first cases of the coronavirus in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, there has been a significant amount of confusion regarding the origin and spread of the so-called 'coronavirus', officially named SARS-CoV-2, and the cause of the disease COVID-19 Conflicting messages from the media and officials across different countries and organizations, the abundance of disparate sources of information, unfounded conspiracy theories on the origins of the newly emerging virus and the inconsistent public health measures across different countries, have all served to increase the level of anxiety in the population Where did the virus come from? How is it transmitted? How does it cause disease? Is it like flu? What is a pandemic? What can we do to stop its spread? Written by a leading expert, this concise and accessible introduction provides answers to the most common questions surrounding coronavirus for a general audience

Title: Possibility of transmission through dogs being a contributing factor to the extreme Covid-19 outbreak in North Italy Content: Covid‑19 origin and transmission to humans. Covid‑19 infection began in Wuhan (Hubei, China) in December, 2019. Although to date it is considered that Covid‑19 originates from bats (96.2% overall genome sequence identity) (1), the type of intermediate animals that caused the transmission to humans remains unknown (2-4). Zhou et al (1) mentioned that 'Direct contact with intermediate host animals or consumption of wild animals was suspected to be the main route of SARS‑CoV‑2 transmission. However, the source(s) and transmission routine(s) of SARS‑CoV‑2 remain elusive' (1).

Title: Zoonotic origins of human coronavirus 2019 (HCoV-19 / SARS-CoV-2): why is this work important? Content: The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by infection with human coronavirus 2019 (HCoV-19 / SARS-CoV-2 / 2019-nCoV), is a global threat to the human population. Here, we briefly summarize the available data for the zoonotic origins of HCoV-19, with reference to the other two epidemics of highly virulent coronaviruses, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, which cause severe pneumonia in humans. We propose to intensify future efforts for tracing the origins of HCoV-19, which is a very important scientific question for the control and prevention of the pandemic.

Title: Pandemia COVID-19, la nueva emergencia sanitaria de preocupación internacional: una revisión./ [Pandemic COVID-19, the new health emergency of international concern: a review] Content: In late December 2019, some cases of atypical pneumonia, at that time of unknown origin, were reported in Wuhan, China. Days later, the etiologic agent was identified as a new coronavirus. This new coronavirus was called SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it produces was named COVID-19. The origin of this new virus is presumed zoonotic, with bats being its probable vector. Due to the rapid number of infections and deaths that occurred first in China and later around the world, the infection of this virus quickly went from being an isolated outbreak in a Chinese region to becoming a health emergency of international concern and later, a pandemic. The purpose of this review is to study the most relevant and current information on the pathogen, as well as epidemiology, pathology, clinical features, transmission, prevention, and treatment of the disease.

Title: The epidemiology and pathogenesis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak Content: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by SARS-COV2 and represents the causative agent of a potentially fatal disease that is of great global public health concern. Based on the large number of infected people that were exposed to the wet animal market in Wuhan City, China, it is suggested that this is likely the zoonotic origin of COVID-19. Person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 infection led to the isolation of patients that were subsequently administered a variety of treatments. Extensive measures to reduce person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 have been implemented to control the current outbreak. Special attention and efforts to protect or reduce transmission should be applied in susceptible populations including children, health care providers, and elderly people. In this review, we highlights the symptoms, epidemiology, transmission, pathogenesis, phylogenetic analysis and future directions to control the spread of this fatal disease.

Title: [Editorial] Possibility of transmission through dogs being a contributing factor to the extreme Covid19 outbreak in North Italy Content: Covid19 origin and transmission to humans. Covid19 infection began in Wuhan (Hubei, China) in December, 2019. Although to date it is considered that Covid19 originates from bats (96.2% overall genome sequence identity) (1), the type of intermediate animals that caused the transmission to humans remains unknown (2-4). Zhou et al (1) mentioned that 'Direct contact with intermediate host animals or consumption of wild animals was suspected to be the main route of SARSCoV2 transmission. However, the source(s) and transmission routine(s) of SARSCoV2 remain elusive' (1).

Title: The epidemiology and pathogenesis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak Content: Abstract Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by SARS-COV2 and represents the causative agent of a potentially fatal disease that is of great global public health concern. Based on the large number of infected people that were exposed to the wet animal market in Wuhan City, China, it is suggested that this is likely the zoonotic origin of COVID-19. Person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 infection led to the isolation of patients that were subsequently administered a variety of treatments. Extensive measures to reduce person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 have been implemented to control the current outbreak. Special attention and efforts to protect or reduce transmission should be applied in susceptible populations including children, health care providers, and elderly people. In this review, we highlights the symptoms, epidemiology, transmission, pathogenesis, phylogenetic analysis and future directions to control the spread of this fatal disease.

Title: Higher prevalence of asymptomatic or mild COVID‐19 in children, claims and clues Content: The current pandemic of COVID-19 has generated many challenging questions for the scientific community, ranging from queries about the origin of the virus to its pathogenesis and clinical management. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Title: Tracking the origin of early COVID-19 cases in Canada Content: The original coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China has become a global pandemic. By tracking the earliest 118 COVID-19 cases in Canada, we produced a Voronoi treemap to show the travel origins of the country's earliest COVID-19 cases. By March 11, 2020, even though the majority (64.1%) of the world's COVID-19 confirmed cases still had their origin in China, only 7.6% of Canada's first 118 COVID-19 cases arose due in travelers to China. The most commonly reported travel history among the 118 cases originated from the Middle East, the United States, and Europe. Thus, in retrospect, broadening of early screening tools and travel restrictions to countries and regions outside China may help control global COVID-19 spread.

Title: Tracking the origin of early COVID-19 cases in Canada Content: Abstract The original coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China has become a global pandemic. By tracking the earliest 118 COVID-19 cases in Canada, we produced a Voronoi treemap to show the travel origins of the country’s earliest COVID-19 cases. By March 11, 2020, even though the majority (64.1%) of the world’s COVID-19 confirmed cases still had their origin in China, only 7.6% of Canada’s first 118 COVID-19 cases arose due in travelers to China. The most commonly reported travel history among the 118 cases originated from the Middle East, the United States, and Europe. Thus, in retrospect, broadening of early screening tools and travel restrictions to countries and regions outside China may help control global COVID-19 spread.

Title: SARS-COV-2 and Male Reproductive Health Content: Critical challenges for the public and private health, research, and medical communities have been posed by the COVID-19 outbreak. Some of these challenges are related to the possible adverse effects of SARS-CoV-2 on male reproductive health, and whether other potential modes of transmission may occur, such as sexual transmission. Moreover, concerns have been raised in terms of whether the COVID-19 outbreak may have an impact on fertility worldwide. In this study, we will discuss the origins of SARS-CoV-2. We will further describe its mechanism of action, diagnosis, symptoms, and potential effects on the male reproductive system.

Title: SARS-COV-2 and Male Reproductive Health. Content: Critical challenges for the public and private health, research, and medical communities have been posed by the COVID-19 outbreak. Some of these challenges are related to the possible adverse effects of SARS-CoV-2 on male reproductive health, and whether other potential modes of transmission may occur, such as sexual transmission. Moreover, concerns have been raised in terms of whether the COVID-19 outbreak may have an impact on fertility worldwide. In this study, we will discuss the origins of SARS-CoV-2. We will further describe its mechanism of action, diagnosis, symptoms, and potential effects on the male reproductive system.

Title: The genetic landscape of COVID-19: A South Asian perspective Content: COVID-19 has taken the world by storm in the ongoing pandemic. The virus responsible for COVID-19 disease is 'severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2' SARS-CoV-2, an enveloped RNA beta-coronavirus from the family Coronaviridae. There have been similar beta-coronavirus disease outbreaks previously: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS - 2002) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS - 2012) epidemics. SARS-CoV-2 origins have been traced to bat reservoirs. A virus with a high capacity for mutation, SARS-CoV-2 poses unique challenges both in the current form of disease control and management, while also leaving the door open for future novel diseases and pandemics. An understanding of the virion structure and genomic organisation will help us in understanding their origins and likely course of future evolution. Moreover, novel cost-effective methodologies for genetic surveillance may help in mitigating the emergence of these viral infections in future. In this manuscript, the authors have detailed the unique aspects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome and its clinical implications.

Title: The genetic landscape of COVID-19: A South Asian perspective. Content: COVID-19 has taken the world by storm in the ongoing pandemic. The virus responsible for COVID-19 disease is 'severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2' SARS-CoV-2, an enveloped RNA beta-coronavirus from the family Coronaviridae. There have been similar beta-coronavirus disease outbreaks previously: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS - 2002) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS - 2012) epidemics. SARS-CoV-2 origins have been traced to bat reservoirs. A virus with a high capacity for mutation, SARS-CoV-2 poses unique challenges both in the current form of disease control and management, while also leaving the door open for future novel diseases and pandemics. An understanding of the virion structure and genomic organisation will help us in understanding their origins and likely course of future evolution. Moreover, novel cost-effective methodologies for genetic surveillance may help in mitigating the emergence of these viral infections in future. In this manuscript, the authors have detailed the unique aspects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome and its clinical implications.

Title: Going viral – Covid-19 impact assessment: A perspective beyond clinical practice Content: In the realm of infectious diseases, a global outbreak is a worst-case scenario In the past, outbreaks such as plague, Spanish flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and H1N1 (swine flu) have caused great human suffering The novel coronavirus, christened as Covid-19, is a zoonotic disease which originated from the Wuhan province in China and spread like wildfire killing people and devastating the global economy Mammoth efforts are still on to control this viral strain from further spread Cities have been blocked, air travel banned, ships have been quarantined, and panic-stricken people have been evacuated from China As Covid-19 continues to ravage countries across the globe, this article is an effort to provide an overview of the impact of Covid-19 and tickle wits of intellectuals to think how easily a nanometer organism can virtually bring down superpowers of the world

Title: Where are we with understanding of COVID-19? Content: Coronavirus disease 2019 caused by SARS-CoV-2 originated from China and spread across every corner of the world. The scientific interest on COVID-19 increased after WHO declared it a pandemic in the early February of 2020. In fact, this pandemic has had a worldwide impact on economy, health, and lifestyle like no other in the last 100 years. SARS-CoV-2 belongs to Coronaviridae family and causes the deadliest clinical manifestations when compared to other viruses in the family. COVID-19 is an emerging zoonotic disease that has resulted in over 383,000 deaths around the world. Scientists are scrambling for ideas to develop treatment and prevention strategies to thwart the disease condition. In this review, we have attempted to summarize the latest information on the virus, disease, prevention, and treatment strategies. The future looks promising.

Title: Concerns related to COVID‐19 pandemic among patients with inflammatory bowel disease and its influence on patient management Content: A novel coronavirus, currently identified as COVID-19, was recently defined as the cause of a cluster of patients with pneumonia of unknown origin that was initially reported from Wuhan, Hubei province, People's Republic of China.

