Corona Viruses: A Review on SARS, MERS and COVID-19

After the outbreak of SARS and MERS, the world is now in the grip of another viral disease named COVID-19 caused by a beta Coronavirus – SARS COV-2 which appears to be the only one with a pandemic potential. The case of COVID-19 was reported in the Hubei province of Wuhan city in Central China at the end of December 2019 and it is suspected that the sea food market played a role in this outbreak which was closed abruptly. Subsequently, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern was declared on 30 January 2020 by the World Health Organization. Both SARS and MERS corona viruses had its reservoir in bats and were transferred to humans from palm civets and camels respectively. This virus can be transmitted through airborne droplets. Natural reservoir and intermediate host of COVID-19 is yet to be identified. This paper reviews the occurrences of viral diseases in the recent times including SARS and MERS. As an addition to this, the paper will contain a detailed examination of the COVID-19 Pandemic.