The ongoing Coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has become a new global threat. This pandemic is a significant matter of concern due to lack of information regarding its epidemiology, mechanism of transmission, detection techniques and valid treatment options.

WY Khot and colleagues collected the available data on this new outbreak and published their research on "The Journal of the Association of Physicians of India".

From the past 30 years, an emergence of a new Coronavirus disease has been observed.  The disease usually spreads via droplets of saliva or nasal discharge when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The clinical features of the disease may range from mild to severe life-threatening complications such as ARDS, pneumonia, acute cardiac injury and septic shock. The presence of Coronavirus infection can be alleged if the imaging study shows the appearance of bilateral ground-glass opacity and consolidation. The risk of Coronavirus infection is higher in patients with a history of smoking, lymphopenia, multilobular infiltration on chest imaging, bacterial co-infection, age>60 years and the presence of chronic medical diseases like hypertension. PCR based testing of respiratory samples helps in confirming the diagnosis. The current management strategies are mainly supportive. The role of novel antivirals like ritonavir, remdesivir and lopinavir in reducing infection is being explored. The use of steroids for Coronavirus treatment is questionable.

There is a significant need to adopt standard infection control and prevention measures. The suspected cases and their immediate contacts should be thoroughly screened. The confirmed symptomatic cases should be isolated while the asymptomatic should be home quarantined. Overall, this disease can be controlled by breaking the chain of transmission, which requires effort from every individual out there.