The most famous coronaviruses, like the one that causes COVID-19, are not the only ones. According to a 2020 review in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science, the novel coronavirus is one of many viruses that can cause diseases in mammals, such as humans, cows, pigs and dogs.

coronaviruses have been involved in several major disease outbreaks, including the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic of 2002-2003 and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in South Korea in 2015.

The other coronaviruses that cause mild to moderate respiratory infections, like the common cold, can cause severe disease in humans.

How coronaviruses infect cells

The coronavirus binds to human cells through a "spike" protein.

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 binds to human cells using its "spike" protein. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

According to the CDC, all coronaviruses have spikes on their outer surfaces that look like the points of a crown. The novel coronaviruses, including the one that was first identified in late 2019. The disease the virus causes was named after it.

Jan Carette, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine, told Live Science in an email that the round core of a coronaviruses is shrouded in a protective Membrane. The core contains genetic material that can be injected into vulnerable cells.

coronaviruses myths busted by science

Carette said that spike proteins extend from within the core to the viral surface and allow the virus to recognize and bind to specific cells in the body. The spike proteins on SARS-CoV-2 can jump-start infections in human cells.

Carette said that when the spike engages itsreceptor on a host cell, a cascade is triggered, resulting in the merger of the virus with the cell. The merger allows the virus to release its genetic material and take control of the cell.

Common-cold coronaviruses

A woman with a cold.

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

According to the CDC, the four human coronaviruses that can cause the common cold did not jump from animals to humans, but rather utilized humans as their natural hosts. By comparison, the highly pathogenic viruses were passed from animals to humans.

Carette said that the coronaviruses have evolved to maximize spread amongst the population rather than harm their human host. The idea of why coronaviruses cause more-severe diseases in humans is still speculative.

According to the CDC, the four common-cold coronaviruses can cause a number of symptoms. In some people, including those with cardiopulmonary disease or a weakened immune system, the viral infection can progress to a more severe lower-respiratory infections, such as pneumonia or bronchitis.

There are 6 new findings about viruses.

SARS-CoV

The CDC says that the first known human infections with the disease were in Guangdong province in southern China in 2002. In March 2003 the World Health Organization issued an alert about a severe form of pneumonia that was affecting hundreds of people in China, Vietnam and Hong Kong.

A 2003 review in The New England Journal of Medicine shows that the disease spread to 26 countries in less than a year.

According to the U.K.'s National Health Service, people over the age of 65 were at the highest risk of dying from the disease. There were a few cases in 2004, most of which were connected to a medical lab in China, but no new cases have been reported since.

People who cough, sneeze, or breathe in respiratory droplets that carry the disease spread it. According to the CDC, the particles in these droplets could cause an illness if they came into contact with the mouth, nose or eyes of a healthy person. There were many symptoms of a SARS infection, including a high temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38.0 degrees Celsius), headaches, body aches, dry cough, and sometimes pneumonia.

There are deadly diseases that hopped across species.

A 2010 report in the journal Infectious Disease Clinics of North America states that there is evidence that shows the emergence of the coronaviruses from Chinese horseshoe bats to masked palm civets.

a closeup on the face of a horseshoe bat

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

MERS-CoV

According to the CDC, the earliest known human infections with the coronaviruses, which causes the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, occurred in Jordan in April of 2012 The first reports of the disease came from health officials in Saudi Arabia, when there were cases in the country.

According to the WHO, there have been 27 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in the last two years. Saudi Arabia reported 80% of those cases. Most of the cases identified beyond the Middle East have been in people who contracted the disease while visiting the region and then traveled elsewhere.

A report in The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine states that in 2015, 186 people in South Korea caught the disease and 38 of them died. The patient was a Korean man who had just returned from the Middle East. More than a dozen other clinics and hospitals were affected by the infections as patients were moved between facilities. The outbreak ended in July of 2015.

When people develop symptoms, they range from mild respiratory symptoms to severe acute respiratory disease and death, according to the WHO. The symptoms of the infection can include a cough, a cold, and a pneumonia.

There are 9 deadliest viruses on Earth.

According to the WHO, the virus appears to cause more severe disease in older people, people with weakened immune systems, and those with chronic diseases such as lung disease and diabetes.

According to the CDC, an estimated 3 to 4 of every 10 people die from the disease. According to the WHO, mild cases of the disease may not be reported as reliably as severe cases.

According to the WHO, studies show that people can catch the virus from contact with dromedary camels.

Human-to-human transmission has occasionally been reported among family members, patients and health care workers, according to the WHO.

SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus

illustration of a coronavirus, close up

(Image credit: Radoslav Zilinsky via Getty)

The coronaviruses that cause COVID-19 were first identified as a coronaviruses in January 2020 after clusters of unexplained pneumonia cases were reported in China. Live Science previously reported that some studies suggest that the pathogen may have emerged in humans as early as October 2019.

According to Live Science, the virus's closest known relatives were discovered in horseshoe bats. It is believed that the virus passed through an intermediate animal on its way to people, but the identity of that middleman creature remains a mystery.

There are hundreds of animal species that could harbor novel coronaviruses.

Since the original strain of the virus first emerged, it has continually evolved, generating many new variations that bear different genetic characteristics. The WHO designates specific versions of the virus as "variants of concern" if they show an increased ability to spread and cause severe disease. There are examples of omicron, alpha and delta.

Variants of interest, on the other hand, carry genetic mutations that are predicted or known to affect virus characteristics such as transmissibility, disease severity, the ability to evade the immune system and resistance to existing treatments, according to the WHO. The monitoring of these variant, such as lambda and mu, is to see if they eventually emerge as new variant of concern.

Live Science previously reported that the spread of the disease through respiratory droplets is more difficult than the spread of the disease through the air.

According to the CDC, evidence suggests that the virus can be suspended in small droplets, known as aerosols, which can hang in the air for longer periods of time than larger droplets. If people deposit droplets on their face that are contaminated, that could theoretically cause an illness. Studies show that the last mode of transmission is less common than the others.

The CDC states that there are methods to prevent the transmission of the disease.

According to the CDC, there are now COVID-19 vaccines available that can help reduce the risk of severe disease and death from the disease.

The range of Covid-19 infections is from mild to severe. The following are some of the symptoms of the infection.

  •  Fever or chills 
  •  Cough 
  •  Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing 
  •  Fatigue 
  •  Muscle or body aches 
  •  Headache 
  •  New loss of taste or smell 
  •  Sore throat 
  •  Congestion or runny nose 
  •  Nausea or vomiting 
  •  Diarrhea 

COVID-19 has also been associated with neurological symptoms, such as dizziness, confusion, delirium, and stroke, as well as skin rash, such as so-called COVID toes. Live Science previously reported that COVID-19 has been linked to dangerous brain inflammation and shrinkage.

In children, COVID-19 can rarely cause a severe inflammatory condition called MULTISYSTEM Irritable Syndrome in children, which involves inflammation of multiple organs, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes and gastrointestinal tract. A child can develop this condition days or weeks after catching a virus. The way the syndrome appears in adults may be more complicated than in children, according to the CDC.

If you experience trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion, an inability to wake or stay awake, bluish lips or face, or other severe symptoms that concern you, you should seek immediate medical care, according to the CDC. COVID-19 can progress to pneumonia in severe cases, and the risk of severe disease is highest for older people. Smoking, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure are some of the risk factors for severe disease.

Those who survive a COVID-19 infection can sometimes experience symptoms for weeks or months afterwards, which is known as long COVID, although it is now also known as post-acute sequelae of COVID-19.

There is an ongoing effort to understand the mechanisms behind the syndrome and to develop effective treatments. The Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative is a multicenter study of long COVID.

Additional resources and readings

You can learn how long it took to make the COVID-19 vaccines. You can read more about how the disease might change in the future at The New York Times.

Bibliography

Alluwaimi, A. M., Alshubaith, I. H., Al-Ali, A. M., and Abohelaika, S. The coronaviruses of animals and birds have zoonosis, vaccines and models. There is a publication in the field of veterinary science.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The year ended on April 26. The CDC had a response to the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On March 14, 2022, from the CDC's website, "about/history/sars/timeline.htm."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There was a report on December 6. There is a fact sheet about the SARS. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On March 14, 2022, from the CDC's website, "about/fs-sars.html."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. August 2 is 2019. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is a respiratory disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On March 14, 2022, from the CDC's website, "coronaviruses/mers/about/index.html."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. February 15 is 2020. There are human coronaviruses types. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On March 14, 2022, from the CDC's website, "coronaviruses/types.html."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. November 13 is 2020. There is multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On March 14, 2022, from the CDC's website, "mis/mis-a.html".

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. February 22, 2021. There are symptoms of COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On March 14, 2022, from the CDC website, "symptoms-testing/symptoms.html."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. May 7th, 2021. There is a scientific brief on the transmission of coronaviruses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On March 14, 2002, from the CDC's website, "sars-cov-2-transmission.html."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. February 25 was the date of the event. There are benefits to getting a vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On March 14, 2022, from the CDC's website, "vaccines/vaccine benefits."

Cleri, Ricketti, A. J., and Vernaleo were all present. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a respiratory condition. The Infectious Disease Clinics of North America was published in 1994.

The National Health Service. October 24, 2019. There is a respiratory syndrome. The National Health Service. The condition ofsars can be found at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sars.

Oh, Park, W. B., Park, S.-W., Choe, P. G. The Republic of Korea experienced an outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome in 2015. The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine was published in July of 2013).

Peiris, J. S. M., Yuen, K. Y., and A. D. M. E. There is a respiratory syndrome. The New England Journal of Medicine is a journal.

The World Health Organization. The year began on March 11. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronaviruses can cause respiratory problems. The World Health Organization. The Middle East Respiratory-syndrome-coronaviruses-(mers-cov)fact-sheets were published on March 14, 2022.

The World Health Organization. The year is 2022. Tracking the variants. The World Health Organization. The tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants were published on March 14, 2022.

Live Science staff writer Nicoletta Lanese updated the article on March 14, 2022.

The article is only for informational purposes and is not meant to give medical advice.

It was originally published on Live Science.