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Updated: Aug 27, 2025

Author Spotlight: Advancements in Multiplex Detection of Respiratory Viruses
Published on: November 10, 2023
COVID-19 and preventive strategy
Chayakrit Krittanawong1,2,3, Neil Maitra1,2, Anirudh Kumar4
1Section of Cardiology, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX, USA.
Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has led to millions of deaths globally. This review summarizes COVID-19 epidemiology, transmission, clinical presentation, and therapies to propose a preventive strategy.
Area of Science:
- * Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology
- * Virology and Public Health
Background:
- * The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2, emerged in December 2019, rapidly escalating into a global pandemic.
- * COVID-19 has surpassed previous epidemics like SARS and MERS in terms of mortality and global impact, with over 293 million cases and 5.4 million deaths reported by January 2022.
- * While often presenting with mild symptoms, COVID-19 poses a significant risk of severe disease and death in individuals with pre-existing comorbidities.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To review and synthesize peer-reviewed and preprint literature on COVID-19.
- * To summarize the epidemiology, transmission, and clinical presentation of COVID-19.
- * To discuss available therapies and propose a comprehensive preventive strategy to combat the pandemic.
Main Methods:
- * Comprehensive literature review of peer-reviewed articles and preprints.
- * Analysis of epidemiological data, transmission dynamics, and clinical characteristics.
- * Evaluation of current and investigational therapeutic agents for COVID-19.
Main Results:
- * COVID-19 exhibits high pathogenicity and contagiousness, necessitating urgent public health interventions such as quarantining and social distancing.
- * A wide range of therapeutic strategies, including novel agents and repurposed medications, are under investigation.
- * Effective pandemic mitigation requires a collaborative effort involving healthcare providers, health systems, patients, private sectors, and governments.
Conclusions:
- * A multi-faceted approach combining public health measures, therapeutic advancements, and inter-sectoral collaboration is essential for overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.
- * Continued research and evidence synthesis are crucial for refining preventive and therapeutic strategies.
- * Protecting both healthcare providers and patients is paramount in the ongoing global health crisis.
Abstract:
In December 2019, an unprecedented outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) began to spread internationally, now impacting more than 293,750,692 patients with 5,454,131 deaths globally as of January 5, 2022. COVID-19 is highly pathogenic and contagious which has caused a large-scale epidemic impacting more deaths than the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2002-2003 or the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) epidemic in 2012-2013. Although COVID-19 symptoms are mild in most people, in those with pre-existing comorbidities there is an increased risk of progression to severe disease and death. In an attempt to mitigate this pandemic, urgent public health measures including quarantining exposed individuals and social distancing have been implemented in most states, while some states have even started the process of re-opening after considering both the economic and public health consequences of social distancing measures. While prevention is crucial, both novel agents and medications already in use with other indications are being investigated in clinical trials for patients with COVID-19. The collaboration between healthcare providers, health systems, patients, private sectors, and local and national governments is needed to protect both healthcare providers and patients to ultimately overcome this pandemic. The purpose of this review is to summarize the peer-reviewed and preprint literature on the epidemiology, transmission, clinical presentation, and available therapies as well as to propose a preventive strategy to overcome the present global pandemic.
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