Coronavirus diseases are caused by viruses in the coronavirus subfamily, a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, the group of viruses cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the common cold (which is also caused by other viruses, predominantly rhinoviruses),[1][2] while more lethal varieties can cause SARS, MERS and COVID-19.[3][4] As of 2021, 45 species are registered as coronaviruses,[5] whilst 11 diseases have been identified, as listed below.
The first coronavirus disease was discovered in the late 1920s. Coronaviridae were generally of limited interest to the wider scientific community, until the appearance of SARS. Human coronaviruses were discovered in the 1960s, through a variety of experiments in the United States and the United Kingdom.[12] A common origin in human coronaviruses is bats.[13]
^Alfarouk, Khalid O.; AlHoufie, Sari T. S.; Ahmed, Samrein B. M.; Shabana, Mona; Ahmed, Ahmed; Alqahtani, Saad S.; Alqahtani, Ali S.; Alqahtani, Ali M.; Ramadan, AbdelRahman M.; Ahmed, Mohamed E.; Ali, Heyam S.; Bashir, Adil; Devesa, Jesus; Cardone, Rosa A.; Ibrahim, Muntaser E.; Schwartz, Laurent; Reshkin, Stephan J. (21 May 2021). "Pathogenesis and Management of COVID-19". Journal of Xenobiotics. 11 (2): 77–93. doi:10.3390/jox11020006. PMC8163157. PMID34063739.
^Almeida JD, Berry DM, Cunningham CH, Hamre D, Hofstad MS, Mallucci L, McIntosh K, Tyrrell DA (November 1968). "Virology: Coronaviruses". Nature. 220 (5168): 650. Bibcode:1968Natur.220..650.. doi:10.1038/220650b0. PMC7086490. [T]here is also a characteristic "fringe" of projections 200 A long, which are rounded or petal shaped... This appearance, recalling the solar corona, is shared by mouse hepatitis virus and several viruses recently recovered from man, namely strain B814, 229E and several others.