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Review
. 2020 Aug;43(4):328-333.
doi: 10.1016/j.bj.2020.04.007. Epub 2020 May 5.

COVID-19: The first documented coronavirus pandemic in history

Affiliations
Review

COVID-19: The first documented coronavirus pandemic in history

Yen-Chin Liu et al. Biomed J. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

The novel human coronavirus disease COVID-19 has become the fifth documented pandemic since the 1918 flu pandemic. COVID-19 was first reported in Wuhan, China, and subsequently spread worldwide. The coronavirus was officially named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses based on phylogenetic analysis. SARS-CoV-2 is believed to be a spillover of an animal coronavirus and later adapted the ability of human-to-human transmission. Because the virus is highly contagious, it rapidly spreads and continuously evolves in the human population. In this review article, we discuss the basic properties, potential origin, and evolution of the novel human coronavirus. These factors may be critical for studies of pathogenicity, antiviral designs, and vaccine development against the virus.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Pandemic; SARS-COV-2.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A timeline of five pandemics since 1918 and the globally circulating viruses afterward.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The putative life cycle of SARS-CoV-2.

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