Biosafety and biosecurity approaches to restrain/contain and counter SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid-review

Authors: TAUSEEF AHMAD, HAROON HAROON, KULDEEP DHAMA, KHAN SHARUN, FAZAL MEHMOOD KHAN, IRFAN AHMED, RUCHI TIWARI, TAHA HUSSEIN MUSA, MUHAMMAD KHAN, D. KATTERINE BONILLA-ALDANA, ALFONSO J. RODRIGUEZ-MORALES, JIN HUI

Abstract: Emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases pose significant public health risks that are continuously haunting human civilization in the past several decades. Such emerging pathogens should be considered as a high threat to humans, animals, and environmental health. The year 2020 was welcomed by another significant virus from family Coronaviridae called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The disease was first reported in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province, China. Within a short time, this disease attained the status of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Presently, COVID-19 has spread to more than 150 countries, therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO) called it a pandemic. The Chinese government, along with WHO, other health agencies, and many nations, are monitoring the current situation closely to analyze the impact of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 on humans, animals, and environmental health. In the context of the current situation, biosafety and biosecurity measure that focus on One Health aspects of the disease outbreaks and the SARS-CoV-2 spread are of great importance to restrain this pathogen. Along with these efforts, standard precaution and control measures should also be taken at personal and community level to prevent the spreading of any contagion diseases, including COVID-19. Researchers are putting their very high efforts to develop suitable vaccines and therapeutics/drugs to combat COVID-19. This review aims to highlight the importance of biosafety, biosecurity, One Health approach, and focusing on recent developments and the ways forward to prevent and control COVID-19 in a useful way.

Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, 2019-nCoV, current scenario, biosafety & biosecurity

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