Rabi Firas A, Al Zoubi Mazhar S, Kasasbeh Ghena A, Salameh Dunia M, Al-Nasser Amjad D
Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, Irbid 21163, Jordan.
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, Irbid 21163, Jordan.
Pathogens. 2020 Mar 20;9(3):231. doi: 10.3390/pathogens9030231.
In December 2019, a cluster of fatal pneumonia cases presented in Wuhan, China. They were caused by a previously unknown coronavirus. All patients had been associated with the Wuhan Wholefood market, where seafood and live animals are sold. The virus spread rapidly and public health authorities in China initiated a containment effort. However, by that time, travelers had carried the virus to many countries, sparking memories of the previous coronavirus epidemics, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and causing widespread media attention and panic. Based on clinical criteria and available serological and molecular information, the new disease was called coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), and the novel coronavirus was called SARS Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), emphasizing its close relationship to the 2002 SARS virus (SARS-CoV). The scientific community raced to uncover the origin of the virus, understand the pathogenesis of the disease, develop treatment options, define the risk factors, and work on vaccine development. Here we present a summary of current knowledge regarding the novel coronavirus and the disease it causes.
2019年12月，中国武汉出现了一批致命肺炎病例。这些病例由一种此前未知的冠状病毒引起。所有患者都与武汉华南海鲜市场有关联，该市场售卖海鲜和活体动物。病毒迅速传播，中国公共卫生当局展开了防控工作。然而，彼时病毒已随旅行者传播至许多国家，引发了人们对之前冠状病毒疫情（严重急性呼吸综合征，即SARS，以及中东呼吸综合征，即MERS）的回忆，并引起了媒体的广泛关注和恐慌。根据临床标准以及现有的血清学和分子信息，这种新疾病被命名为2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19），这种新型冠状病毒被命名为严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2），强调了它与2002年SARS病毒（SARS-CoV）的密切关系。科学界竞相揭示病毒的起源，了解疾病的发病机制，开发治疗方案，确定风险因素，并致力于疫苗研发。在此，我们对有关新型冠状病毒及其所致疾病的现有知识做一总结。