Title: Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19): a pandemic (epidemiology, pathogenesis and potential therapeutics) Content: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is highly pathogenic viral infection caused by SARS-CoV-2. Currently, COVID-19 has caused global health concern. It is assumed that COVID-19 has zoonotic origin based on the large number of infected people who were exposed to the wet market in Wuhan City, China. The phylogenetic analysis has revealed that SARS-CoV-2 has significant sequence similarity with severe acute respiratory syndrome-like (SARS-like) bat viruses, thus bats could be primary possible reservoir. The intermediate host and there subsequent transfer is not known yet, although human to human transfer is widely confirmed. The transmission of COVID-19 infection from one person to another resulted in the isolation of patients who were subsequently given a variety of treatments. To monitor the current outbreak, robust steps have been taken around the globe to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 infection particularly banning international and domestic flights, inducting lockdowns in vulnerable areas, social distancing etc. No clinically approved antiviral drug or vaccine against COVID-19 is reported yet. However, in clinical trials, few broad-spectrum antiviral drugs were evaluated against COVID-19 infection which resulted in clinical recovery. In this article emergence and pathogenicity of COVID-19 infection along with potential therapeutic strategies are analyzed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Title: COVID-19 and the clinical hematology laboratory Content: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic originated in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. The etiologic agent is a novel coronavirus of presumed zoonotic origin with structural similarity to the viruses responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Like SARS and MERS, COVID-19 infection manifests most frequently with lower respiratory symptoms. A minority of patients progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome/ diffuse alveolar damage. In addition to its central role in the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection, the clinical laboratory provides critical information to clinicians regarding prognosis, disease course, and response to therapy. The purpose of this review is to (a) provide background context about the origins and course of the pandemic, (b) discuss the laboratory's role in the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection, (c) summarize the current state of biomarker analysis in COVID-19 infection, with an emphasis on markers derived from the hematology laboratory, (d) comment on the impact of COVID-19 on hematology laboratory safety, and (e) describe the impact the pandemic has had on organized national and international educational activities worldwide.

Title: The COVID-19 Pandemic and Paradigm Change in Global Scientific Research Content: The current pandemic has rocked the lives of human beings every-where in ways never imagined, forcing us to question where our civilization is headed. In this article, we explore and discuss scien-tifi c evidence that helps explain recent events in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.COVID-19 is caused by infection with a zoonotic-origin novel virus, SARS-CoV-2, that is genetically close to two coronavirus types iso-lated in bats. The transmission dynamics to humans from the original and intermediary hosts remain poorly understood, but it is highly likely that the SARS-CoV-2 virus infected humans after undergoing an inter-species transfer from bats to an intermediate species, and from there to human beings. Crossing the species barrier is largely fostered by industrial-scale agricultural practices that simplify original ecosystem connections by reducing biodiversity, facilitating the emergence of new infectious diseases. The scientifi c community has played an exemplary role in responding to this global emergency, working to fi nd timely, relevant solutions for governments and society as a whole. We need to take this opportunity to promote a global and open science that delves into the interrelation-ships of the biological, environmental, social and economic dimen-sions of this and other diseases while questioning current modes of production and their impact on the environment, and thus on human health worldwide. Keywords: Coronavirus infections; communicable diseases; zoonoses; ecosystems; technology, industry, and agriculture; pandemics; global health; Mexico.

Title: The COVID-19 Pandemic and Paradigm Change in Global Scientific Research. Content: The current pandemic has rocked the lives of human beings every-where in ways never imagined, forcing us to question where our civilization is headed. In this article, we explore and discuss scien-tifi c evidence that helps explain recent events in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.COVID-19 is caused by infection with a zoonotic-origin novel virus, SARS-CoV-2, that is genetically close to two coronavirus types iso-lated in bats. The transmission dynamics to humans from the original and intermediary hosts remain poorly understood, but it is highly likely that the SARS-CoV-2 virus infected humans after undergoing an inter-species transfer from bats to an intermediate species, and from there to human beings. Crossing the species barrier is largely fostered by industrial-scale agricultural practices that simplify original ecosystem connections by reducing biodiversity, facilitating the emergence of new infectious diseases. The scientifi c community has played an exemplary role in responding to this global emergency, working to fi nd timely, relevant solutions for governments and society as a whole. We need to take this opportunity to promote a global and open science that delves into the interrelation-ships of the biological, environmental, social and economic dimen-sions of this and other diseases while questioning current modes of production and their impact on the environment, and thus on human health worldwide. Keywords: Coronavirus infections; communicable diseases; zoonoses; ecosystems; technology, industry, and agriculture; pandemics; global health; Mexico.

Title: SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: A genetic, epidemiological, and evolutionary perspective Content: In less than five months, COVID-19 has spread from a small focus in Wuhan, China, to more than 5 million people in almost every country in the world, dominating the concern of most governments and public health systems. The social and political distresses caused by this epidemic will certainly impact our world for a long time to come. Here, we synthesize lessons from a range of scientific perspectives rooted in epidemiology, virology, genetics, ecology and evolutionary biology so as to provide perspective on how this pandemic started, how it is developing, and how best we can stop it.

Title: COVID-19 from mysterious enemy to an environmental detection process: a critical review Content: The recent global emergence of an unusual viral pneumonia of COVID-19 epidemic was firstly started in Wuhan city, Hubei province in China in December 2019. Regrettably, it is still sweeping the planet, and it cannot be controlled up till now. By May 2020, the unexpected spread of this disaster had caused more than 3,759,967 cases and 259,474 deaths in 114 countries from Asia to the Middle East, Europe, and the USA. Considering its fatal nature, it has evolved as a major challenge for the world. This is necessitating a quick and steep intervention in order to save millions of people’s lives across the globe. The knowledge about the nature and evolution of the COVID-19 virus in water, soils, and other environmental compartments can be addressed through wastewater and sewage. Wastewater-based epidemiology approach can be used as an early indicator of the infection within a specific population. The basic aim of this review article is trying to provide a prompt, and valuable reference guides about COVID-19. Some important questions were addressed, such as, its origin, transmission, clinical symptoms, diagnosis, environmental aspects, and the possible indoors and outdoors airborne transmission minimization strategies that may benefit specialists.

Title: Pangolins Harbor SARS-CoV-2-Related Coronaviruses Content: The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 has posed a severe threat to global public health. Yet, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 remains mysterious. Several recent studies (e.g., Lam et al ., Xiao et al .) identified SARS-CoV-2-related viruses in pangolins, providing novel insights into the evolution and diversity of SARS-CoV-2-related viruses.

Title: Pangolins Harbor SARS-CoV-2-Related Coronaviruses Content: The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 has posed a severe threat to global public health. Yet, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 remains mysterious. Several recent studies (e.g., Lam et al.,Xiao et al.) identified SARS-CoV-2-related viruses in pangolins, providing novel insights into the evolution and diversity of SARS-CoV-2-related viruses.

Title: Ten challenging questions about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Content: INTRODUCTION: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) recently introduced as a global public health problem by the World Health Organization (WHO). The virus outbreak has been documented around the world. Updating data in different aspects of the virus could force us to revise our idea about the main questions concerning coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). AREAS COVERED: Although our knowledge about the SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 is largely based on the very limited data, the information is growing rapidly. The renewed answers to the specific research questions concerning updating data not only reveal gaps for future research but also re-categorized our information. Here, we attempt to briefly discuss 10 important questions about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. EXPERT OPINION: Since our knowledge about different aspects of SARS-CoV-2 appears to be in its infancy and is rapidly changing, the provision of the right data is more difficult in this regard. However, we try to rely on results from more extensive research to answer the main questions about this new virus. Therefore, further studies, particularly in the context of the virus pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and vaccine development, are warranted.

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

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

Title: Ten challenging questions about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. Content: INTRODUCTION Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) recently introduced as a global public health problem by the World Health Organization (WHO). The virus outbreak has been documented around the world. Updating data in different aspects of the virus could force us to revise our idea about the main questions concerning coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). AREAS COVERED Although our knowledge about the SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 is largely based on the very limited data, the information is growing rapidly. The renewed answers to the specific research questions concerning updating data not only reveal gaps for future research but also re-categorized our information. Here, we attempt to briefly discuss ten important questions about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. EXPERT OPINION Since our knowledge about different aspects of SARS-CoV-2 appears to be in its infancy and is rapidly changing, the provision of the right data is more difficult in this regard. However, we try to rely on results from more extensive research to answer the main questions about this new virus. Therefore, further studies, particularly in the context of the virus pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and vaccine development, are warranted.

Title: Deaths in healthcare workers due to COVID‐19: the need for robust data and analysis Content: The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has rapidly spread across the world from its origin in Wuhan, China in late 2019. The resultant disease (COVID-19) has placed an enormous burden on healthcare systems because of the high transmission rates, prevalence of severe disease and mortality [1]. The risk of viral transmission to healthcare workers has been a concern since the start of the outbreak and the first person to raise concerns about the illness to the international community was Dr Li Wen-Liang, an ophthalmologist in Wuhan who sadly died of the disease that he likely contracted whilst at work [2].

Title: Origin, transmission, diagnosis and management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Content: Coronavirus has emerged as a global health threat due to its accelerated geographic spread over the last two decades. This article reviews the current state of knowledge concerning the origin, transmission, diagnosis and management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Historically, it has caused two pandemics: severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory syndrome followed by the present COVID-19 that emerged from China. The virus is believed to be acquired from zoonotic source and spreads through direct and contact transmission. The symptomatic phase manifests with fever, cough and myalgia to severe respiratory failure. The diagnosis is confirmed using reverse transcriptase PCR. Management of COVID-19 is mainly by supportive therapy along with mechanical ventilation in severe cases. Preventive strategies form the major role in reducing the public spread of virus along with successful disease isolation and community containment. Development of a vaccine to eliminate the virus from the host still remains an ongoing challenge.

Title: COVID‐19 and the clinical hematology laboratory Content: The ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic originated in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in December 2019. The etiologic agent is a novel coronavirus of presumed zoonotic origin with structural similarity to the viruses responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Like SARS and MERS, COVID‐19 infection manifests most frequently with lower respiratory symptoms. A minority of patients progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome/ diffuse alveolar damage. In addition to its central role in the diagnosis of COVID‐19 infection, the clinical laboratory provides critical information to clinicians regarding prognosis, disease course, and response to therapy. The purpose of this review is to 1) provide background context about the origins and course of the pandemic 2) discuss the laboratory’s role in the diagnosis of COVID‐19 infection 3) summarize the current state of biomarker analysis in COVID‐19 infection, with an emphasis on markers derived from the hematology laboratory 4) comment on the impact of COVID‐19 on hematology laboratory safety, and 5) describe the impact the pandemic has had on organized national and international educational activities worldwide.

Title: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): current status and future perspectives Content: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) originated in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, Central China, and has spread quickly to 72 countries to date. COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus, named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [previously provisionally known as 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)]. At present, the newly identified SARS-CoV-2 has caused a large number of deaths with tens of thousands of confirmed cases worldwide, posing a serious threat to public health. However, there are no clinically approved vaccines or specific therapeutic drugs available for COVID-19. Intensive research on the newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 is urgently needed to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms and epidemiological characteristics and to identify potential drug targets, which will contribute to the development of effective prevention and treatment strategies. Hence, this review will focus on recent progress regarding the structure of SARS-CoV-2 and the characteristics of COVID-19, such as the aetiology, pathogenesis and epidemiological characteristics.

