Coronaviruses
Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause respiratory illness in humans. They get their name, “corona,” from the many crown-like spikes on the surface of the virus. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and the common cold are examples of coronaviruses that cause illness in humans.
The new strain of coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019. The virus has since spread to all continents (except Antarctica).
SARS-CoV-2
In February of 2020, this “novel” virus was assigned the name SARS-CoV-2. Infection with this virus causes a severe viral respiratory illness.
COVID-19
The illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is called Coronavirus disease or COVID-19, where ‘CO’ stands for ‘corona,’ ‘VI’ for ‘virus,’ ‘D’ for disease and 19 indicates the year it was discovered. The number of people ill with COVID-19 rises daily.