SARS-CoV-2

This article is about the virus that causes COVID-19. For the virus that causes SARS, see SARS-CoV-1.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virions with visible coronae
Colourised transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virions with visible coronae
Illustration of a SARS-CoV-2 virion
Model of the external structure of the SARS-CoV-2 virion[1]
● Blue:envelope
● Turquoise:spike glycoprotein (S)
● Pink:envelope proteins (E)
● Green:membrane proteins (M)
● Orange:glycan
Virus classification Edit this classification
(unranked): Virus
Realm: Riboviria
Kingdom: Orthornavirae
Phylum: Pisuviricota
Class: Pisoniviricetes
Order: Nidovirales
Family: Coronaviridae
Genus: Betacoronavirus
Subgenus: Sarbecovirus
Species:
Betacoronavirus pandemicum
Virus:
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Notable variants
Synonyms
  • 2019-nCoV
Part of a series on the
COVID-19 pandemic
Scientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of SARS-CoV-2. Each "ball" is an atom.
Scientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of SARS-CoV-2. Each "ball" is an atom.
Timeline
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Locations
By country and territory
By conveyance
International response
National responses
Medical response
Vaccines
Current vaccines
Variants
Variants of concern
Other variants
Economic impact and recession
By country
By sport
Impacts
Long COVID
Society
Politics
virus icon COVID-19 portal

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2)[2] is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the respiratory illness responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] The virus previously had the provisional name 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV),[4][5][6][7] and has also been called human coronavirus 2019 (HCoV-19 or hCoV-19).[8][9][10][11] 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.[12][13][14] SARS‑CoV‑2 is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus[15] that is contagious in humans.[16]

SARS‑CoV‑2 is a strain of the species Betacoronavirus pandemicum (SARSr-CoV), as is SARS-CoV-1, the virus that caused the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak.[2][17] There are animal-borne coronavirus strains more closely related to SARS-CoV-2, the most closely known relative being the BANAL-52 bat coronavirus. SARS-CoV-2 is of zoonotic origin; its close genetic similarity to bat coronaviruses suggests it emerged from such a bat-borne virus.[18] Research is ongoing as to whether SARS‑CoV‑2 came directly from bats or indirectly through any intermediate hosts.[19] 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.[20]

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.[21] However, some subsequent variants have become more infectious.[22] 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.[23][24] It enters human cells by binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a membrane protein that regulates the renin–angiotensin system.[25][26]

  1. ^ Solodovnikov A, Arkhipova V (29 July 2021). "Достоверно красиво: как мы сделали 3D-модель SARS-CoV-2" [Truly beautiful: how we made the SARS-CoV-2 3D model] (in Russian). N+1. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference CoronavirusStudyGroup was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT-20210226 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Surveillance case definitions for human infection with novel coronavirus (nCoV): interim guidance v1, January 2020 (Report). World Health Organization. January 2020. hdl:10665/330376. WHO/2019-nCoV/Surveillance/v2020.1.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference CDC-nCoV was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "About Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)". United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 11 February 2020. Archived from the original on 11 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Zoonotic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Proximal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference NEJM-Stability was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "hCoV-19 Database". China National GeneBank. Archived from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference WHO-PHEIC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference WHOPandemic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Rigby J, Satija B (5 May 2023). "WHO declares end to COVID global health emergency". Reuters. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Machhi2020Sep was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chan24Jan2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference nihSARSr-CoV was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference biol was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference WHO-SR22 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference early was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Billah MA, Miah MM, Khan MN (11 November 2020). "Reproductive number of coronavirus: A systematic review and meta-analysis based on global level evidence". PLOS ONE. 15 (11): e0242128. Bibcode:2020PLoSO..1542128B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0242128. PMC 7657547. PMID 33175914.
  22. ^ "COVID-19 variants: What's the concern?". Mayo Clinic. 27 August 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  23. ^ "How Coronavirus Spreads Archived 3 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine", Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): How is it transmitted? Archived 15 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine", World Health Organization
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference HoffmanCell was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Zhao P, Praissman JL, Grant OC, Cai Y, Xiao T, Rosenbalm KE, Aoki K, Kellman BP, Bridger R, Barouch DH, Brindley MA, Lewis NE, Tiemeyer M, Chen B, Woods RJ, Wells L (October 2020). "Virus-Receptor Interactions of Glycosylated SARS-CoV-2 Spike and Human ACE2 Receptor". Cell Host & Microbe. 28 (4): 586–601.e6. doi:10.1016/j.chom.2020.08.004. PMC 7443692. PMID 32841605.