Title: The need to manage the risk of thromboembolism in COVID-19 patients Content: COVID-19 first appeared in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. Thought to be of zoonotic origin, it has been named SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and has spread rapidly. As of April 20, 2020, there have been >2.4 million cases recorded worldwide. The inflammatory process, cytokine storm, and lung injury that are associated with COVID-19 can put patients at an increased risk of thrombosis. The total incidence of thrombotic events in COVID-19 patients is currently uncertain. Those with more severe disease and with other risk factors, including increasing age, male sex, obesity, cancer, comorbidities, and intensive care unit admission, are at higher risk of these events. However, there is little international guidance on managing these risks in COVID-19 patients. In this paper, we explore the current evidence and theories surrounding thrombosis in these unique patients and reflect on experience from our center.

Title: COVID‐19: a brief history and treatments in development Content: Coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) is now dominating the lives of everyone, and its history is constantly being rewritten. This article gives a brief account of the story so far: where SARS‐CoV‐2 might have originated, how it compares with other viruses that cause major respiratory disease, and some of the treatments and vaccines currently being investigated to combat it.

Title: Could India be the origin of next COVID-19 like epidemic? Content: Abstract The COVID-19 global pandemic is not even over yet but it has already taught us a lot of lessons - the hard way. The vast majority of the global community has blamed the Chinese Illegal wildlife markets for the origin of this pandemic. Through careful scientific analysis, I have explained in this article that we don't need such wildlife markets for these kinds of outbreaks to occur in the future. I have also explained how India which is the second-most populous country in the world, could be the origin of the next outbreak, even though such wildlife markets are either very rare or do not exist at all in India.

Title: To alert coinfection of COVID-19 and dengue virus in developing countries in the dengue-endemic area Content: Coronavirus disease 2019 (CoVID-19) is a new outbreak infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, which was originated from Wuhan in China and has now spread to the whole world. At the meantime, dengue was endemic in the Southeast Asia and South America, and a part of the patients shared the same symptoms, so, we write this paper to alert the clinicians to distinguish these two diseases.

Title: The need to manage the risk of thromboembolism in COVID-19 patients Content: COVID-19 first presented in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. Thought to be of zoonotic origin, it has been named SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and has spread rapidly. As of April 20(th), 2020, there have been more than 2.4 million cases recorded worldwide. The inflammatory process, cytokine storm, and lung injury that are associated with COVID-19 can put patients at an increased risk of thrombosis. It is uncertain what the total incidences of thrombotic events in COVID-19 patients is currently at. Those with more severe disease and with other risk factors, including increasing age, male sex, obesity, cancer, comorbidities, and intensive care unit admission, are at higher risk of these events. However, there is little international guidance on managing these risks in COVID-19 patients. In this paper, we explore the current evidence and theories surrounding thrombosis in these unique patients and reflect on experience from our center.

Title: Characterizing the transmission and identifying the control strategy for COVID-19 through epidemiological modeling Content: The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, originating from Wuhan, China in early December, has infected more than 70,000 people in China and other countries and has caused more than 2,000 deaths. As the disease continues to spread, the biomedical society urgently began identifying effective approaches to prevent further outbreaks. Through rigorous epidemiological analysis, we characterized the fast transmission of COVID-19 with a basic reproductive number 5.6 and proved a sole zoonotic source to originate in Wuhan. No changes in transmission have been noted across generations. By evaluating different control strategies through predictive modeling and Monte carlo simulations, a comprehensive quarantine in hospitals and quarantine stations has been found to be the most effective approach. Government action to immediately enforce this quarantine is highly recommended.

Title: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) by the numbers Content: The COVID-19 pandemic is a harsh reminder of the fact that, whether in a single human host or a wave of infection across continents, viral dynamics is often a story about the numbers. In this article we provide a one-stop, curated graphical source for the key numbers (based mostly on the peer-reviewed literature) about the SARS-CoV-2 virus that is responsible for the pandemic. The discussion is framed around two broad themes: i) the biology of the virus itself; ii) the characteristics of the infection of a single human host.

Title: Early COVID-19 infection after lung transplantation Content: COVID-19, the clinical syndrome caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, continues to rapidly spread, leading to significant stressors on global healthcare infrastructure. The manifestations of COVID-19 in solid organ transplant recipients are only beginning to be understood with cases reported to date in transplant recipients on chronic immunosuppression. Herein, we report the first case of COVID-19 in a lung transplant recipient in the immediate posttransplant period, and we describe the epidemiologic challenges in identifying the source of infection in this unique situation.

Title: Using open-source intelligence to detect early signals of COVID-19 in China, Descriptive study Content: BACKGROUND: COVID-19 in China was first reported to the World Health Organization on December 31st 2019. The first cases were officially identified around December 8th 2019. The origin of COVID-19 is not confirmed, but half the early cases were linked to a seafood market in Wuhan. The first two documented cases did not attend the seafood market. News reports, social media and informal sources may contain information about outbreaks prior to formal notification. OBJECTIVE: To identify early signals of pneumonia and/or severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) in China, prior to official recognition of the COVID 19 outbreak in December 2019, using open source data. METHODS: In order to capture early reports we searched an open source epidemic observatory, Epiwatch from 1st October2019 in China, for severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) or pneumonia related illnesses. Google and Chinese search engine Baidu were used. RESULTS: There was an increase in reports following the official notification of COVID 19 to WHO on December 31 2019, and a retracted report on December 26th 2019. A report of severe pneumonia was identified on November 22 2019 in Xiangyang, Index patient was retrospectively identified on 17 November. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of reports of a SARI outbreaks prior to December 31st, with a retracted report on December 26th suggests media censorship, given formal reports that cases began on December 8th. However, the findings also support relatively recent origin of COVID-19 in November 2019. The case reported on November 22nd was transferred to Wuhan approximately 1 incubation period before the first reported cases on December 8th, and should be further investigated, as only half of the early cases had exposure to the seafood market. It has since been reported that another case of COVID 19 has been retrospectively identified in Hubei on November 17th, confirming that the infection was present prior to December.

Title: COVID-19 breakthroughs: separating fact from fiction Content: The newly recognised coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, causative agent of COVID-19, has caused a pandemic with huge ramifications for human interactions around the globe. As expected, research efforts to understand the virus and curtail the disease are moving at a frantic pace alongside the spread of rumours, speculations and falsehoods. In this article, we aim to clarify the current scientific view behind several claims or controversies related to COVID-19. Starting with the origin of the virus, we then discuss the effect of ibuprofen and nicotine on the severity of the disease. We highlight the knowledge on fomites and SARS-CoV-2 and discuss the evidence and explications for a disproportionately stronger impact of COVID-19 on ethnic minorities, including a potential protective role for vitamin D. We further review what is known about the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children, including their role in transmission of the disease, and conclude with the science on different mortality rates between different countries and whether this hints at the existence of more pathogenic cohorts of SARS-CoV-2.

Title: Origin, transmission, diagnosis and management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Content: Coronavirus has emerged as a global health treat due to its accelerated geographic spread over the last two decades. This article reviews the current state of knowledge concerning the origin, transmission, diagnosis and management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Historically, it has caused two pandemics: severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory syndrome followed by the present COVID-19 that emerged from China. The virus is believed to be acquired from zoonotic source and spreads through direct and contact transmission. The symptomatic phase manifests with fever, cough and myalgia to severe respiratory failure. The diagnosis is confirmed using reverse transcriptase PCR. Management of COVID-19 is mainly by supportive therapy along with mechanical ventilation in severe cases. Preventive strategies form the major role in reducing the public spread of virus along with successful disease isolation and community containment. Development of a vaccine to eliminate the virus from the host still remains an ongoing challenge.

Title: A Genomic Perspective on the Origin and Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Content: The ongoing pandemic of a new human coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has generated enormous global concern. We and others in China were involved in the initial genome sequencing of the virus. Herein, we describe what genomic data reveal about the emergence SARS-CoV-2 and discuss the gaps in our understanding of its origins.

Title: Liver transplantation in an ICU dominated by COVID-19 Content: The Letter from D'Antiga L about concerns of transplanting patients in the context of COVID19 pandemic is very interesting [1]. COVID-19 designates the infection caused by the SARS-Cov2 virus. This illness originated in December, 2019, in Wuhan, China. Since then, it has been identified in more than 150 countries. The first case of COVID-19 in Portugal was notified in March 02, 2020.

Title: Liver transplantation in an ICU dominated by COVID-19. Content: The Letter from D'Antiga L about concerns of transplanting patients in the context of COVID19 pandemic is very interesting [1]. COVID-19 designates the infection caused by the SARS-Cov2 virus. This illness originated in December, 2019, in Wuhan, China. Since then, it has been identified in more than 150 countries. The first case of COVID-19 in Portugal was notified in March 02, 2020.

Title: Could India be the origin of next COVID-19 like epidemic? Content: The COVID-19 global pandemic is not even over yet but it has already taught us a lot of lessons - the hard way. The vast majority of the global community has blamed the Chinese Illegal wildlife markets for the origin of this pandemic. Through careful scientific analysis, I have explained in this article that we don't need such wildlife markets for these kinds of outbreaks to occur in the future. I have also explained how India which is the second-most populous country in the world, could be the origin of the next outbreak, even though such wildlife markets are either very rare or do not exist at all in India.

Title: Insights into molecular evolution recombination of pandemic SARS-CoV-2 using Saudi Arabian sequences Content: The recently emerged SARS-CoV-2 (Coronaviridae; Betacoronavirus) is the underlying cause of COVID-19 disease. Here we assessed SARS-CoV2 from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia alongside sequences of SARS-CoV, bat SARS-like CoVs and MERS-CoV, the latter currently detected in this region. Phylogenetic analysis, natural selection investigation and genome recombination analysis were performed. Our analysis showed that all Saudi SARS-CoV-2 sequences are of the same origin and closer proximity to bat SARS-like CoVs, followed by SARS-CoVs, however quite distant to MERS-CoV. Moreover, genome recombination analysis revealed two recombination events between SARS-CoV-2 and bat SARS-like CoVs. This was further assessed by S gene recombination analysis. These recombination events may be relevant to the emergence of this novel virus. Moreover, positive selection pressure was detected between SARS-CoV-2, bat SL-CoV isolates and human SARS-CoV isolates. However, the highest positive selection occurred between SARS-CoV-2 isolates and 2 bat-SL-CoV isolates (Bat-SL-RsSHC014 and Bat-SL-CoVZC45). This further indicates that SARS-CoV-2 isolates were adaptively evolved from bat SARS-like isolates, and that a virus with originating from bats triggered this pandemic. This study thuds sheds further light on the origin of this virus. AUTHOR SUMMARY The emergence and subsequent pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 is a unique challenge to countries all over the world, including Saudi Arabia where cases of the related MERS are still being reported. Saudi SARS-CoV-2 sequences were found to be likely of the same or similar origin. In our analysis, SARS-CoV-2 were more closely related to bat SARS-like CoVs rather than to MERS-CoV (which originated in Saudi Arabia) or SARS-CoV, confirming other phylogenetic efforts on this pathogen. Recombination and positive selection analysis further suggest that bat coronaviruses may be at the origin of SARS-CoV-2 sequences. The data shown here give hints on the origin of this virus and may inform efforts on transmissibility, host adaptation and other biological aspects of this virus.

