Summary
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the respiratory illness responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had the provisional name 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), and has also been called human coronavirus 2019 (HCoV-19 or hCoV-19). First identified in the city of Wuhan, Hubei, China, the World Health Organization designated the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern from January 30, 2020, to May 5, 2023. SARS‐CoV‐2 is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus that is contagious in humans. SARS‐CoV‐2 is a virus of the species severe acute respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus (SARSr-CoV), related to the SARS-CoV-1 virus that caused the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak. Despite its close relation to SARS-CoV-1, its closest known relatives, with which it forms a sister group, are the derived SARS viruses BANAL-52 and RaTG13. Available evidence indicates that it is most likely of zoonotic origin and has close genetic similarity to bat coronaviruses, suggesting it emerged from a bat-borne virus. Research is ongoing as to whether SARS‐CoV‐2 came directly from bats or indirectly through any intermediate hosts. The virus shows little genetic diversity, indicating that the spillover event introducing SARS‐CoV‐2 to humans is likely to have occurred in late 2019. Epidemiological studies estimate that in the period between December 2019 and September 2020 each infection resulted in an average of 2.4–3.4 new infections when no members of the community were immune and no preventive measures were taken. However, some subsequent variants have become more infectious. The virus is airborne and primarily spreads between people through close contact and via aerosols and respiratory droplets that are exhaled when talking, breathing, or otherwise exhaling, as well as those produced from coughs and sneezes. It enters human cells by binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a membrane protein that regulates the renin–angiotensin system.
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Related courses (12)
BIO-310: Immunology
Ce cours décrit le fonctionnement du système immunitaire humain et les bases immunologiques de la vaccination, de la transplantation, de l'immunothérapie, et de l'allergie. Il présente aussi le rôle d
HUM-275: Evolutionary psychology
La psychologie évolutionniste est une discipline située au carrefour de la biologie, de la psychologie, de l'anthropologie, des sciences sociales et naturelles qui examine les traits psychologiques et
MATH-342: Time series
A first course in statistical time series analysis and applications.
Show more
Related lectures (36)
Virology and Infection MechanismsMOOC: Introduction à l'immunologie (part 1)
Explores the virology of SARS-CoV-2, infection mechanisms, and immune evasion strategies.
Treatments and VaccinesMOOC: Introduction à l'immunologie (part 1)
Discusses treatments, vaccines, and the importance of prevention against severe forms of Covid-19.
Scientific Update on SARS-CoV-2 Management
Offers a scientific update on SARS-CoV-2 management emphasizing the crucial role of collective indoor mask-wearing.
Show more
Related publications (96)
Related concepts (38)
Coronavirus
Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the common cold (which is also caused by other viruses, predominantly rhinoviruses), while more lethal varieties can cause SARS, MERS and COVID-19, which is causing the ongoing pandemic. In cows and pigs they cause diarrhea, while in mice they cause hepatitis and encephalomyelitis.
Subunit vaccine
A subunit vaccine is a vaccine that contains purified parts of the pathogen that are antigenic, or necessary to elicit a protective immune response. Subunit vaccine can be made from dissembled viral particles in cell culture or recombinant DNA expression, in which case it is a recombinant subunit vaccine. A "subunit" vaccine doesn't contain the whole pathogen, unlike live attenuated or inactivated vaccine, but contains only the antigenic parts such as proteins, polysaccharides or peptides.
Feline coronavirus
Feline coronavirus (FCoV) is a positive-stranded RNA virus that infects cats worldwide. It is a coronavirus of the species Alphacoronavirus 1 which includes canine coronavirus (CCoV) and porcine transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus (TGEV). It has two different forms: feline enteric coronavirus (FECV) that infects the intestines and feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV) that causes the disease feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). Feline coronavirus is typically shed in feces by healthy cats and transmitted by the fecal-oral route to other cats.
Show more