Chinese researchers identified the infectious agent as "coronavirus"
A new virus identified by the Chinese researchers said it was responsible for a new pneumonia-like an illness that swept Wuhan since last month, leaving 59 sick and created panic. The researchers termed the infectious agent as “coronavirus”, identified in a patient with pneumonia in Wuhan.
Coronaviruses are a specific family of viruses which can cause respiratory and intestinal diseases and some of them causing less-severe damage, such as the common cold. The entire virus particle looks like an emperor’s crown because coronavirus has many regularly arranged protrusions on its surface, hence they named it “coronavirus.” Besides human beings, coronaviruses can affect mammals including pigs, cattle, martens, dogs, hedgehogs, camels and some birds.
SARS coronavirus and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus are four known disease-causing coronaviruses as of now, which both can cause severe respiratory diseases.
Newly identified coronavirus has not established a direct link with the disease yet. Earlier, coronavirus was related to the SARS and considered as a mystery illness epidemic in China in the latter half of 2002 that killed about 350 people. The new coronavirus is different from human coronaviruses already known as per the state-owned CCTV. To determine the sources of this virus, further investigations are required, said WHO in a statement.
