Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Lincoln University College, Selangor, Malaysia
Osong Public Health Res Perspect, 2020 Jun;11(3):93-100.
PMID: 32494567 DOI: 10.24171/j.phrp.2020.11.3.08

Abstract

In 2020 a significant threat to public health emerged. The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic outbreak emerged in December 2019 from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and spread to the rest of the world. This disease was named COVID-19 by World Health Organization. To date (17th April 2020) a total of 2,230,439 cases of COVID-19; 150,810 cases of deaths and 564,210 recovered cases have been reported worldwide. In this review the SARS-CoV-2 morphology, pathogenic mechanism, similarities and differences between SARS-CoV and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and severe acute respiratory syndrome, transmission mode, diagnosis, treatment, and preventive measures were investigated. The outbreak of COVID-19 from a Malaysian perspective was explored and mental health care during the COVID-19 outbreak was explored. To date, there is no vaccine or no specific treatment for COVID-19. Therefore, preventive measures are very important to prevent and control the rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Preparedness should be a priority for future pandemic outbreaks.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.