SARS-CoV-2 & COVID-19. From Virology to Epidemiology: “Epidemiological situation in Algeria and in West Algerian area”

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome- coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a new, highly contagious virus causing serious emerging coronavirus disease (Covid-19), it quickly spread globally, causing a pandemic with a large number of deaths and millions of confirmed cases, posing a serious threat to global public health. Algeria was also caught up by the pandemic; the first indigenous outbreak was notified on March 01, 2020, thus announcing the effective start of the epidemic. Despite the significant progress made by scientists on the basis of various studies and clinical trials, there is currently no specific cure. But the prospect of a preventive or therapeutic vaccine seems increasingly realistic thanks to more intense global cooperation and also by taking advantage of the data collected on SARS and MERS. However, much remains to be learned about immunity against SARS-CoV-2 including the protective immunity induced by vaccines and the maintenance of this immunity. Therefore, at this time, it is imperative to remain cautious about this virus and to pursue preventative methods to prevent its spread. Algeria very early in adapting with preventive measures which proved to be effective and led to a significant decrease in cases of contamination, especially in western Algeria. In order to provide a clear overview of the vast literature available, we conducted a review of the literature on the SARS CoV-2 and the disease (Covid-19), while addressing the epidemiological situation in Algeria.