Abstract
BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 is one of the most threatening pandemics in human history. As of the date of this analysis, it had claimed about 2 million lives worldwide, and the number is rising sharply. Governments, societies, and scientists are equally challenged under this burden.ObjectiveThis study aimed to map global coronavirus research in 2020 according to various influencing factors to highlight incentives or necessities for further research.MethodsThe application of established and advanced bibliometric methods combined with the visualization technique of density-equalizing mapping provided a global picture of incentives and efforts on coronavirus research in 2020. Countries’ funding patterns and their epidemiological and socioeconomic characteristics as well as their publication performance data were included.ResultsResearch output exploded in 2020 with momentum, including citation and networking parameters. China and the United States were the countries with the highest publication performance. Globally, however, publication output correlated significantly with COVID-19 cases. Research funding has also increased immensely.ConclusionsNonetheless, the abrupt decline in publication efforts following previous coronavirus epidemics should demonstrate to global researchers that they should not lose interest even after containment, as the next epidemiological challenge is certain to come. Validated reporting worldwide and the inclusion of low-income countries are additionally important for a successful future research strategy.
Highlights
In December 2019, a new coronavirus (CoV) variant infected some patients in China
Conclusions: the abrupt decline in publication efforts following previous coronavirus epidemics should demonstrate to global researchers that they should not lose interest even after containment, as the epidemiological challenge is certain to come
COVID-19 as the most frequently occurring keyword indicates that almost all coronavirus research in 2020 related to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 infection, as confirmed by a manually performed review of the articles included in the database
Summary
In December 2019, a new coronavirus (CoV) variant infected some patients in China It was transmitted at a seafood and wet animal wholesale market in Wuhan city, Hubei Province. This novel zoonotic coronavirus was named SARS-CoV-2 because it causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) [1]. COVID-19, indicated the beginning of an outbreak that would become a still ongoing global pandemic on a scale not seen since the Spanish flu in 1918, which killed up to 50 million people [2] As of this analysis (January 12, 2021), more than 93 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed, with the number continuing to rise rapidly. Governments, societies, and scientists are challenged under this burden
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