The epidemiology, evolution, transmission, and therapeutics of COVID-19 Outbreak: an update on the status

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an etiologic agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19). The outbreak of the COVID-19 was initially reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in December 2019 where people had experienced SARS pneumonia-like symptoms with unknown etiology. Since then it has been observed that COVID-19 positive patients have been showing mild to severe upper respiratory illness symptoms. The type of virus is known to make its transfer from animals to humans and for the concerned virus, researchers have claimed its origin from bat coronavirus at whole-genome level with a 96 % sequence identity. The COVID-19 virus is very contagious and communicable in nature and has been spread throughout the globe since its first outbreak in China. On March 9, 2020, WHO declared it as a Pandemic and within a month by 16 April 2020 it was already reported to have shown its presence in 213 countries and territories or areas infecting more than 1,991, 562 people and 130, 885 mortalities worldwide with a variable mortality rate from 3-13% across the planet and also varied by age and gender. Diagnosis of the disease is a key component in understanding and controlling the spread of the virus and several techniques have been devised including RT-PCR, ELISA, and sequencing-based approaches. To cure COVID-19 patients as of now we do not have proven to be a safe and effective treatment. Therapeutic options currently under investigation in various parts of the world. Although, there are various potential therapeutic targets to repurpose the present antiviral therapy for developing effective interventions against this novel coronavirus. Boosting the immune system can also help to prevent and spread of COVID-19 using various medication and exercises. In this review, our aim to summarize and discussed the current scientific advancements to fight against this novel pandemic.