Title: The Story behind COVID-19: Animal Diseases at the Crossroads of Wildlife, Livestock and Human Health Content: A number of virological, epidemiological and ethnographic arguments suggest that COVID-19 has a zoonotic origin. The pangolin, a species threatened with extinction due to poaching for both culinary purposes and traditional Chinese pharmacopoeia, is now suspected of being the “missing link” in the transmission to humans of a virus that probably originated in a species of bat. Our predation of wild fauna and the reduction in their habitats have thus ended up creating new interfaces that favour the transmission of pathogens (mainly viruses) to humans. Domesticated animals and wild fauna thus constitute a reservoir for almost 80% of emerging human diseases (SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, Ebola). These diseases are all zoonotic in origin. As if out of a Chinese fairy tale, the bat and the pangolin have taught us a lesson: within an increasingly interdependent world, environmental crises will become ever more intertwined with health crises. Questions relating to public health will no longer be confined to the secrecy of the physician’s consulting room or the sanitised environment of the hospital. They are now being played out in the arena of international trade, ports and airports and distribution networks. Simply put, all human activity creates new interfaces that facilitate the transmission of pathogens from an animal reservoir to humans. This pluri-disciplinary article highlights that environmental changes, such as the reduction in habitats for wild fauna and the intemperate trade in fauna, are the biggest causes of the emergence of new diseases. Against this background, it reviews the different measures taken to control, eradicate and prevent the emergence of animal diseases in a globalised world.

Title: Importation of SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to major COVID-19 epidemic in Taiwan Content: OBJECTIVE: COVID-19 has recently become a pandemic affecting many countries worldwide. This study aims to evaluate the current status of COVID-19 in Taiwan and analyze the source of infection. METHODS: National data regarding SARS-CoV-2 infection were obtained from Taiwan. CDC at the end of April 2020. These data were subjected to analysis of the current status and correlation between indigenous and imported COVID-19 cases. A phylogenetic tree was created to analyze the phylogeny of Taiwanese SARS-CoV-2 isolates. RESULTS: The first case of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Taiwan was detected on January 21, 2020. Epidemiological data indicate that by April 30, there were a total of 429 COVID-19 confirmed cases with the death rate of 1.3%. Most cases were identified as imported (79.9%; 343/429), with the majority originating from the United States of America (22.1%) and the United Kingdom (17.6%). Results from phylogenetic tree analyses indicate that the Taiwanese SARS-CoV-2 isolates were clustered with the SARS-CoV-2 isolates from other countries (bootstrap value 98%) and sub-clustered with bat SARS-like coronaviruses (bootstrap value 99%). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the importation of SARS-CoV-2 infection was the primary risk-factor resulting in the COVID-19 epidemic in Taiwan.

Title: The cardiovascular burden of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with a focus on congenital heart disease Content: Abstract Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by a novel betacoronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first described in a cluster of patients presenting with pneumonia symptoms in Wuhan, China, in December of 2019. Over the past few months, COVID-19 has developed into a worldwide pandemic, with over 400,000 documented cases globally as of March 24, 2020. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is most likely of zoonotic origin, but has been shown to have effective human-to-human transmission. COVID-19 results in mild symptoms in the majority of infected patients, but can cause severe lung injury, cardiac injury, and death. Given the novel nature of COVID-19, no established treatment beyond supportive care exists currently, but extensive public-health measures to reduce person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 have been implemented globally to curb the spread of disease, reduce the burden on healthcare systems, and protect vulnerable populations, including the elderly and those with underlying medical comorbidities. Since this is an emerging infectious disease, there is, as of yet, limited data on the effects of this infection on patients with cardiovascular disease, particularly so for those with congenital heart disease. We summarize herewith the early experience with COVID-19 and consider the potential applicability to and implications for patients with cardiovascular disease in general and congenital heart disease in particular.

Title: Analysis of the Hosts and Transmission Paths of SARS-CoV-2 in the COVID-19 Outbreak Content: The severe respiratory disease COVID-19 was initially reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, and spread into many provinces from Wuhan. The corresponding pathogen was soon identified as a novel coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2 (formerly, 2019-nCoV). As of 2 May, 2020, over 3 million COVID-19 cases had been confirmed, and 235,290 deaths had been reported globally, and the numbers are still increasing. It is important to understand the phylogenetic relationship between SARS-CoV-2 and known coronaviruses, and to identify its hosts for preventing the next round of emergency outbreak. In this study, we employ an effective alignment-free approach, the Natural Vector method, to analyze the phylogeny and classify the coronaviruses based on genomic and protein data. Our results show that SARS-CoV-2 is closely related to, but distinct from the SARS-CoV branch. By analyzing the genetic distances from the SARS-CoV-2 strain to the coronaviruses residing in animal hosts, we establish that the most possible transmission path originates from bats to pangolins to humans.

Title: Using open-source intelligence to detect early signals of COVID-19 in China, Descriptive study. Content: BACKGROUND COVID-19 in China was first reported to the World Health Organization on December 31st 2019. The first cases were officially identified around December 8th 2019. The origin of COVID-19 is not confirmed, but half the early cases were linked to a seafood market in Wuhan. The first two documented cases did not attend the seafood market. News reports, social media and informal sources may contain information about outbreaks prior to formal notification. OBJECTIVE To identify early signals of pneumonia and/or severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) in China, prior to official recognition of the COVID 19 outbreak in December 2019, using open source data. METHODS In order to capture early reports we searched an open source epidemic observatory, Epiwatch from 1st October2019 in China, for severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) or pneumonia related illnesses. Google and Chinese search engine Baidu were used. RESULTS There was an increase in reports following the official notification of COVID 19 to WHO on December 31 2019, and a retracted report on December 26th 2019. A report of severe pneumonia was identified on November 22 2019 in Xiangyang, Index patient was retrospectively identified on 17 November. CONCLUSIONS The lack of reports of a SARI outbreaks prior to December 31st, with a retracted report on December 26th suggests media censorship, given formal reports that cases began on December 8th. However, the findings also support relatively recent origin of COVID-19 in November 2019. The case reported on November 22nd was transferred to Wuhan approximately 1 incubation period before the first reported cases on December 8th, and should be further investigated, as only half of the early cases had exposure to the seafood market. It has since been reported that another case of COVID 19 has been retrospectively identified in Hubei on November 17th, confirming that the infection was present prior to December. CLINICALTRIAL

Title: The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak: What we know Content: There is a current worldwide outbreak of the novel coronavirus Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019; the pathogen called SARS-CoV-2; previously 2019-nCoV), which originated from Wuhan in China and has now spread to 6 continents including 66 countries, as of 24:00 on March 2, 2020. Governments are under increased pressure to stop the outbreak from spiraling into a global health emergency. At this stage, preparedness, transparency, and sharing of information are crucial to risk assessments and beginning outbreak control activities. This information should include reports from outbreak site and from laboratories supporting the investigation. This paper aggregates and consolidates the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatments and preventions of this new type of coronavirus.

Title: Virus outbreak crosses boundaries Content: Summary The current outbreak of coronavirus disease COVID-19 is showing up vulnerabilities in many aspects of the globalised world we live in. The suggestion that it may have originated in the endangered pangolin also puts animal trafficking in the spotlight. The human–wildlife interface remains an important risk factor for further disease outbreaks. Michael Gross reports.

Title: Bioinformatic analysis indicates that SARS-CoV-2 is unrelated to known artificial coronaviruses Content: OBJECTIVE: SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the present coronavirus pandemic and some suggestions were made about its possible artificial origin. We, therefore, compared SARS-CoV-2 with such known viruses that were prepared in the laboratory and other relevant natural strains to estimate their genetic relatedness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: BLAST and clustalW were used to identify and align viral sequences of SARS-CoV-2 to other animal coronaviruses (human, bat, mouse, pangolin) and related artificial constructs. Phylogenetics trees were then prepared using iTOL. RESULTS: Our study supports the notion that known artificial coronaviruses, including the chimeric SL-SHC014-MA15 synthesized in 2015, differ too much from SARS-CoV-2 to hypothesize an artificial origin of the latter. On the contrary, our data support the natural origin of the COVID-19 virus, likely derived from bats, possibly transferred to pangolins, before spreading to man. CONCLUSIONS: Speculations about the artificial origin of SARS-CoV-2 are most likely unfounded. On the contrary, when carefully handled, engineered organisms provide a unique opportunity to study biological systems in a controlled fashion. Biotechnology is a powerful tool to advance medical research and should not be abandoned because of irrational fears.

Title: Predicting COVID-19 distribution in Mexico through a discrete and time-dependent Markov chain and an SIR-like model Content: COVID-19 is an emergent viral infection which rose in December 2019 in a city in the Chinese province of Hubei, Wuhan; the viral aetiology of this infection is now known as COVID-19 virus, which belongs to the Betacoronavirus genus. This virus produces the syndrome of acute respiratory stress that h as been witnessed in other coronaviruses, such as that MERS-CoV in Middle East countries or SARS-CoV which was seen in 2002 and 2003 in China. This virus mediates its entry through its spike (S) proteins interacting with ACE2 receptors in lung epithelial cells, and may promote an inflammatory response by means of inflammasome NLRP3 activation and unfolded protein response (these are possibly consequence of the envelope E protein of COVID-19 virus). Efforts have been made worldwide to prevent further spread of the disease, but in March 2020 the WHO declared it a pandemic emergency and Mexico started to report its first cases. In this paper we attempt to summarize the biological features of the virus and the possible pathophysiological mechanisms of its disease, as well as a stochastic model characterizing the probability distribution of cases in Mexico by states and the estimated number of cases in Mexico through a differential equation model (modified SIR model), thus will we be able to characterize the disease and its course in Mexico in order to display more preparedness and promote more logical actions by both the policy makers as well as the general population.

Title: COVID-19 infection: the China and Italy perspectives Content: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its first report in December 2019, despite great efforts made in almost every country worldwide, this disease continues to spread globally, especially in most parts of Europe, Iran, and the United States. Here, we update the recent understanding in clinical characteristics, diagnosis strategies, as well as clinical management of COVID-19 in China as compared to Italy, with the purpose to integrate the China experience with the global efforts to outline references for prevention, basic research, treatment as well as final control of the disease. Being the first two countries we feel appropriate to evaluate the evolution of the disease as well as the early result of the treatment, in order to offer a different baseline to other countries. It is also interesting to compare two countries, with a very significant difference in population, where the morbidity and mortality has been so different, and unrelated to the size of the country.

Title: COVID‐19 breakthroughs: separating fact from fiction Content: The newly recognised coronavirus SARS‐CoV‐2, causative agent of COVID‐19, has caused a pandemic with huge ramifications for human interactions around the globe. As expected, research efforts to understand the virus and curtail the disease are moving at a frantic pace alongside the spread of rumours, speculations and falsehoods. In this article, we aim to clarify the current scientific view behind several claims or controversies related to COVID‐19. Starting with the origin of the virus, we then discuss the effect of ibuprofen and nicotine on the severity of the disease. We highlight the knowledge on fomites and SARS‐CoV‐2 and discuss the evidence and explications for a disproportionately stronger impact of COVID‐19 on ethnic minorities, including a potential protective role for vitamin D. We further review what is known about the effects of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in children, including their role in transmission of the disease, and conclude with the science on different mortality rates between different countries and whether this hints at the existence of more pathogenic cohorts of SARS‐CoV‐2.

