SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) by the numbers

Elife. 2020 Apr 2:9:e57309. doi: 10.7554/eLife.57309.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is a harsh reminder of the fact that, whether in a single human host or a wave of infection across continents, viral dynamics is often a story about the numbers. In this article we provide a one-stop, curated graphical source for the key numbers (based mostly on the peer-reviewed literature) about the SARS-CoV-2 virus that is responsible for the pandemic. The discussion is framed around two broad themes: i) the biology of the virus itself; ii) the characteristics of the infection of a single human host.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; epidemiology; global health; human; infectious disease; microbiology; quantitative biology; virology.

MeSH terms

  • Betacoronavirus / physiology*
  • COVID-19
  • COVID-19 Testing
  • Clinical Laboratory Techniques*
  • Coronavirus / genetics
  • Coronavirus Infections* / diagnosis
  • Coronavirus Infections* / prevention & control
  • Coronavirus Infections* / transmission
  • Coronavirus Infections* / virology
  • Genome, Viral
  • Humans
  • Pandemics* / prevention & control
  • Pneumonia, Viral* / prevention & control
  • Pneumonia, Viral* / transmission
  • Pneumonia, Viral* / virology
  • RNA, Viral
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Virus Latency
  • Virus Replication

Substances

  • RNA, Viral