Novel Coronavirus

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Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a provisional name given to coronaviruses of medical significance before a permanent name is decided upon. Although coronaviruses are endemic in humans and infections normally mild, such as the common cold (caused by human coronaviruses in ~15% of cases), cross-species transmission has produced some unusually virulent strains which can cause viral pneumonia and in serious cases even acute respiratory distress syndrome and death.

Species

The following viruses could initially be referred to as "novel coronavirus", before being formally named:

Human pathogenic novel coronaviridae species
Official name Other names Original host Place (date) of discovery Disease caused
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) 2019-nCoV; SARS virus 2; Human coronavirus 2019 (HCoV-19) bats, pangolins Wuhan, China (2019) coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) Middle East virus; MERS virus; camel flu virus camels, bats Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (2012) Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)
Human coronavirus HKU1 (HCoV-HKU1) New Haven virus mice Hong Kong (2005) unnamed, extremely rare, usually mild variant of coronavirus respiratory syndrome
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-1) SARS virus civets, bats Foshan, China (2002) severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
  1. ^ Host jump capability may not persist
  2. ^ a b This virus is not a distinct species, but rather a strain of the species SARSr-CoV
  3. ^ Synonyms include 2019 coronavirus pneumonia and Wuhan respiratory syndrome
  4. ^ Strains include HCoV-EMC/2012 and London1 novel CoV/2012

All four viruses are part of the Betacoronavirus genus within the coronavirus family.

Etymology

The word "novel" indicates a "new pathogen of a previously known type" (i.e. known family) of virus. Use of the word conforms to best practices for naming new infectious diseases published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2015. Historically, pathogens have sometimes been named after locations, individuals, or specific species. However, this practice is now explicitly discouraged by the WHO. A study published in 2020 suggested that referring to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as the "Chinese virus" was stigmatizing and could hinder public health efforts.

The official permanent names for viruses and for diseases are determined by the ICTV and the WHO's ICD, respectively.

See also

  • Coronavirus
  • Coronavirus disease
  • Coronavirus 229E
  • Coronavirus OC43
  • Coronavirus NL63
  • Bat SARS-like coronavirus WIV1
  • Bat-borne viruses