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

Noah C Peeri; Nistha Shrestha; Md Siddikur Rahman; Rafdzah Zaki; Zhengqi Tan; Saana Bibi; Mahdi Baghbanzadeh; Nasrin Aghamohammadi; Wenyi Zhang; Ubydul Haque

doi:10.1093/ije/dyaa033

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

Int J Epidemiol. 2020 Jun 1;49(3):717-726. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyaa033.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA.
² Department of Statistics, Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur, Bangladesh.
³ Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-based Practice, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
⁴ Department of Biology, National University of Medical Sciences, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
⁵ Department of Business Development, Ofogh Kourosh Chain Stores, Tehran, Iran.
⁶ Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
⁷ Center for Disease Surveillance and Research, Center for Disease Control and Prevention of PLA, Beijing, People's Republic of China.

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.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; MERS; SARS; epidemic; epidemiology; nCoV; outbreak.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Betacoronavirus
COVID-19
China / epidemiology
Coronavirus
Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
Coronavirus Infections / prevention & control
Coronavirus Infections / transmission
Coronavirus Infections / virology
Disease Outbreaks
Global Burden of Disease*
Global Health*
Humans
Pandemics
Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
Pneumonia, Viral / prevention & control
Pneumonia, Viral / transmission
Pneumonia, Viral / virology
SARS-CoV-2
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / epidemiology*
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / transmission
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / virology