Definition | SARS-CoV-2 – 2019-nCoV

The Sars-CoV-2 is the official name of the new coronavirus identified on January 9, 2020 in the city of Wuhan, capital of Hubei province in China. First called Wuhan coronavirus or 2019-nCoV, the name was proposed by International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, the body responsible for the classification of virus.

It is the etiological agent of theepidemic of pneumonitis infectious which spread in China and in the world from the end of December 2019. This disease was named Covid-19 by theWHO, February 11, 2020.

Sars-CoV-2, the seventh human coronavirus

It's a virus wrapped in RNA linear single-strand of the betacoronavirus family, the genome makes 29,903 base pairs. Just like the Sars-CoV, etiological agent of SARS, it is part of the subgenus of Sarbecovirus. If they are genetically close, these two viruses are quite distinct. There is only seven human coronavirus strains.

The natural reservoir of Sars-CoV-2 seems to be the bat. Several assumptions have been made regarding thehost intermediary of the virus, especially those of the snake and pangolin, but none have been validated with certainty.

The Sars-CoV-2 uses the same door entry into cells as Sars-CoV, the ACE2 receptor on epithelial cells. The protein S (for spike) on the envelope of the virus has sufficient affinity with ACE2 to allow entry of the virus into the cell.

Inside it, the viral RNA is replicated by a polymerase viral. The stages of transcription and translation required for protein formation are provided by cellular machinery. The virus assembles in the endoplasmic reticulum, then migrates to the plasma membrane in vesicles to bud and infect other cells.

Symptoms and treatment of Sars-CoV-2 infection

The main symptoms caused by Sars-CoV-2 are the fever, respiratory conditions such as coughing, sneezing or shortness of breath, and general fatigue. The symptoms may get worse in one pneumonia, potentially fatal.

There is currently no treatment to eradicate the virus. They only fight the symptoms and not their cause.

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