The SARS, MERS and novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemics, the newest and biggest global health threats: what lessons have we learned?

By Noah C. Peeri, Nistha Shrestha, M. Rahman, R. Zaki, Zhengqi Tan, Saana Bibi, Mahdi Baghbanzadeh, Nasrin Aghamohammadi, Wenyi Zhang, Ubydul Haque. International Journal of Epidemiology, 2020

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Abstract Objectives To provide an overview of the three major deadly coronaviruses and identify areas for improvement of future preparedness plans, as well as provide a critical assessment of the risk factors and actionable items for stopping their spread, utilizing lessons learned from the first two deadly coronavirus outbreaks, as well as initial reports from the current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic in Wuhan, China. Methods Utilizing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, USA) website, and a comprehensive review of PubMed literature, we obtained information regarding clinical signs and symptoms, treatment and diagnosis, transmission methods, protection methods and risk factors for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and COVID-19. Comparisons between the viruses were made. Results Inadequate risk assessment regarding the urgency of the situation, and limited reporting on the virus within China has, in part, led to the rapid spread of COVID-19 throughout mainland China and into proximal and distant countries. Compared with SARS and MERS, COVID-19 has spread more rapidly, due in part to increased globalization and the focus of the epidemic. Wuhan, China is a large hub connecting the North, South, East and West of China via railways and a major international airport. The availability of connecting flights, the timing of the outbreak during the Chinese (Lunar) New Year, and the massive rail transit hub located in Wuhan has enabled the virus to perforate throughout China, and eventually, globally. Conclusions We conclude that we did not learn from the two prior epidemics of coronavirus and were ill-prepared to deal with the challenges the COVID-19 epidemic has posed. Future research should attempt to address the uses and implications of internet of things (IoT) technologies for mapping the spread of infection.

Subfields: Information Systems, Modeling and Simulation, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/1b0a6fc84f6815a1217d89b456a277dc06a82c12

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Citations in the corpus

Prevalence, Severity and Mortality associated with COPD and Smoking in patients with COVID-19: A Rapid Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2020, background): “Although the symptoms and clinical presentation of COVID-19 is similar to SARS and MERS, the rate of spread is greater [5].”
Mortality-related risk factors of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 42 studies and 423,117 patients (2021, background): “Although the clinical presentation and symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to that of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the rate of spread is greater [2].”
Clinical features of COVID-19 in elderly patients: A comparison with young and middle-aged patients (2020, neutral): “10 In terms of imaging, the incidence of multilobe lesions in elderly patients is significantly higher than in young and middle-aged patients.”
The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak: What we know (2020, background): “months, that’s times of the SARS-COV outbreak (Peeri et al., 2020; Wu and McGoogan, 2019).”
Psychological Impact and Coping Strategies of Frontline Medical Staff in Hunan Between January and March 2020 During the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Hubei, China (2020, background): “6%, respectively, which resulted in adverse psychological effects, including anxiety and depression [5].”