Preface

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has probably been the most important disease to emerge in the 21st century. The COVID-19 pandemic was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). This viral zoonotic disease has been a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, but with a higher impact in low- and middle-income countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. As with other emerging diseases, this condition is strongly associated with social conditions, along with other factors whose improvement leads to better control of the disease and pathogen transmission. Research has been of the utmost importance in solutions to the COVID-19 crisis: a great deal of knowledge was gathered between December 2019 and December 2022 [1‒17]. Up to December 4, 2022, more than 645,195,564 cases had been reported globally, with 6,640,845 deaths. Appropriate evidence-based management and the development of safe and effective vaccines have been key to controlling the virus [18‒25], and more than 13,054,668,703 doses of a vaccine had been given by December 2022.

This book presents a selection of the learning from research and clinical practice during the last two years regarding SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19. The 18 chapters are organized into four major sections: "Overview and Epidemiology", "Diagnosis and Treatment", "Genomics, Bioinformatics and Immunology" and "Trials and Studies".

Among the reasons for the commissioning of this book by IntechOpen is my long commitment to tropical and emerging disease research, especially vector-borne, zoonotic, and neglected tropical diseases. I am a Council Member of the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID), and President of the Colombian Association of Infectious Diseases (Asociación Colombiana de Infectología, ACIN), as well as of the Committee on Tropical Medicine, Zoonoses and Travel Medicine of the ACIN. In 2020 I founded the Latin American Network of Research on COVID-19 (LANCOVID).

Following the same philosophy that was used for my eleven previous books with IntechOpen [26‒36], this book is not intended to be an exhaustive compilation. Research in SARS-CoV-29/COVID-19 has become highly dynamic and requires the most recent available evidence to be consulted for appropriate diagnostic and specialty decisions.

I am grateful to IntechOpen for the opportunity to edit this interesting and important book. I would especially like to thank Author Service Managers Josip Knapić and Marica Novakovic and Commissioning Editor Lucija Tomicic Dromgool for their constant support.

This book is dedicated to my family in Venezuela, Chile, and Colombia (Aurora, Alfonso José, Alejandro, and Andrea, the neurologist), and to my beloved wife Katterine, who makes every day special and cares for me in every aspect of my life. I would also like to thank my friends and my undergraduate and postgraduate students in Colombia, Venezuela, and Latin America. In 2019, I began work at the Fundación Universitaria Autónoma de las Américas, Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia, a new "home" that has given me support and trust in my research and teaching endeavors. Special thanks are due to Dr. Maria Monica Murillo, Dean at the Faculty of Medicine, and former School of Medicine Director Dr. Jaime Cardona-Ospina, a longtime friend and colleague. I would like to acknowledge the significant support given by Dr. Jose Antonio Suárez, "Tony" (Venezuela/Panama), and my friend Dr. Alberto Paniz-Mondolfi (Venezuela/USA).

I hope that readers will enjoy this publication as much as I enjoyed putting it together with my talented and knowledgeable collaborators.