Title: Coast-to-Coast Spread of SARS-CoV-2 during the Early Epidemic in the United States Content: The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States in January 2020, with subsequent COVID-19 outbreaks detected in all 50 states by early March. To uncover the sources of SARS-CoV-2 introductions and patterns of spread within the United States, we sequenced nine viral genomes from early reported COVID-19 patients in Connecticut. Our phylogenetic analysis places the majority of these genomes with viruses sequenced from Washington state. By coupling our genomic data with domestic and international travel patterns, we show that early SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Connecticut was likely driven by domestic introductions. Moreover, the risk of domestic importation to Connecticut exceeded that of international importation by mid-March regardless of our estimated effects of federal travel restrictions. This study provides evidence of widespread sustained transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within the United States and highlights the critical need for local surveillance.

Title: The cardiovascular burden of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with a focus on congenital heart disease Content: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by a novel betacoronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first described in a cluster of patients presenting with pneumonia symptoms in Wuhan, China, in December of 2019. Over the past few months, COVID-19 has developed into a worldwide pandemic, with over 400,000 documented cases globally as of March 24, 2020. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is most likely of zoonotic origin, but has been shown to have effective human-to-human transmission. COVID-19 results in mild symptoms in the majority of infected patients, but can cause severe lung injury, cardiac injury, and death. Given the novel nature of COVID-19, no established treatment beyond supportive care exists currently, but extensive public-health measures to reduce person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 have been implemented globally to curb the spread of disease, reduce the burden on healthcare systems, and protect vulnerable populations, including the elderly and those with underlying medical comorbidities. Since this is an emerging infectious disease, there is, as of yet, limited data on the effects of this infection on patients with cardiovascular disease, particularly so for those with congenital heart disease. We summarize herewith the early experience with COVID-19 and consider the potential applicability to and implications for patients with cardiovascular disease in general and congenital heart disease in particular.

Title: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): current status and future perspectives Content: ABSTRACT Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) originated in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, Central China, and has spread quickly to 72 countries to date. COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus, named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [previously provisionally known as 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)]. At present, the newly identified SARS-CoV-2 has caused a large number of deaths with tens of thousands of confirmed cases worldwide, posing a serious threat to public health. However, there are no clinically approved vaccines or specific therapeutic drugs available for COVID-19. Intensive research on the newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 is urgently needed to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms and epidemiological characteristics and to identify potential drug targets, which will contribute to the development of effective prevention and treatment strategies. Hence, this review will focus on recent progress regarding the structure of SARS-CoV-2 and the characteristics of COVID-19, such as the aetiology, pathogenesis and epidemiological characteristics.

Title: Influenza‐like illnesses caused by a cluster of imported Italian COVID‐19 Content: The ongoing pandemic of 2019 corona‐virus disease (COVID‐19) is caused by an emerging family of SARS‐CoV‐2, threatening human health worldwide. Here we report a cluster of Italian COVID‐19 imported to Lishui City, China. Of all the eight patients, 7 consistently display cough, a representative sign of influenza‐like illness (ILI), and the remaining one is a cryptic case. This further our understanding a full spectrum of COVID‐19 repertoire. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Title: COVID-19 under spotlight: A close look at the origin, transmission, diagnosis, and treatment of the 2019-nCoV disease Content: Months after the outbreak of a new flu-like disease in China, the entire world is now in a state of caution. The subsequent less-anticipated propagation of the novel coronavirus disease, formally known as COVID-19, not only made it to headlines by an overwhelmingly high transmission rate and fatality reports, but also raised an alarm for the medical community all around the globe. Since the causative agent, SARS-CoV-2, is a recently discovered species, there is no specific medicine for downright treatment of the infection. This has led to an unprecedented societal fear of the newly born disease, adding a psychological aspect to the physical manifestation of the virus. Herein, the COVID-19 structure, epidemiology, pathogenesis, etiology, diagnosis, and therapy have been reviewed.

Title: Reorganization of a Northern Italy dermatology department during the COVID-19 pandemic: is it temporary or the beginning of a new era in dermatology? Content: COVID-19 outbreak, caused by the Coronavirus SARS-CoV2, started in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei, China and then has rapidly spread to the whole world becoming a pandemic. In February 2020, COVID-19 has reached Europe and, in particular, it has roughly hit Italy and, subsequently, other countries and continents. Consequently, hospitals have started to intensively reduce elective activities to face the high numbers of COVID-19 patients' admissions. In Italy, all the non-urgent clinical appointments (such as primary prevention visits and elective surgeries) have been postponed. We describe the reorganization of our Northern Italy dermatology department during COVID-19 pandemic, including teledermatology strategies. Considering the unknown duration of this emergency scenario we wonder if this is just a temporary measure or the beginning of a new era in dermatology departments' organization?

Title: Opportunities, Challenges and Directions in Science and Technology for Tackling COVID-19 Content: The ongoing global crisis due to Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused an enormous socioeconomic burden. A novel coronavirus causing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) that evolved from a virus infecting bats is responsible for COVID-19, first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan. In the absence of any specific scientifically proven and clinically tested drug or vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the virus is wreaking havoc across the world, claiming more than 2,50,000 lives in less than 5 months, and posed a global health emergency. The scientific community is relentlessly working on the design and testing of vaccines and antiviral drugs against the novel coronavirus, several of which have reached advanced stages of testing and are undergoing clinical trials. Here we discuss the recent advances and developments in understanding the etiology and epidemiology of the COVID-19 pandemic, the factors influencing the disease transmission, and the countermeasures adopted to combat and stop further spread of the disease.

Title: SARS-CoV-2 variants: Relevance for symptom granularity, epidemiology, immunity (herd, vaccines), virus origin and containment? Content: The origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus remains enigmatic. It is likely to be a continuum resulting from inevitable mutations and recombination events. These genetic changes keep developing in the present epidemic. Mutations tending to deplete the genome in its cytosine content will progressively lead to attenuation as a consequence of Muller's ratchet, but this is counteracted by recombination when different mutants co-infect the same host, in particular, in clusters of infection. Monitoring as a function of time the genome sequences in closely related cases is critical to anticipate the future of SARS-CoV-2 and hence of COVID-19.

Title: Is SARS-CoV-2 a new Frankenstein monster virus? Content: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel virus of beta coronavirus genus originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019, resulted in the pandemic spread of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide. This genus also contains SARS-CoV (originated in China 2002-2003) and MERS-CoV (found in Saudi Arabia 2012). The nucleotide sequences of SARS-CoV-2 is closer to SARS-CoV (with approximately 80% identity) than to MERS-CoV. Despite these similarities, SARS-CoV-2 has two main features over the other coronaviruses. The first is the high contagious rate and the second is the immune response evasion. The higher transmission ability makes this virus quickly spread worldwide with a high mortality rate and more economic losses. This review will provide an overview of the current knowledge on the role of some viral and host cell factors in higher transmission and contagious spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Title: World Health Organization declares global emergency: A review of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) Content: An unprecedented outbreak of pneumonia of unknown aetiology in Wuhan City, Hubei province in China emerged in December 2019. A novel coronavirus was identified as the causative agent and was subsequently termed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Considered a relative of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), COVID-19 is caused by a betacoronavirus named SARS-CoV-2 that affects the lower respiratory tract and manifests as pneumonia in humans. Despite rigorous global containment and quarantine efforts, the incidence of COVID-19 continues to rise, with 90,870 laboratory-confirmed cases and over 3,000 deaths worldwide. In response to this global outbreak, we summarise the current state of knowledge surrounding COVID-19.

Title: The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak: What we know Content: Abstract There is a current worldwide outbreak of the novel coronavirus Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019; the pathogen called SARS-CoV-2; previously 2019-nCoV), which originated from Wuhan in China and has now spread to 6 continents including 66 countries, as of 24:00 on March 2, 2020. Governments are under increased pressure to stop the outbreak from spiraling into a global health emergency. At this stage, preparedness, transparency, and sharing of information are crucial to risk assessments and beginning outbreak control activities. This information should include reports from outbreak site and from laboratories supporting the investigation. This paper aggregates and consolidates the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatments and preventions of this new type of coronavirus.

Title: COVID-19 breakthroughs: separating fact from fiction Content: The newly recognised coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, causative agent of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has caused a pandemic with huge ramifications for human interactions around the globe. As expected, research efforts to understand the virus and curtail the disease are moving at a frantic pace alongside the spread of rumours, speculations and falsehoods. In this article, we aim to clarify the current scientific view behind several claims or controversies related to COVID-19. Starting with the origin of the virus, we then discuss the effect of ibuprofen and nicotine on the severity of the disease. We highlight the knowledge on fomites and SARS-CoV-2 and discuss the evidence and explications for a disproportionately stronger impact of COVID-19 on ethnic minorities, including a potential protective role for vitamin D. We further review what is known about the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children, including their role in transmission of the disease, and conclude with the science on different mortality rates between different countries and whether this hints at the existence of more pathogenic cohorts of SARS-CoV-2.

Title: Bioinformatic analysis indicates that SARS-CoV-2 is unrelated to known artificial coronaviruses. Content: OBJECTIVE SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the present coronavirus pandemic and some suggestions were made about its possible artificial origin. We, therefore, compared SARS-CoV-2 with such known viruses that were prepared in the laboratory and other relevant natural strains to estimate their genetic relatedness. MATERIALS AND METHODS BLAST and clustalW were used to identify and align viral sequences of SARS-CoV-2 to other animal coronaviruses (human, bat, mouse, pangolin) and related artificial constructs. Phylogenetics trees were then prepared using iTOL. RESULTS Our study supports the notion that known artificial coronaviruses, including the chimeric SL-SHC014-MA15 synthesized in 2015, differ too much from SARS-CoV-2 to hypothesize an artificial origin of the latter. On the contrary, our data support the natural origin of the COVID-19 virus, likely derived from bats, possibly transferred to pangolins, before spreading to man. CONCLUSIONS Speculations about the artificial origin of SARS-CoV-2 are most likely unfounded. On the contrary, when carefully handled, engineered organisms provide a unique opportunity to study biological systems in a controlled fashion. Biotechnology is a powerful tool to advance medical research and should not be abandoned because of irrational fears.

