COVID-19
- Article
- 2021-01-30
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that usually cause mild to moderate upper respiratory illnesses, such as the common cold. However, three new coronaviruses have emerged from animal reservoirs in the past two decades, causing serious and widespread illness and death. There are hundreds of coronaviruses, most of which circulate among animals such as pigs, camels, bats and cats. Sometimes those viruses jump to people - a so-called overflow event - and can cause illness. Four of the seven known coronaviruses that make humans sick cause only mild to moderate disease. Three can cause a more serious, even fatal disease. SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) emerged in November 2002 and caused severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). That virus disappeared in 2004. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is caused by the MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV). MERS, from a camel animal reservoir, was identified in September 2012 and continues to cause sporadic and localized outbreaks. The third new coronavirus to emerge in this century is called SARS-CoV-2. It causes 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19),
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