An awareness initiative was taken by the Department of Biotechnology ,Khalsa College for Women, Civil Lines ,Ludhiana to familiarize the masses with some facts about COVID-19 (Corona virus disease-2019).The outbreak of this disease was noticed in late December 2019, when several people in Wuhan city of China were suffering from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) – like pneumonia which WHO would later name COVID-19 (Corona virus disease -2019). International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) renamed it as Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2). SARS was a global pandemic in 2002-2003. MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) was also a global pandemic in 2011.In both the cases the causal agents were newly identified corona virus (novel corona virus) in the genus betacoronavirus with zoonotic origin. SARS and MERS are now termed as human corona virus (HCoV). The name corona virus is derived from the Latin word corona, meaning “crown” like appearance of the virus particles.COVID-19 is suspected of having emerged in an unknown animal (perhaps a bat) and subsequently transmitted to humans in the seafood and wild animal market. The genome of corona virus is fully sequenced which showed that human corona virus (HCoV) is a RNA virus. Seven different strains of HCoVs have now been identified. The most distinctive feature is that corona virus family has the largest genome among all RNA viruses .The unique identity of HCoVs is the presence of spike proteins which are a crucial factor for virus attachment and entry to host cells.
· Wuhan case studies have shown- Increased level of neutrophills, Reduced total lymphocytes, Increased levels of serum IL-6 (interleukins,a type of proteins) and Increased CRPs (C-reactive proteins) in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. Combinational drugs and vaccines (under clinical trials) along with Stronger immune system are some of the therapeutic measures to combat this disease.