Title: The History of Investigation and Modern Classification of Coronaviruses (nidovirales: Coronaviridae) ;история Изучения И Современная Классификация Коронавирусов (nidovirales: Coronaviridae) Content: An epidemic of COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) etiologically associated with the SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2) that occurred at the turn of 2019-2020 firstly in Wuhan (Hubei province of China) and then spread to many countries around the world has generated a new wave of interest in coronaviruses The first coronaviruses â€“ representatives of the family Coronaviridae from the order Nidovirales â€“ were discovered in the first half of the last century The first human coronavirus, HCoV-B814, was isolated in 1965 and to date it has not been preserved in virological collections Over the past time, there has been a repeated layering of obsolete names By the beginning of the XXI century coronaviruses were a serious veterinary problem but it was believed that epidemic coronaviruses were not especially dangerous The scientific community had to revise these views for the very first time in 2002, when SARS-CoV (Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus) virus entered the human population from the bats in Southeast Asia, and then in 2012 â€“ when natural foci of the MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus) were discovered on the territory of the Arabian Peninsula As a result of increased interest in coronaviruses a large number of new members of the Coronaviridae were discovered in the first two decades of the XXI century, which required several revisions of the taxonomic structure of this family This review is devoted to the history of studying coronaviruses and the system of their modern classification, which has developed at the beginning of 2020 in accordance with the latest recommendations of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses ;Ð’Ð¾Ð·Ð½Ð¸ÐºÑˆÐ°Ñ Ð½Ð° Ñ€ÑƒÐ±ÐµÐ¶Ðµ 2019-2020 Ð³Ð³ ÑÐ½Ð°Ñ‡Ð°Ð»Ð° Ð² Ð³ Ð£Ñ…Ð°Ð½ÑŒ (ÐºÐ¸Ñ‚Ð°Ð¹ÑÐºÐ¾Ð¹ Ð¿Ñ€Ð¾Ð²Ð¸Ð½Ñ†Ð¸Ð¸ Ð¥ÑƒÐ±ÑÐ¹) Ð¸ Ñ€Ð°ÑÐ¿Ñ€Ð¾ÑÑ‚Ñ€Ð°Ð½Ð¸Ð²ÑˆÐ°ÑÑÑ Ð·Ð°Ñ‚ÐµÐ¼ Ð²Ð¾ Ð¼Ð½Ð¾Ð³Ð¸Ðµ ÑÑ‚Ñ€Ð°Ð½Ñ‹ Ð¼Ð¸Ñ€Ð° ÑÐ¿Ð¸Ð´ÐµÐ¼Ð¸Ñ COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019), ÑÑ‚Ð¸Ð¾Ð»Ð¾Ð³Ð¸Ñ‡ÐµÑÐºÐ¸ ÑÐ²ÑÐ·Ð°Ð½Ð½Ð°Ñ Ñ Ð²Ð¸Ñ€ÑƒÑÐ¾Ð¼ Ñ‚ÑÐ¶Ñ‘Ð»Ð¾Ð³Ð¾ Ð¾ÑÑ‚Ñ€Ð¾Ð³Ð¾ Ñ€ÐµÑÐ¿Ð¸Ñ€Ð°Ñ‚Ð¾Ñ€Ð½Ð¾Ð³Ð¾ ÑÐ¸Ð½Ð´Ñ€Ð¾Ð¼Ð° 2â€‘Ð³Ð¾ Ñ‚Ð¸Ð¿Ð° (SARS-CoV-2 â€“ Severe acute respiratory syndrome 2), Ð¿Ð¾Ñ€Ð¾Ð´Ð¸Ð»Ð° Ð½Ð¾Ð²ÑƒÑŽ Ð²Ð¾Ð»Ð½Ñƒ Ð¸Ð½Ñ‚ÐµÑ€ÐµÑÐ° Ðº ÐºÐ¾Ñ€Ð¾Ð½Ð°Ð²Ð¸Ñ€ÑƒÑÐ°Ð¼ ÐŸÐµÑ€Ð²Ñ‹Ðµ ÐºÐ¾Ñ€Ð¾Ð½Ð°Ð²Ð¸Ñ€ÑƒÑÑ‹ â€“ Ð¿Ñ€ÐµÐ´ÑÑ‚Ð°Ð²Ð¸Ñ‚ÐµÐ»Ð¸ ÑÐµÐ¼ÐµÐ¹ÑÑ‚Ð²Ð° Coronaviridae Ð¸Ð· Ð¾Ñ‚Ñ€ÑÐ´Ð° Nidovirales â€“ Ð±Ñ‹Ð»Ð¸ Ð¾Ñ‚ÐºÑ€Ñ‹Ñ‚Ñ‹ ÐµÑ‰Ñ‘ Ð² Ð¿ÐµÑ€Ð²Ð¾Ð¹ Ð¿Ð¾Ð»Ð¾Ð²Ð¸Ð½Ðµ Ð¿Ñ€Ð¾ÑˆÐ»Ð¾Ð³Ð¾ Ð²ÐµÐºÐ° ÐŸÐµÑ€Ð²Ñ‹Ð¹ ÐºÐ¾Ñ€Ð¾Ð½Ð°Ð²Ð¸Ñ€ÑƒÑ Ñ‡ÐµÐ»Ð¾Ð²ÐµÐºÐ°, HCoV-B814, Ð±Ñ‹Ð» Ð¸Ð·Ð¾Ð»Ð¸Ñ€Ð¾Ð²Ð°Ð½ Ð² 1965 Ð³ Ð¸ Ðº Ð½Ð°ÑÑ‚Ð¾ÑÑ‰ÐµÐ¼Ñƒ Ð²Ñ€ÐµÐ¼ÐµÐ½ Ð½Ðµ ÑÐ¾Ñ…Ñ€Ð°Ð½Ð¸Ð»ÑÑ Ð² Ð²Ð¸Ñ€ÑƒÑÐ¾Ð»Ð¾Ð³Ð¸Ñ‡ÐµÑÐºÐ¸Ñ… ÐºÐ¾Ð»Ð»ÐµÐºÑ†Ð¸ÑÑ… Ð—Ð° Ð¿Ñ€Ð¾ÑˆÐµÐ´ÑˆÐµÐµ Ð²Ñ€ÐµÐ¼Ñ Ð¿Ñ€Ð¾Ð¸Ð·Ð¾ÑˆÐ»Ð¾ Ð¼Ð½Ð¾Ð³Ð¾ÐºÑ€Ð°Ñ‚Ð½Ð¾Ðµ Ð½Ð°ÑÐ»Ð¾ÐµÐ½Ð¸Ðµ ÑƒÑÑ‚Ð°Ñ€ÐµÐ²ÑˆÐ¸Ñ… Ð½Ð°Ð·Ð²Ð°Ð½Ð¸Ð¹ Ðš Ð½Ð°Ñ‡Ð°Ð»Ñƒ XXI Ð²ÐµÐºÐ° ÐºÐ¾Ñ€Ð¾Ð½Ð°Ð²Ð¸Ñ€ÑƒÑÑ‹ Ð¿Ñ€ÐµÐ´ÑÑ‚Ð°Ð²Ð»ÑÐ»Ð¸ ÑÐµÑ€ÑŒÑ‘Ð·Ð½ÑƒÑŽ Ð²ÐµÑ‚ÐµÑ€Ð¸Ð½Ð°Ñ€Ð½ÑƒÑŽ Ð¿Ñ€Ð¾Ð±Ð»ÐµÐ¼Ñƒ, Ð¾Ð´Ð½Ð°ÐºÐ¾ ÑÑ‡Ð¸Ñ‚Ð°Ð»Ð¾ÑÑŒ, Ñ‡Ñ‚Ð¾ ÑÐ¿Ð¸Ð´ÐµÐ¼Ð¸Ñ‡ÐµÑÐºÐ¸Ðµ ÐºÐ¾Ñ€Ð¾Ð½Ð°Ð²Ð¸Ñ€ÑƒÑÑ‹ Ð½Ðµ Ð¾Ñ‚Ð½Ð¾ÑÑÑ‚ÑÑ Ðº Ñ‡Ð¸ÑÐ»Ñƒ Ð¾ÑÐ¾Ð±Ð¾ Ð¾Ð¿Ð°ÑÐ½Ñ‹Ñ… ÐÐ°ÑƒÑ‡Ð½Ð¾Ð¼Ñƒ ÑÐ¾Ð¾Ð±Ñ‰ÐµÑÑ‚Ð²Ñƒ Ð¿Ñ€Ð¸ÑˆÐ»Ð¾ÑÑŒ Ð¿ÐµÑ€ÐµÑÐ¼Ð°Ñ‚Ñ€Ð¸Ð²Ð°Ñ‚ÑŒ ÑÑ‚Ð¸ Ð¿Ñ€ÐµÐ´ÑÑ‚Ð°Ð²Ð»ÐµÐ½Ð¸Ñ ÑÐ½Ð°Ñ‡Ð°Ð»Ð° Ð² 2002 Ð³ , ÐºÐ¾Ð³Ð´Ð° Ð²Ð¸Ñ€ÑƒÑ Ñ‚ÑÐ¶Ñ‘Ð»Ð¾Ð³Ð¾ Ð¾ÑÑ‚Ñ€Ð¾Ð³Ð¾ Ñ€ÐµÑÐ¿Ð¸Ñ€Ð°Ñ‚Ð¾Ñ€Ð½Ð¾Ð³Ð¾ ÑÐ¸Ð½Ð´Ñ€Ð¾Ð¼Ð° (SARS-CoV â€“ Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus) Ð¿Ñ€Ð¾Ð½Ð¸Ðº Ð² Ð¿Ð¾Ð¿ÑƒÐ»ÑÑ†Ð¸ÑŽ Ð»ÑŽÐ´ÐµÐ¹ Ð¸Ð· Ð¿Ð¾Ð¿ÑƒÐ»ÑÑ†Ð¸Ð¸ Ð»ÐµÑ‚ÑƒÑ‡Ð¸Ñ… Ð¼Ñ‹ÑˆÐµÐ¹ Ð² Ð®Ð³Ð¾-Ð’Ð¾ÑÑ‚Ð¾Ñ‡Ð½Ð¾Ð¹ ÐÐ·Ð¸Ð¸, Ð° Ð¿Ð¾Ñ‚Ð¾Ð¼ Ð² 2012 Ð³ â€“ ÐºÐ¾Ð³Ð´Ð° Ð±Ñ‹Ð»Ð¸ Ð¾Ñ‚ÐºÑ€Ñ‹Ñ‚Ñ‹ Ð¿Ñ€Ð¸Ñ€Ð¾Ð´Ð½Ñ‹Ðµ Ð¾Ñ‡Ð°Ð³Ð¸ Ð²Ð¸Ñ€ÑƒÑÐ° Ð‘Ð»Ð¸Ð¶Ð½ÐµÐ²Ð¾ÑÑ‚Ð¾Ñ‡Ð½Ð¾Ð³Ð¾ Ñ€ÐµÑÐ¿Ð¸Ñ€Ð°Ñ‚Ð¾Ñ€Ð½Ð¾Ð³Ð¾ ÑÐ¸Ð½Ð´Ñ€Ð¾Ð¼Ð° (MERS-CoV â€“ Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus) Ð½Ð° Ñ‚ÐµÑ€Ñ€Ð¸Ñ‚Ð¾Ñ€Ð¸Ð¸ ÐÑ€Ð°Ð²Ð¸Ð¹ÑÐºÐ¾Ð³Ð¾ Ð¿Ð¾Ð»ÑƒÐ¾ÑÑ‚Ñ€Ð¾Ð²Ð° Ð’ Ñ€ÐµÐ·ÑƒÐ»ÑŒÑ‚Ð°Ñ‚Ðµ Ð°ÐºÑ‚Ð¸Ð²Ð¸Ð·Ð°Ñ†Ð¸Ð¸ Ð¸Ð½Ñ‚ÐµÑ€ÐµÑÐ° Ðº ÐºÐ¾Ñ€Ð¾Ð½Ð°Ð²Ð¸Ñ€ÑƒÑ Ð°Ð¼, Ð² Ð¿ÐµÑ€Ð²Ñ‹Ðµ Ð´Ð²Ð° Ð´ÐµÑÑÑ‚Ð¸Ð»ÐµÑ‚Ð¸Ñ XXI Ð²ÐµÐºÐ° Ð±Ñ‹Ð»Ð¾ Ð¾Ñ‚ÐºÑ€Ñ‹Ñ‚Ð¾ Ð±Ð¾Ð»ÑŒÑˆÐ¾Ðµ ÐºÐ¾Ð»Ð¸Ñ‡ÐµÑÑ‚Ð²Ð¾ Ð½Ð¾Ð²Ñ‹Ñ… Ð¿Ñ€ÐµÐ´ÑÑ‚Ð°Ð²Ð¸Ñ‚ÐµÐ»ÐµÐ¹ Coronaviridae, Ñ‡Ñ‚Ð¾ Ð¿Ð¾Ñ‚Ñ€ÐµÐ±Ð¾Ð²Ð°Ð»Ð¾ Ð½ÐµÑÐºÐ¾Ð»ÑŒÐºÐ¸Ñ… Ñ€ÐµÐ²Ð¸Ð·Ð¸Ð¹ Ñ‚Ð°ÐºÑÐ¾Ð½Ð¾Ð¼Ð¸Ñ‡ÐµÑÐºÐ¾Ð¹ ÑÑ‚Ñ€ÑƒÐºÑ‚ÑƒÑ€Ñ‹ ÑÑ‚Ð¾Ð³Ð¾ ÑÐµÐ¼ÐµÐ¹ÑÑ‚Ð²Ð° ÐÐ°ÑÑ‚Ð¾ÑÑ‰Ð¸Ð¹ Ð¾Ð±Ð·Ð¾Ñ€ Ð¿Ð¾ÑÐ²ÑÑ‰Ñ‘Ð½ Ð¸ÑÑ‚Ð¾Ñ€Ð¸Ð¸ Ð¸Ð·ÑƒÑ‡ÐµÐ½Ð¸Ñ ÐºÐ¾Ñ€Ð¾Ð½Ð°Ð²Ð¸Ñ€ÑƒÑÐ¾Ð² Ð¸ ÑÐ¸ÑÑ‚ÐµÐ¼Ðµ Ð¸Ñ… ÑÐ¾Ð²Ñ€ÐµÐ¼ÐµÐ½Ð½Ð¾Ð¹ ÐºÐ»Ð°ÑÑÐ¸Ñ„Ð¸ÐºÐ°Ñ†Ð¸Ð¸, ÐºÐ¾Ñ‚Ð¾Ñ€Ð°Ñ ÑÐ»Ð¾Ð¶Ð¸Ð»Ð°ÑÑŒ Ð½Ð° Ð½Ð°Ñ‡Ð°Ð»Ð¾ 2020 Ð³ Ð² ÑÐ¾Ð¾Ñ‚Ð²ÐµÑ‚ÑÑ‚Ð²Ð¸Ðµ Ñ Ð¿Ð¾ÑÐ»ÐµÐ´Ð½Ð¸Ð¼Ð¸ Ñ€ÐµÐºÐ¾Ð¼ÐµÐ½Ð´Ð°Ñ†Ð¸ÑÐ¼Ð¸ ÐœÐµÐ¶Ð´ÑƒÐ½Ð°Ñ€Ð¾Ð´Ð½Ð¾Ð³Ð¾ ÐšÐ¾Ð¼Ð¸Ñ‚ÐµÑ‚Ð° Ð¿Ð¾ Ñ‚Ð°ÐºÑÐ¾Ð½Ð¾Ð¼Ð¸Ð¸ Ð²Ð¸Ñ€ÑƒÑÐ¾Ð²

