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Review
. 2020 Mar 4;9(3):186.
doi: 10.3390/pathogens9030186.

Insights into the Recent 2019 Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in Light of Past Human Coronavirus Outbreaks

Hossam M Ashour  1   2 , Walid F Elkhatib  3   4 , Md Masudur Rahman  5 , Hatem A Elshabrawy  6
Affiliations
Review

Insights into the Recent 2019 Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in Light of Past Human Coronavirus Outbreaks

Hossam M Ashour et al. Pathogens. .

Abstract

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are RNA viruses that have become a major public health concern since the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-CoV (SARS-CoV) outbreak in 2002. The continuous evolution of coronaviruses was further highlighted with the emergence of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-CoV (MERS-CoV) outbreak in 2012. Currently, the world is concerned about the 2019 novel CoV (SARS-CoV-2) that was initially identified in the city of Wuhan, China in December 2019. Patients presented with severe viral pneumonia and respiratory illness. The number of cases has been mounting since then. As of late February 2020, tens of thousands of cases and several thousand deaths have been reported in China alone, in addition to thousands of cases in other countries. Although the fatality rate of SARS-CoV-2 is currently lower than SARS-CoV, the virus seems to be highly contagious based on the number of infected cases to date. In this review, we discuss structure, genome organization, entry of CoVs into target cells, and provide insights into past and present outbreaks. The future of human CoV outbreaks will not only depend on how the viruses will evolve, but will also depend on how we develop efficient prevention and treatment strategies to deal with this continuous threat.

Keywords: 2019-nCoV; COVID-19; MERS; SARS; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Classification of different types of coronaviruses within the family Coronaviridae, subfamily Orthocoronavirinae, and the respective genera: alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and deltacoronaviruses. The SARS-CoV-2 is classified as a betacoronavirus.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Origin and evolution of (A) SARS-CoV, (B) MERS-CoV, and (C) SARS-CoV-2 in different hosts. All viruses initially existed in bats as CoV-related viruses (SARSr-CoV, MERSr-CoV, and SARSr-CoV-2) before acquiring mutations and adapting to intermediate hosts and ultimately humans.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Personal protective equipment (PPE) for vitreoretinal surgery during COVID-19.
    Chandra A, Haynes R, Burdon M, Laidlaw A, Neffendorf J, Eames I, daCruz L, Lee RW, Charles S, Wilson P, Dick A, Flanagan D, Yorston D, Hingorani M, Wickham L. Chandra A, et al. Eye (Lond). 2020 Jul;34(7):1196-1199. doi: 10.1038/s41433-020-0948-3. Epub 2020 May 12. Eye (Lond). 2020. PMID: 32398849 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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