Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2020 Feb 22;12(2):244.
doi: 10.3390/v12020244.

Systematic Comparison of Two Animal-to-Human Transmitted Human Coronaviruses: SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV

Jiabao Xu  1 , Shizhe Zhao  1 , Tieshan Teng  1 , Abualgasim Elgaili Abdalla  2 , Wan Zhu  3 , Longxiang Xie  1 , Yunlong Wang  4 , Xiangqian Guo  1
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Systematic Comparison of Two Animal-to-Human Transmitted Human Coronaviruses: SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV

Jiabao Xu et al. Viruses. .

Abstract

After the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in the world in 2003, human coronaviruses (HCoVs) have been reported as pathogens that cause severe symptoms in respiratory tract infections. Recently, a new emerged HCoV isolated from the respiratory epithelium of unexplained pneumonia patients in the Wuhan seafood market caused a major disease outbreak and has been named the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This virus causes acute lung symptoms, leading to a condition that has been named as "coronavirus disease 2019" (COVID-19). The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and of SARS-CoV caused widespread fear and concern and has threatened global health security. There are some similarities and differences in the epidemiology and clinical features between these two viruses and diseases that are caused by these viruses. The goal of this work is to systematically review and compare between SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 in the context of their virus incubation, originations, diagnosis and treatment methods, genomic and proteomic sequences, and pathogenic mechanisms.

Keywords: SARS-CoV; SARS-CoV-2; clinical manifestations; coronaviruses; genomic comparison; pathogenic mechanism; proteomic comparison.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Timeline of SARS (a) and COVID-19 (b) epidemic development.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Comparison of the number of SARS and COVID-19 patients in China (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) and other countries; (b) the number of SARS patients in different provinces of China; (c) an increased number of COVID-19 patients over time was showed in a histogram. On Feb. 11th, Hubei Province had added a “clinical diagnosis case” classification, and identified suspected cases with pneumonia imaging features as clinical diagnosis cases so that patients can receive standardized treatment as soon as possible. (d) The number of COVID-19 patients in different provinces of China. The time period shown in the picture was in the Spring Festival transportation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The distribution of COVID-2019 patients in China (a) and Hubei Province (b). XJ, Xinjiang; XZ, Xizang; GS, Gansu; QH, Qinghai; SC, Sichuan; YN, Yunnan; IM, Inner Mongolia; NX, Ningxia; SN, Shaanxi; CQ, Chongqing; GZ, Guizhou; GX, Guangxi; HI, Hainan; SX, Shanxi, HA, Henan; HB, Hubei; HN, Hunan; GD, Guangdong; HK, Hong Kong; HE, Hebei; BJ, Beijing; TJ, Tianjin; SD, Shandong; AH, Anhui; JX, Jiangxi; JS, Jiangsu; SH, Shanghai; ZJ, Zhejiang; FJ, Fujian; TW, Taiwan; HL, Heilongjiang; JL, Jilin; LN, Liaoning.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) Genomic sequence alignment between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV; (b) Dot plot matrix calculated for the complete genomes of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Wang L.F., Shi Z., Zhang S., Field H., Daszak P., Eaton B.T. Review of bats and SARS. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 2006;12:1834. doi: 10.3201/eid1212.060401. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ge X.-Y., Li J., Yang X.-L., Chmura A., Zhu G., Epstein J.H., Mazet J.K., Hu B., Zhang W., Peng C., et al. Isolation and characterization of a bat SARS-like coronavirus that uses the ACE2 receptor. Nature. 2013;503:535–538. doi: 10.1038/nature12711. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chen Y., Guo D. Molecular mechanisms of coronavirus RNA capping and methylation. Virol. Sin. 2016;31:3–11. doi: 10.1007/s12250-016-3726-4. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cui J., Li F., Shi Z.L. Origin and evolution of pathogenic coronaviruses. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 2019;17:181–192. doi: 10.1038/s41579-018-0118-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cauchemez S., Van Kerkhove M.D., Riley S., Donnelly C.A., Fraser C., Ferguson N.M. Transmission scenarios for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and how to tell them apart. Euro Surveill. 2013;18:18. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources