eng Science and Education Publishing American Journal of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology 2328-4064 2020-04-19 8 2 45 47 10.12691/ajidm-8-2-1 AJIDM2020821 article Yash Kripalani dr.yashkripalani@gmail.com 1 Tanvi Garude 2 Isha Budania 3 Chirag Chheda 4 Department of Physiology, D.Y. Patil University, School of Medicine, Nerul, Navi Mumbai Fellow researcher, D.Y. Patil University, School of Medicine, Nerul, Navi Mumbai Department of biochemistry, D.Y. Patil University, School of Medicine, Nerul, Navi Mumbai Fellow researcher, KJ Somaiya medical college and research center Coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It was first identified in Wuhan, China in 2019 and has spread globally since then being declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a global pandemic. The general public has very limited knowledge about this virus and hence preventive measures fail, leading to difficulty in its containment. This article focuses on providing detailed information about the nature of this virus and its effects on the human body which will in turn bring about awareness and help in delaying its spread. This can reduce the surge of patients and help the health care system in coping with the outbreak. http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajidm/8/2/1/ajidm-8-2-1.pdf COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic microbiology