Coronavirus Disease 2019 COVID-19, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Amr Saeb, T. M.¹, Shatha Makki, M.² & Hamsa Tayeb, T.^3,4*

¹Strategic Center for Diabetes Research, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
²King Faisal Specialist Hospital International Holding Co, Saudi Arabia
³Department of Genetics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
⁴Saudi Human Genome Project, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Hamsa Tayeb, T., Department of Genetics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center & Saudi Human Genome Project, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) Riyadh Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: COVID-19; Pandemic; Coronaviruses

Abstract

The current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is regarded as a crucial public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). It is involving a novel type of coronavirus initially identified in Wuhan, China. At the time of writing, there have been 167511 confirmed cases around the world with 6606 deaths. In Saudi Arabia, there are 103 confirmed cases classified as Local transmissions [1] Figure (1). The global risk assessment was set as very high for China, regional and global levels.
Based on a recent meta-analysis of symptoms in 50,466 COVID-19 patients, the most common symptoms of severe COVID-19 infections are fever and cough, 89.1% and 72.2%, respectively [2]. Additionally, myalgia or fatigue (11-52%), and shortness of breath (3-31%) occurs in patients at illness onset. The fatality rate was estimated to be 4.3% and the majority of fatalities occurred amongst adults (median age 59 years) [3]. Older patients and those with chronic medical conditions might be at higher risk of the disease, however, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) interim clinical guidance for risk factors of the severe illness is not clear [4].

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