With the discovery of idiopathic pneumonia in December 2019 began what is now the global pandemic of COVID-19.  Initially named 2019-nCoV, this disease is the clinical manifestation of a novel coronavirus first reported in Wuhan, China.  Coronaviruses are not new to humans, but their recent evolution has become a threat to them. How did all this lead to the present-day situation?  To understand that, this talk clearly explains the relevant variables in the equation: the science; the statistics; and the clinical profile, including management solutions and investigational agents.

Learning Objectives:

1. What kind of virus is the coronavirus? Where is its greatest vulnerability and why?

2. What differentiated the HCoVs discovered in the 1960s from the SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV?

3. What are the 4 structural proteins of coronaviruses and what are their functions? Which part is responsible for host cell receptor identification? S Which anchors the viral RNA? M What is the 5th structural protein found in beta coronaviruses?