The veterinary perspective of COVID-19

Abstract

Coronaviridae is a family of RNA viruses responsible for two previous epidemics of viral pneumonia and related illnesses: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2002 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in 2012. The current COVID-19 pandemic is caused by a new member of the family Coronaviridae, named SARS-CoV-2 which emerged in December, 2019 in Wuhan, China. Infected persons present with severe respiratory illness including pneumonia. There have been reports of confirmed cases in different animal species that became infected with SARS-CoV-2, suggesting possible reverse zoonosis. In this review, we discussed the origin, biology, genome organization, replication and virus entry into host cells, immune mechanisms, epidemiological trends, prevention and control strategies employed in combating the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19, Epidemiological trend, Pandemic, SARS-CoV-2