Novel coronavirus 2019 infections current status

Abstract

Coronaviruses are enveloped RNA viruses that take their name from the thorny protrusions (Corona; Crown) on their surface in electron microscopy.They can cause respiratory,enteric,hepatic, and neurological diseases in humans and animals.Human infections are usually caused by Alpha and Beta types. Human Coronaviruses (HCoV) were first described in the 1960s,and these are mainly 229E,NL63,OC43 and HKU1 Coronaviruses, causing typical mild/moderate respiratory diseases in humans.In addition,occasional outbreaks of different severe Coronavirus infections (MERS-CoV,SARS-CoV) have been reported.Apart from these,new(novel) Coronavirus infections (2019-nCoV, SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19) have been reported which started in Wuhan,Hubei,China in December 2019 and tend to spread all over the world.In this review,it is aimed to present the epidemiological course,genetic factors,transmission,prevention of this novel Coronavirus infections with the clinical findings in adults and children,diagnosis,treatment,prevention methods and current information in our country.As of February 12,2020, 45.171 proven cases have been reported in the world and 25 different countries have been affected by this epidemic.The average incubation period of COVID-19 infection was 5.2days (1-14 days).The fatality rate was 2.5% on average in all cases,but 4.3-15% in severe or hospitalized patients.In adult cases,it begins clinically with nonspecific upper respiratory tract infections such as fever,cough and weakness.In severe cases,symptoms such as pneumonia and severe respiratory failure develop within days.In laboratory findings;lymphopenia was observed in hospitalized patients,lung involvement was in almost all cases with bilateral and multilobuler and/or subsegmental consolidation. Pediatric cases were usually asymptomatic or with mild upper respiratory tract infection findings. Pneumonia has been rarely seen.Mortality has not been reported in pediatric cases.Treatment of COVID-19 mainly consists of supportive therapy. Droplet isolation measures and hand hygiene play an important role in protection.Rigorous application of infection control measures is expected to be helpful in breaking the epidemics and pandemics.