Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Strategies of Coronavirus COVID 19 in Iran: A Systematic Review

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BACKGROUND: Following the announcement of the World Health Organization (WHO) on January 30, 2020, of coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 as a global and emergency state of international health emergency; posing a serious threat to the physical health and lives of individuals transmitted through respiratory droplets and close contact. The virus causes respiratory symptoms and damages to other organs, sometimes leading to death in case of exacerbation of symptoms. 
 AIM: This study was conducted through reviewing various articles related to COVID-19 disease, with the purpose of reviewing the epidemiology, prevention and control strategies of COVID-19 coronavirus in Iran.
 METHODS: In the present review study, the articles indexing in the Persian and Latin databases of SID, Magiran, PubMed, Scopus, Scholar, Web of Science, Embase, MedRxiv, and WHO were examined based on MESH keywords. Finally, 38 articles, 5 protocols and reports were reviewed.
 RESULTS: According to the report of the WHO on July 22, 2020, 14,765,256 people worldwide have been infected and 612,054 people have died of this virus. Moreover, in Iran, according to the WHO report, 278,827 people were infected and 14,634 people died of the virus until July 22, 2020. Respiratory droplets are the main way of transmission and it can also be transmitted through close contact. According to research, 51% of patients with chronic disease show symptoms such as fever (83%), cough (82%), shortness of breath (31%), muscle pain (11%), fatigue (9%), headache (8%), sore throat (5%), had rhinorrhea (4%), chest pain (2%), diarrhea (2%), and nausea and vomiting (1%). There is currently no specific antiviral treatment or vaccine for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, and clinical treatment for COVID-19 has so far been limited to prophylaxis and palliative care. Quarantine alone is not enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Basic health measurements to prevent the spread of the disease include frequent handwashing and the use of personal protective equipment such as masks.
 CONCLUSION: Extensive research can be the key to solve the existing challenges in the prevention, control, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease. The best ways to fight the new corona disease include educating the people, providing accurate information, providing personal protective equipment, canceling meetings and emphasizing citizens homeliving and regular handwashing, observing social distancing, and finally identifying suspicious cases and quarantine.