What is Novel Coronavirus or 2019-nCOV?
By AlpLocal News
31 January 2020
HONG KONG. CHINA – The 2019 Novel Coronavirus is also called 2019-nCOV, is a very deadly coronavirus.
The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCOV), which originated in Wuhan City, China, has now infected over 6,160 people globally and killed over 130.
The name “coronavirus” is derived from the Latin corona, meaning crown or halo, which refers to the characteristic appearance of the virus particles (virions): they have a fringe reminiscent of a royal crown or of the solar corona.
In December 2019, a pneumonia outbreak was reported in Wuhan, China. On 31 December 2019, the outbreak was traced to a novel strain of coronavirus, which was labeled as 2019-nCoV by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to Daniel Lucey at Georgetown University, the first human infections must have occurred in November 2019 and maybe earlier.
By 29 January 2020, more than 130 deaths had been reported and more than 6,160 confirmed cases in this coronavirus pneumonia outbreak. The Wuhan strain has been identified as a new strain of Betacoronavirus from group 2B with an ~70% genetic similarity to the SARS-CoV.
The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCOV) is in the same class as SARS-CoV. SARS-CoV is a coronavirus outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which had begun in 2002 in Asia. SARS infected over 8,000 people, about 10% of whom died.
The coronavirus was suspected to have originated in snakes, but many leading researchers disagree with this conclusion. Daniel Lucey, an infectious disease specialist at Georgetown University, stated that “Now it seems clear that [the] seafood market is not the only origin of the virusâ€.
For more information on local responses to the novel coronavirus also called … 2019-nCoV, contact your local healthcare provider or visit cdc.gov for the United States response to the coronavirus.
News you can use! Enjoy the best of news from your community by Alphabet Global News.
ALPHABET GLOBAL NEWS
Reliable. Trusted. Local. News.
On Mobile … Fast!
Written by
AlpLocal News Team
