KUMJ | VOL. 18 | NO. 2 | ISSUE 70 | COVID-19 SPECIAL 2020
Virology, Clinical Features and Diagnosis of COVID 19: Review Analysis
Bhusal L, Amgain K, Dangal G, Tamang PD, Shahi P, Budhathoki P, Paudel AK
Abstract: COVID-19 requires unprecedented mobilization of the health systems to prevent
the rapid spread of this unique virus, which spreads via respiratory droplet and
causes respiratory disease. There is an urgent need for an accurate and rapid test
method to quickly identify many infected patients and asymptomatic carriers to
prevent virus transmission and assure timely treatment of the patients.
This article aims as an outcome of review of the evidence on viral load and its
virulence of SARS-CoV2,so that it will help in further understanding the fact useful
for investigating and managing the COVID-19 cases.
A search of available evidence was conducted in pub-med “COVID-19 viral load and
virulence” and its associated characters world-wide and Google Scholar to capture
the most recently published articles. The WHO and Centre for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) database of publications on novel coronavirus were also screened
for relevant publications. Abstracts of 55 articles were screened by two authors
and 15 were included in this study based on the inclusion criteria.
SARS-coV2, the causative agent of COVID-19 falls under the coronavirus family
but it has higher infectivity compared to SARS and MERS with higher reproduction
numbers(Ro). Virulence has been found to be different throughout the
world,however lower compared to SARS and MERS,till date. The most common
clinical features have been found to be cough and fever. RT – PCR remains the
most sensitive and specific method for the diagnosis of COVID-19 although it is
time consuming, costly and requires highly skilled human resources. Hence, newer
modalities like RT- LAMP can be alternative for point of care diagnosis as this is both
cost effective and requires less skilled human resources.
Despite recent advances in disease diagnosis and treatment outcomes using
latest technological advances in molecular biology, the global pandemic COVID-19
remains a major headache for governments across the world due to limited testing
capacity and lack of appropriate treatment and vaccine.
Keyword : Coronavirus, COVID-19, Diagnosis of COVID-19, Serological tests, Virulence