Title: COVID-19 from the perspective of an immunologist. Content: COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 has a number of similarities to SARS and MERS diseases. Its highly contagious nature is particularly due to the rapid spread of the disease through asymptomatic individuals; however, the worlds most contagious infectious disease is still considered measles. Scientific data have revealed the interactions between COVID-19 and the immune system. These findings may contribute to the development of novel preventive and therapeutic approaches. Just as coronavirus itself the reports about the disease have massively spread through media and public contributing to overall public fear and stress. This promotion of non-scientific evidence and misinformation through social media might have also a devastating impact on the individuals immune system. Data regarding the mortality rates of COVID-19 have achieved unprecedented media and public engagements, however, the true facts about the disease prevention, immunomodulation and novel treatments are often left unsaid. We present the most recent facts about COVID-19 disease and its interactions with the immune system.

Title: Aktuální problematika COVID-19 z pohledu imunologa./ COVID-19 from the perspective of an immunologist Content: COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 has a number of similarities to SARS and MERS diseases. Its highly contagious nature is particularly due to the rapid spread of the disease through asymptomatic individuals; however, the worlds most contagious infectious disease is still considered measles. Scientific data have revealed the interactions between COVID-19 and the immune system. These findings may contribute to the development of novel preventive and therapeutic approaches. Just as coronavirus itself the reports about the disease have massively spread through media and public contributing to overall public fear and stress. This promotion of non-scientific evidence and misinformation through social media might have also a devastating impact on the individuals immune system. Data regarding the mortality rates of COVID-19 have achieved unprecedented media and public engagements, however, the true facts about the disease prevention, immunomodulation and novel treatments are often left unsaid. We present the most recent facts about COVID-19 disease and its interactions with the immune system.

Title: Brief Review on COVID-19: The 2020 Pandemic Caused by SARS-CoV-2 Content: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the virus responsible for the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19). First identified in Wuhan (Hubei, China) in December of 2019, it has since been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March of 2020. In this study, we will provide a brief review of viral origin, identification, symptoms, transmission, diagnosis, and potential treatment strategies for the newly identified SARS-CoV-2 strain.

Title: Coast-to-Coast Spread of SARS-CoV-2 during the Early Epidemic in the United States Content: Summary The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States in January 2020, with subsequent COVID-19 outbreaks detected in all 50 states by early March. To uncover the sources of SARS-CoV-2 introductions and patterns of spread within the United States, we sequenced nine viral genomes from early reported COVID-19 patients in Connecticut. Our phylogenetic analysis places the majority of these genomes with viruses sequenced from Washington state. By coupling our genomic data with domestic and international travel patterns, we show that early SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Connecticut was likely driven by domestic introductions. Moreover, the risk of domestic importation to Connecticut exceeded that of international importation by mid-March regardless of our estimated effects of federal travel restrictions. This study provides evidence of widespread sustained transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within the United States and highlights the critical need for local surveillance.

Title: Spillover of SARS-CoV-2 into novel wild hosts in North America: A conceptual model for perpetuation of the pathogen Content: There is evidence that the current outbreak of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, is of animal origin. As with a number of zoonotic pathogens, there is a risk of spillover into novel hosts. Here, we propose a hypothesized conceptual model that illustrates the mechanism whereby the SARS-CoV-2 could spillover from infected humans to naive wildlife hosts in North America. This proposed model is premised on transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from human feces through municipal waste water treatment plants into the natural aquatic environment where potential wildlife hosts become infected. We use the existing literature on human coronaviruses, including SARS CoV, to support the potential pathways and mechanisms in the conceptual model. Although we focus on North America, our conceptual model could apply to other parts of the globe as well.

Title: World Health Organization declares global emergency: A review of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) Content: Abstract An unprecedented outbreak of pneumonia of unknown aetiology in Wuhan City, Hubei province in China emerged in December 2019. A novel coronavirus was identified as the causative agent and was subsequently termed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Considered a relative of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), COVID-19 is caused by a betacoronavirus named SARS-CoV-2 that affects the lower respiratory tract and manifests as pneumonia in humans. Despite rigorous global containment and quarantine efforts, the incidence of COVID-19 continues to rise, with 90,870 laboratory-confirmed cases and over 3,000 deaths worldwide. In response to this global outbreak, we summarise the current state of knowledge surrounding COVID-19.

Title: COVID-19: animals, veterinary and zoonotic links Content: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has spread over 210 countries and territories beyond China shortly. On February 29, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) denoted it in a high-risk category, and on March 11, 2020, this virus was designated pandemic, after its declaration being a Public Health International Emergency on January 30, 2020. World over high efforts are being made to counter and contain this virus. The COVID-19 outbreak once again proves the potential of the animal-human interface to act as the primary source of emerging zoonotic diseases. Even though the circumstantial evidence suggests the possibility of an initial zoonotic emergence, it is too early to confirm the role of intermediate hosts such as snakes, pangolins, turtles, and other wild animals in the origin of SARS-CoV-2, in addition to bats, the natural hosts of multiple coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. The lessons learned from past episodes of MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV are being exploited to retort this virus. Best efforts are being taken up by worldwide nations to implement effective diagnosis, strict vigilance, heightened surveillance, and monitoring, along with adopting appropriate preventive and control strategies. Identifying the possible zoonotic emergence and the exact mechanism responsible for its initial transmission will help us to design and implement appropriate preventive barriers against the further transmission of SARS-CoV-2. This review discusses in brief about the COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 with a particular focus on the role of animals, the veterinary and associated zoonotic links along with prevention and control strategies based on One-health approaches.

Title: COVID-19: animals, veterinary and zoonotic links. Content: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has spread over 210 countries and territories beyond China shortly. On February 29, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) denoted it in a high-risk category, and on March 11, 2020, this virus was designated pandemic, after its declaration being a Public Health International Emergency on January 30, 2020. World over high efforts are being made to counter and contain this virus. The COVID-19 outbreak once again proves the potential of the animal-human interface to act as the primary source of emerging zoonotic diseases. Even though the circumstantial evidence suggests the possibility of an initial zoonotic emergence, it is too early to confirm the role of intermediate hosts such as snakes, pangolins, turtles, and other wild animals in the origin of SARS-CoV-2, in addition to bats, the natural hosts of multiple coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. The lessons learned from past episodes of MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV are being exploited to retort this virus. Best efforts are being taken up by worldwide nations to implement effective diagnosis, strict vigilance, heightened surveillance, and monitoring, along with adopting appropriate preventive and control strategies. Identifying the possible zoonotic emergence and the exact mechanism responsible for its initial transmission will help us to design and implement appropriate preventive barriers against the further transmission of SARS-CoV-2. This review discusses in brief about the COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 with a particular focus on the role of animals, the veterinary and associated zoonotic links along with prevention and control strategies based on One-health approaches.

Title: Susceptibility of ferrets, cats, dogs, and different domestic animals to SARS-coronavirus-2 Content: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes the infectious disease COVID-19, which was first reported in Wuhan, China in December, 2019. Despite the tremendous efforts to control the disease, COVID-19 has now spread to over 100 countries and caused a global pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 is thought to have originated in bats; however, the intermediate animal sources of the virus are completely unknown. Here, we investigated the susceptibility of ferrets and animals in close contact with humans to SARS-CoV-2. We found that SARS-CoV-2 replicates poorly in dogs, pigs, chickens, and ducks, but efficiently in ferrets and cats. We found that the virus transmits in cats via respiratory droplets. Our study provides important insights into the animal reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2 and animal management for COVID-19 control.

Title: On the assessment of more reliable COVID-19 infected number: the italian case. Content: COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) is the most recent pandemic disease the world is currently managing. It started in China at the end of 2019, and it is diffusing throughout Italy, one of the most affected countries, and it is currently spreading through European countries and USA. Patients affected by COVID-19 are identified employing medical swabs applied mainly to (i) citizens with COVID-19 symptoms such as flu or high temperature, or (ii) citizens that had contacts with COVID-19 patients. A percentage of COVID-19 affected patients needs hospitalisation, whereas a portion needs to be treated in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Nevertheless, it is a matter of current intuition that COVID-19 infected citizens are more than those detected, and sometime the infection is detected too late. Thus there are many efforts in both tracking people activities as well as diffusing low cost reliable COVID-19 tests for early detection. Starting from mortality rates of diseases caused by viruses in the same family (e.g. MERS, SARS, H1N1), we study the relations between the number of COVID-19 infections and the number of deaths, through Italian regions. We thus assess several infections being higher than the ones currently measured. We thus focus on the characterisation of the pandemic diffusion by estimating the infected number of patients versus the number of death. We use such an estimated number of infections, to foresee the effects of restriction actions adopted by governments to constrain virus diffusion. We finally think that our model can support the healthcare system to react when COVID-19 is increasing.

