Environmental aspects of the coronaviruses transmission: A narrative review

Abstract

Background: The emergence of a novel coronavirus causing acute respiratory syndrome called coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) in late 2019 in China has now become a global concern. The World Health Organization (WHO) in January 2020 declared the novel coronavirus outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern. The morphology and chemical structure of the novel coronavirus are very similar to other human coronaviruses, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS).