Review Article
An Overview on the Epidemiology and Immunology of COVID-19

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2021.07.021Get rights and content
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Abstract

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and the 2019 novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Currently, there is no analyzed data to examine the outbreak of COVID-19 by continent and no determination of prevalence trends; this article reviews COVID-19 epidemiology and immunology. Original research, reviews, governmental databases, and treatment guidelines are analyzed to present the epidemiology and immunology of COVID-19. Reports from patients who were COVID-19 infected showed typical symptoms of neutrophilia, lymphopenia, and increased systemic inflammatory proteins of IL-6 and C reactive protein (CRP). These observations agree with the results of severe conditions of MERS or lethal cases of SARS, in which there is an increased presence of neutrophils and macrophages in the airways. Additionally, analyzed data showed that Europe (49.37%), the Americas (27.4%), and Eastern Mediterranean (10.07%) had the most cumulative total per 100,000 population confirmed cases, and Africa (6.9%), Western Pacific (3.46%), and South-East Asia (2.72%) had the lowest cumulative total per 100,000 population confirmed cases. In general, the trend lines showed that the number of confirmed cases (cumulative total) and deaths (cumulative total) would decrease eventually.

Abbreviation list

MERS
Middle east respiratory syndrome
SARS
Severe acute respiratory syndrome
MERS-CoV
Middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus
SARS-CoV
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019
CRP
C reactive protein
WHO
World health organization
PHEIC
Public health emergency of international concern
ACE2
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2
PAMPs
Pathogen-associated molecular patterns
PRRs
Pattern recognition receptors
TLR-3
Toll-like receptors 3
RIG-I
Retinoic acid-inducible gene I
MDA5
Melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5
CXCL10
C-X-C motif chemokine 10
MCP-1
Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1
IP-10
Interferon gamma-induced protein 10
MIP
Macrophage inflammatory protein
ADE
Antibody-dependent enhancement
FcγR
Fcγ receptors
ARDS
Acute respiratory distress syndrome
HLH
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis

Keywords

Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Epidemiology
Immunology

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