Title: Emergence of a novel human coronavirus threatening human health Content: In late December 2019, a cluster of patients with ‘atypical pneumonia’ of unknown etiology was reported in Wuhan, China. A novel human coronavirus, now provisionally called ‘SARS-CoV-2’, was identified as the cause of this disease, now named ‘COVID-19’.

Title: South Korea's COVID-19 Infection Status: From the Perspective of Reconfirmation after Complete Recovery Content: COVID-19 started to occur in South Korea by an inflow of the virus from abroad, when a traveler from Wuhan, China, was first confirmed on January 19th, 2020 Although South Korea reduced the number of newly confirmed cases and is on the way to stabilizing the situation with its disease prevention policies, problems remain The main issue is the reconfirmation of the virus after recovery South Korean experts believe the reconfirmed cases are caused by reactivation of the virus inside the patients' body, rather than by virus reinfection after recovery When considering reconfirmed COVID-19 cases, it is important to keep social distancing even after treating the infection Despite no cases of reconfirmed patients infecting others having been reported yet, reexamination of patients after recovery is thought to be pivotal to prevent reactivation

Title: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID 19) Infection in Hypertensive Patients and in Patients With Cardiac Disease Content: COVID 19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a newly discovered coronavirus, has caused the global pandemic of early 2020. The first case was described in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and by March 2020, most countries around the world have put in place some of the strictest restrictions seen in decades in order to slow down the spread of the disease. Patients with pre-existing hypertension and cardiovascular comorbidities were reported to be at an increased risk of serious infections caused by SARS-CoV-2. Considering that those are among the most common chronic medical conditions in the Western world, the potential impact of it is huge. The proposed mechanism behind those associations is the expression of angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE II) in those patients. Furthermore, the association between ACE inhibitors/AR blockers, which are among the most frequently prescribed medications, and serious cases of COVID 19 has been studied with the same mechanism in mind. The reports on the association between hypertension and COVID 19 morbidity and mortality are less clear, and the International Society of Hypertension even claims that there is none. The reports on the association between heart failure or coronary disease and COVID 19 are more uniform, and all seem to point to a greater risk from serious infections faced by patients with those comorbidities. A significant effort will need to be invested by the scientific community into finding strategies for protecting those patients from contracting the virus in the first place and then, once infected, into developing management plans aimed at preserving cardiac function as much as possible.

Title: Papa Giovanni XXIII Bergamo Hospital at the time of the COVID-19 outbreak: letter from the warfront. Content: In early December 2019, the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was identified as the agent responsible for the first pneumonia cases of unknown origin in Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei region in China. The virus has been identified as a novel enveloped RNA betacoronavirus2 , that has been promptly named SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). The World Health Organization (WHO), on January 12, 2020 declared the COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern. On March 11, the WHO made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.

Title: Epidemiological data from the COVID-19 outbreak, real-time case information Content: Cases of a novel coronavirus were first reported in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, in December 2019 and have since spread across the world. Epidemiological studies have indicated human-to-human transmission in China and elsewhere. To aid the analysis and tracking of the COVID-19 epidemic we collected and curated individual-level data from national, provincial, and municipal health reports, as well as additional information from online reports. All data are geo-coded and, where available, include symptoms, key dates (date of onset, admission, and confirmation), and travel history. The generation of detailed, real-time, and robust data for emerging disease outbreaks is important and can help to generate robust evidence that will support and inform public health decision making.

Title: Fatal Superimposed Bacterial Sepsis in a Healthy Coronavirus (COVID-19) Patient Content: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious disease caused by the newly discovered coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). The novel coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and has led to a global pandemic. The virus mainly spreads through respiratory droplets from an infected person, but environmental contamination can also act as a source of infection, making social distancing an important key in containing the spread of infection. Those with underlying health conditions are more susceptible to complications such as acute respiratory distress syndrome, which can be fatal. However, healthy individuals experience a mild flu-like illness or may be asymptomatic, recuperating from the infection even without any particular intervention. We present a case of a healthy COVID positive individual, with no underlying comorbidities, who rapidly deteriorated overnight on readmission to the hospital after initial discharge and succumbed to this disease due to a superimposed bacterial infection with COVID pneumonia. This case report highlights the importance of educating COVID-19 positive patients about the precautions, as well as signs and symptoms of a superimposed bacterial infection, when their plan of care is in a home setting. It also emphasizes the potential role of checking procalcitonin levels as a part of routine laboratory investigation at initial presentation in all suspected as well as confirmed COVID-19 cases to rule out an on-going bacterial infection that can prove fatal in the course of the disease.

Title: Understanding novel COVID-19: Its impact on organ failure and risk assessment for diabetic and cancer patients Content: The current pandemic outbreak of COVID-19 originated from Wuhan, China. It is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with significant mortality and morbidity rate. The severe risk factors are commonly detected in patients of older age and with medical comorbidities like cancer and diabetes. Scientists and doctors have scrambled to gain knowledge about the novel virus and its pathophysiology in order to discover possible therapeutic regimens and vaccines for COVID-19. The therapeutic strategies like targeting the viral genome emphasize the promising approach to target COVID-19. Additionally, blocking the receptor, ACE2 via the neutralizing antibodies for viral escape that prevents it from entering into the cells provides another therapeutic regimen. In this review article, we have presented the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection in comorbid patients and discussed organ failure caused by this virus. Based on the data available from the scientific literature and ongoing clinical trials, we have focused on therapeutic strategies. We hope that we would fill the gaps that puzzled the researchers and clinicians with the best of our knowledge collected for the betterment of the patients for the coming future.

Title: Occupational health responses to COVID-19: What lessons can we learn from SARS? Content: On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) received reports of pneumonia cases of unknown etiology in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province, China. The agent responsible was subsequently identified as a coronavirus-SARS-CoV-2. The WHO declared this disease as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern at the end of January 2020. This event evoked a sense of déjà vu, as it has many similarities to the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) of 2002-2003. Both illnesses were caused by a zoonotic novel coronavirus, both originated during winter in China and both spread rapidly all over the world. However, the case-fatality rate of SARS (9.6%) is higher than that of COVID-19 (<4%). Another zoonotic novel coronavirus, MERS-CoV, was responsible for the Middle East respiratory syndrome, which had a case-fatality rate of 34%. Our experiences in coping with the previous coronavirus outbreaks have better equipped us to face the challenges posed by COVID-19, especially in the health care setting. Among the insights gained from the past outbreaks were: outbreaks caused by viruses are hazardous to healthcare workers; the impact of the disease extends beyond the infection; general principles of prevention and control are effective in containing the disease; the disease poses both a public health as well as an occupational health threat; and emerging infectious diseases pose a continuing threat to the world. Given the perspectives gained and lessons learnt from these past events, we should be better prepared to face the current COVID-19 outbreak.

Title: Co-infection with Influenza A and COVID-19 Content: COVID-19, also called severe acute respiratory distress syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), originated in Wuhan, China. It has caused significant morbidity and mortality worldwide and has been declared a global pandemic by the WHO. Influenza occurs mainly during the winter, with the burden of disease determined by several factors, including the effectiveness of the vaccine that season, the characteristics of the circulating viruses, and how long the season lasts. We describe the case of a 66-year-old woman who was diagnosed with influenza A and COVID-19 co-infection. LEARNING POINTS: COVID-19 can co-occur with other viral infections. Some of these co-infections have active treatments, while supportive treatment is the mainstay of treatment for others.

Title: Novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19): Emergence and implications for emergency care Content: A novel coronavirus (COVID-19) causing acute illness with severe symptoms has been isolated in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Since its emergence, cases have been found worldwide, reminiscent of severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreaks over the past 2 decades. Current understanding of this epidemic remains limited due to its rapid development and available data. While occurrence outside mainland China remains low, the likelihood of increasing cases globally continues to rise. Given this potential, it is imperative that emergency clinicians understand the preliminary data behind the dynamics of this disease, recognize possible presentations of patients, and understand proposed treatment modalities.

Title: COVID-19: A Risk Assessment Perspective Content: [Image: see text] COVID-19 is a newly emerging viral respiratory disease first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease is caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which is related to the viruses that cause SARS and MERS. While the case fatality ratio for COVID-19 (5%) is far lower than that for SARS (11%) and MERS (34%), COVID-19 is spreading relatively uncontrolled at this time across the globe. In contrast, SARS appears to be contained, and MERS is controlled. This paper will explore why COVID-19 is able to progress to a global pandemic that affects our daily lives to an extent not known in recent history. The COVID-19 outbreak and spread will be examined based on the current literature, using a researcher’s perspective of risk assessment and risk mitigation; this approach will be related to public health.

Title: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Clinical Perspectives and Ongoing Challenges Content: BACKGROUND: Emerging infectious diseases pose a great hazard to public health and the global economy A novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), emerged from Wuhan, China, in December 2019 Since then, it has spread globally causing a global health emergency of inconceivable magnitude, with significant morbidity and mortality There is the need for clinicians and health care providers to understand and gain knowledge of the different aspects of the disease as it evolves OBJECTIVE: We reviewed existing literature on COVID-19 in order to present a synopsis of current understanding of the disease METHODS: Using PubMed, Embase and Medline, articles published between January and April 2020 on Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and resources from World Health Organisation were analyzed in order to have an understanding of the clinical characteristics, transmission dynamics, virology, diagnostic possibilities, prevention, management approach, controversies and impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare workforce RESULTS: Our review revealed that COVID-19 patients present with a myriad of symptoms, ranging from mild to severe respiratory disease, which can often be fatal The mode of transmission via droplet infections makes it unduly contagious and difficult to control Currently, antiviral drugs or vaccines are being developed to manage this condition CONCLUSION: There is urgent need for potent antivirals and vaccine to manage those infected with COVID 19 and prevent infection Global efforts need to be unified in combating this public health emergency and flattening the curve of spread

Title: Dynamics of the COVID-19 -- Comparison between the Theoretical Predictions and Real Data Content: A new coronavirus disease, called COVID-19, appeared in the Chinese region of Wuhan at the end of last year; since then the virus spread to other countries, including most of Europe. We propose a differential equation governing the evolution of the COVID-19. This dynamic equation also describes the evolution of the number of infected people for 13 common respiratory viruses (including the SARS-CoV-2). We validate our theoretical predictions with experimental data for Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg, and compare them with the predictions of the logistic model. We find that our predictions are in good agreement with the real world since the beginning of the appearance of the COVID-19; this is not the case for the logistic model that only applies to the first days. The second part of the work is devoted to modelling the descending phase, i.e. the decrease of the number of people tested positive for COVID-19. Also in this case, we propose a new set of dynamic differential equations that we solved numerically. We use our differential equations parametrised with experimental data to make several predictions, such as the date when Italy, Belgium, and Luxembourg will reach a peak number of SARS-CoV-2 infected people. The descending curves provide valuable information such as the duration of the COVID-19 epidemic in a given Country and therefore when it will be possible to return to normal life.