American Journal of Clinical Medicine Research, 2020, Vol. 8, No. 1, 23-27 Available online at http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajcmr/8/1/5 Published by Science and Education Publishing DOI:10.12691/ajcmr-8-1-5 A Knowledge Update on SARS-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)/COVID-19 and Its Global Public Health Implications Mahendra Pal 1 , Gemechu Berhanu Kerorsa 2 , Venkataramana Kandi 3,* 1 Narayan Consultancy on Veterinary Public Health and Microbiology, Anand, India 2 College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Dambi Dollo University, Dambi Dollo, Ethiopia 3 Department of Microbiology, Pratima Institute of Medical Sciences, Karimnagar, India *Corresponding author: ramana_20021@rediffmail.com, ramana20021@gmail.com Received May 13, 2020; Revised May 20, 2020; Accepted May 27, 2020 Abstract The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a globally declared pandemic viral disease caused by a novel virus, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) affecting the respiratory tract. This disease has caused high morbidity as well as mortality in susceptible populations throughout the world. Currently, COVID-19 is spreading to most countries of the world including European, American, Asian, and African countries. In these countries, the death rates of the disease have been different. The possible mechanisms of transmission of the disease include droplet inhalation, direct contact with the person infected by the disease, and indirect contact transmission. Common clinical spectrum of the disease includes high fever, dry or productive cough, shortness, and difficulty of breathing, sore throat, general weakness, myalgia, and chills. The disease can be diagnosed using clinical history, travel history, contact history, clinical signs, and different laboratory tests. The emergence of COVID-19 resulted in health, social, economic, and political problems across the globe. There is no single specific antiviral therapy and a vaccine for COVID-19, and the current treatments are almost supportive. Therefore, proper control and preventive measures that include physical/social distancing, washing hands frequently with soap and water, disinfecting hands and objects with sanitizers and alcohol, avoiding contact of contaminated objects, using proper personal protective equipment, and public education could minimize the transmission. Keywords: COVID-19, Global threat, Pandemic, Public Health, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), control and preventive measures Cite This Article: Mahendra Pal, Gemechu Berhanu Kerorsa, and Venkataramana Kandi, “A Knowledge Update on SARS-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)/COVID-19 and Its Global Public Health Implications.” American Journal of Clinical Medicine Research, vol. 8, no. 1 (2020): 23-27. doi: 10.12691/ajcmr-8-1-5. 1. Introduction & Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel viral disease that affects the respiratory tract (upper and lower) in infected people. COVID-19 may result in mild, asymptomatic to life-threatening infections, equally affecting people living in both developing and developed countries [1,2]. After the outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, the disease has spread globally, affecting more than 200 countries, and was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as pandemic disease on January 11, 2020 [3,4]. This disease, caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused serious public health problems in humans more than its predecessors (SARS-CoV), and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome CoV (MERS-CoV)) [5]. Human CoVs and their infections are not rare as evidenced by the fact that they cause almost 20% of the seasonal cold episodes suffered by humans. Novel CoVs have been noted to emerge in the past decade. These CoVs can attach to the human cells, in contrast to the existing CoVs. Previous research had observed that the SARS-CoV-2 might have emerged from the Pangolins (ant-eater) rather than the bats. It was noted that the SARS-CoV-2 although it is 99% similar to the bat CoV, the receptor-binding domain (RBD) in the S-protein is only 60% similar. Whereas the CoV observed in the Pangolins although it is only 90% similar to the SARS-CoV-2, there was a 99% similarity in terms of the RBD of the S-protein. This RBD on the S-protein is used by the SARS-CoV-2 to attach to the Angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptors present on various human cells, including the cells of the respiratory tract [6].