Pandemia por el SARS-CoV-2: aspectos biológicos, epidemiológicos y clínicos

The main objective of this work is to describe the main biological, epidemiological and clinical aspects, with special emphasis on pathophysiology, caused by SARS-CoV-2.Coronavirus 2 of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a member of group IV orthocoronavirinae, belonging to the betacoronavirus genus, which causes the current pandemic disease defined by the World Health Organization as COVID-19. This is considered by world experts as an emerging viral infection. Its origin is veterinary and its zoonotic transmission, from viruses that have bats as reservoirs to pangolin an as an intermediate host, from which it is inferred that it could have adapted to the human being, transmitted from person to person by means of respiratory droplets, and highly infectious contaminatednasal secretions Fecal-oral transmission is not ruled out. The disease has an incubation period of 2 to 14 days (5.2 days in mean), and until now the most efficient prevention and control measures are the obligatory social quarantine, the use of face masks, hand washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or with products in gel with 70alcohol, keeping a minimum distance between people of 2 meters. What has been learned from the other two related human beta-coronaviruses that caused the previous epidemics: SARS-CoV in 2002-2003 and MERS in 2012, allow us to better face the current pandemic.