COVID-19: a novel zoonotic disease caused by a coronavirus from China: what we know and what we don't
At the end of December, 2019, a new disease of unknown aetiology appeared in Wuhan, China. It was quickly identified as a novel betacoronavirus, and related to SARS-CoV and a number of other bat-borne SARS-like coronaviruses. The virus rapidly spread to all provinces in China, as well as a number of...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
CSIRO Publishing
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Microbiology Australia |
| Online Access: | https://www.publish.csiro.au/ma/pdf/MA20013 |
| Summary: | At the end of December, 2019, a new disease of unknown aetiology appeared in Wuhan, China. It was quickly identified as a novel betacoronavirus, and related to SARS-CoV and a number of other bat-borne SARS-like coronaviruses. The virus rapidly spread to all provinces in China, as well as a number of countries overseas, and was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the Director-General of the World Health Organization on 30 January 2020. This paper describes the evolution of the outbreak, and the known properties of the novel virus, SARS-CoV-2 and the clinical disease it causes, COVID-19, and comments on some of the important gaps in our knowledge of the virus and the disease it causes. The virus is the third zoonotic coronavirus, after SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, but appears to be the only one with pandemic potential. |
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| ISSN: | 1324-4272 2201-9189 |