Pathology has faced major challenges this year to detect the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, and provide support to COVID-19 patients. Sarah Pitt provides an update on the virology, clinical aspects, testing and epidemiology of this pandemic agent.
In December 2019, scientists and doctors in China reported finding a novel zoonotic coronavirus in patients with severe respiratory illness.1 Rapid sequencing of isolates indicated a close genetic relationship with a bat coronavirus,2 but It appeared to have adapted to be capable of widespread human-to-human transmission. During the first three months of 2020, the virus (initially named 2019-n CoV) spread rapidly around the world, and on 11 March the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic.3 Scientists, clinicians, health service planners, as well as local, regional and national governments have been required to respond to the situation, with little time for reflection. So, what have we learned so far?
Virology
The pandemic virus has been classified formally within the genus Betacoronavirus and the species severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus.2 This species grouping includes a number of genetically distinct viruses including human SARS-CoV, bat SARS-CoV and civet SARS-CoV . The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses agreed to call the new virus SARS-CoV-2 and the associated clinical condition COVID-19.
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