Reviews in medical virology
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The current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has a male bias in severity and mortality. This is consistent with previous coronavirus pandemics such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, and viral infections in general. Here, we discuss the sex-disaggregated epidemiological data for COVID-19 and highlight underlying differences that may explain the sexual dimorphism to help inform risk stratification strategies and therapeutic options.
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From 2002 to 2019, three deadly human coronaviruses (hCoVs), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged to produce outbreaks of SARS, MERS and coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), respectively. All three hCoVs are members of the Betacoronavirus genus in the subfamily Orthocoronavirinae and share many similarities in virology and epidemiology. ⋯ These two traits of Covid-19 and H1N1pdm09 result in reduced efficiency in identification of transmission sources by symptomatic screening and play important roles in their ability to spread unchecked to cause pandemics. To overcome these attributes of Covid-19 in community transmission, identifying the transmission source by testing for virus shedding and interrupting chains of transmission by social distancing and public masking are required.