Preprint Review Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

SARS-CoV-2: Jumping the Species Barrier, Lessons from SARS and MERS, Its Zoonotic Spillover, Transmission to Humans, Preventive and Control Measures and Recent Developments to Counter This Pandemic Virus

Version 1 : Received: 31 March 2020 / Approved: 2 April 2020 / Online: 2 April 2020 (04:43:45 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Dhama K, Patel SK, Sharun K, Pathak M, Tiwari R, Yatoo MI, Malik YS, Sah R, Rabaan A, Panwar PK, Sinh KP, Michalak I, Chaicumpa, Martinez-Pulgarin DF, Bonilla-Aldana DK, Rodríguez-Morales AJ. SARS-CoV-2 jumping the species barrier: zoonotic lessons from SARS, MERS and recent advances to combat this pandemic virus. Travel Med Infect Dis 2020 Epub Ahead Aug 2; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101830 Dhama K, Patel SK, Sharun K, Pathak M, Tiwari R, Yatoo MI, Malik YS, Sah R, Rabaan A, Panwar PK, Sinh KP, Michalak I, Chaicumpa, Martinez-Pulgarin DF, Bonilla-Aldana DK, Rodríguez-Morales AJ. SARS-CoV-2 jumping the species barrier: zoonotic lessons from SARS, MERS and recent advances to combat this pandemic virus. Travel Med Infect Dis 2020 Epub Ahead Aug 2; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101830

Abstract

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - Coronavirus-2) of the family Coronaviridae, appeared in Wuhan, Hubei province, China being its epicenter in December 2019. This disease was declared as posing Public Health International Emergency by World Health Organization on January 30, 2020, attained the status of a very high-risk category on February 29, and now having a pandemic status (March 11, 2020). COVID-19 has presently spread to more than 195 countries/territories while killing nearly 19,600 humans out of cumulative confirmed cases accounting to more than 430,000 within a short period of just a few weeks. The majority of deaths have been reported in Italy and China. Researchers worldwide are pacing with high efforts to counter the spread of this virus and to design effective vaccines and therapeutics/drugs. Few of the studies have shown the potential of animal-human interface and zoonotic links in the origin of SARS-CoV-2. Exploring the possible zoonosis and revealing the factors responsible for its initial transmission from animals to humans will pave ways to design and implement effective preventive and control strategies to counter COVID-19. The present review presents an overview of COVID-19 and the causative virus SARS-CoV-2, with particular emphasis on the role of animals and their jumping the cross-species barriers, experiences learned from SARS- and MERS-CoVs, zoonotic links, and spillover events, transmission to humans and rapid spread., highlighting in very brief the preventive and control measures along with a few of the recent research developments to counter this pandemic virus/disease.

Keywords

COVID-19; SARS-Cov-2; bat coronavirus; zoonosis; spillover; expanding host range

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases

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