Coronaviruses   Send Orders for Reprints to reprints@benthamscience.net Coronaviruses, 2021, 2, e150721188722 REVIEW ARTICLE The Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its Manifesta- tion 1 Bikash Debnath 1 , Waikhom Somraj Singh 1 and Kuntal Manna 1, * 1 Department of Pharmacy, Tripura University (A Central University), Suryamaninagar, Tripura 799022, India ARTICLE HISTORY Received: August 02, 2020 Revised: September 28, 2020 Accepted: November 02, 2020 DOI: 10.2174/2666796701999201204121813 Abstract: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported in Wuhan, Chi- na, and soon the infection turned into a pandemic. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the spread of COVID-19 infection. The World Health Organiza- tion (WHO) confirmed 4.20% of total deaths globally (March 21, 2020). Within four months (July 21, 2020), the rate of confirmed total deaths was recorded up to 4.17% globally. In India, 909 con- firmed cases and 19 deaths were reported by Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, on March 28, 2020. Over a period of 123 days in India, 1638870 confirmed cases and 35684 deaths were reported. COVID-19 can potentially spread from person to person through direct contact or re- spiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing. The most common symptoms are fever, dry cough, difficulty in breathing, and fatigue. A pregnant mother with COVID-19 has fewer chances of trans- ferring this infection to her newborn baby. Children are less affected than adults from this virus. A specific antiviral drug or vaccine has not been developed to cure the disease to date. Drugs includ- ing chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir, ritonavir, nafamostat, nitazoxanide, and remde- sivir, have been observed to be effective for treating COVID-19. Many vaccine candidates are un- der investigation in pre-clinical and clinical studies. In this review, we highlight the epidemiology, signs and symptoms, pathogenesis, and mode of transmission of the infection caused by COVID-19, and its effects on a pregnant mother and newborn, and children. We also highlight the preventive measures and drugs that are effective for treating COVID-19. Keywords: COVID-19, epidemiology, SARS-CoV-2, prevention, pregnancy and newborns, effective drugs. 1. INTRODUCTION Coronaviruses (CoVs) belong to an enormous family of single-stranded RNA viruses (+ssRNA) that predominantly directly affect the human respiratory system [1]. Earlier out- breaks of coronaviruses (CoVs) in 2002 to 2003 resulted in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS- CoV1), which showed the common cold symptoms like other severe diseases. In 2012, the pandemic of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) out- break hit the globe again. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the latest strain that emerged in December 2019, is responsible for novel Coronavirus Dis- ease 19 (COVID-19). It results in critical respiratory syn- drome conditions [2, 3]. CoVs can be isolated from different animal species. Intriguingly, SARS-CoV probably originat- ed from bats and then transmitted to other mammalian hosts, the gem-faced civet. The MERS-CoV originated from the dromedary camel and then transmitted to humans [4]. SARS-Cov-2 also has an animal origin, but the correct ani- mal is currently unknown [5]. The new CoV variants are yet to emerge as the situation isquickly evolving. Health organi- * Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Pharmacy, Tripura University (A Central University), Suryamaninagar, Tripura 799022, India; Tel: +91381-2379404; Fax: +91381-2374803; E-mail: k_manna2002@yahoo.com zations coordinate information flows and issue guidelines to mitigate the impact of the threat in the best possible way. At the same time, pharmaceutical scientists are working tireless- ly to develop vaccines for COVID-19 [6]. In December 2019, a group of affected people were hospitalized with an early screening of pneumonia of an unfamiliar pathology. Epidemiologically, these affected people were linked to the seafood and wet animal wholesale market in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China [7]. The outbreak has spread to every do- main of mainland China and other countries [8]. In India, the first case of the COVID-19 pandemic was reported on January 30, 2020, originating from China. More than a dozen states and union territories have been declared to be affected by this epidemic. The Government of India an- nounced lockdown in the entire country from March 24, 2020 [9, 10]. The present study deals with the epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19. 2. EPIDEMIOLOGY According to the data provided by the World Health Or- ganization (March 21, 2020), the total confirmed cases were reported to be 2,66,073 and total deaths as 11,183 (4.20%) worldwide, since the beginning of the pandemic [11]. After one week (March 27, 2020), the outbreak of COVID 19 be- come severe, with 5, 09,164 confirmed cases and 23,335 to- 2666-7975/21 $65.00+.00 © 2021 Bentham Science Publishers