European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

First time on December 30, 2019, a report of a cluster of pneumonia of unknown aetiology
was published on ProMED-mail, possibly related to contact with a seafood market in Wuhan,
China. [1] Following this till October 15, 2020, 38,394,169 confirmed cases of COVID-19,
including 1,089,047 deaths have been reported to World Health Organization. [2]
First time, this case was reported on December 31, 2019 by WHO Country Office in China
but based on symptoms; its beginning can be traced in initial days of December 2019.
Initially for first few cases (n=29), this infection was classified as "pneumonia of unknown
etiology." Following intensive outbreak investigation by the Chinese Center for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) and local CDCs, this infection was classified as novel viral
infection belonging to the coronavirus (CoV) family. Finally on February 11, 2020, the WHO
Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced that the disease caused by
this new CoV was a "COVID-19," which is the acronym of "coronavirus disease 2019". [3]
This Coronaviruses are encapsulated, single-stranded RNA viruses that generally cause mild,
cold-like illnesses in human beings and belongs to SARS-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). [4]