Ten years after the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS- CoV), which caused the first large-scale epidemic of the 21st century, a novel human coronavirus becomes identified, posing another threat to global public health.
These viruses were originally transmitted from animals to people. SARS, for instance, was transmitted from civet cats to humans while MERS moved to humans from a type of camel.
Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.
The name coronavirus comes from the Latin word corona, meaning crown or halo. Under an electron microscope, the virus looks like it is surrounded by a solar corona.
The novel coronavirus, identified by Chinese authorities on January 7 and since named SARS-CoV-2, is a new strain that had not been previously identified in humans. Little is known about it, although human-to-human transmission has been confirmed.
This book summarizes the literature that is currently available on MERS-CoV, the history, the socio-economic consequences and the ways to combat its spread and prevent another pandemic.