Xirui Zhang

and 8 more

In December 2019, an unknown pneumonia-disease outbreak emerged in in Wuhan, China. The incriminated causative pathogen, later termed SARS-CoV-2, was found to be a novel lineage of betacoronavirus, belonging to subgenus sarbecovirus. Although China has roughly controlled the epidemic, but the situation in the rest of the world is becoming less and less optimistic. Scientists and pharmaceutical companies around the world are actively looking for treatment options. Till now, there are couple of drugs undergo the clinical trial including convalescent plasma, which possess valid methods of treating or preventing the disease. And since considerable studies had already been carried out based on the analysis of SARS-CoV-2’s genome sequence and its comparison with that of the other SARS-like virus, let us review in detail and, hopefully, they might provide us with some key features for answering some of the crucial questions relating to its origin, epidemiology, and treatment to better contain the virus. Basing on that, clues on how to develop a fast and accurate viral diagnostic method and the way of treating it may also be provided. Up to now, the treating option constrained only in a few drugs (Remdesivir, Chloroquine, Hydroxychloroquine, Favipiravir etc.), in addition to the Chinese herb as well as convalescent plasma. More drugs are only roughly screened by virtual screening, and they are still far from not achieving the minimum standards for clinical treatment application. Also, the expected vaccine was reported but it just started the very first trial and still needs time to apply on a large scale. Although the very origin of this virus has been determined to be bats, but till now we still can’t determine what kind of animal plays the role of the intermediate host, leaving an issue that needs a further investigation.