Outbreak’s impact on people and their responses

www.jogh.org • doi: 10.7189/jogh.10.010331 1 June 2020 • Vol. 10 No. 1 • 010331 The emergence of novel coronavirus called severe respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused a deadly pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China [1,2]. It is thought to be the continuation of serious epidemics caused by Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Middle East (2009) and Guangdong, China (200203), respectively [3-6]. The COVID-19 infection, soon after its emergence not only caused a number of deaths in China but rapidly spread to other countries as well [7]. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and the menace of imminent endemics have brought into forefront the urgent need to prepare for the consequences of associated epidemics and pandemics. The aftermath of such outbreaks not only harms physical but mental health as well, thus it is necessary to identify mental health abnormalities and to properly utilize effective therapies (Figure 1).