Coronavirus can produce a wide range of symptoms. Some of them infect people with the common cold. Bats, camels, and cattle, for example, get infected by others. However, how did SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, emerge?
Here is what we know about the virus, which was initially discovered in late 2019 in China and spread around the globe.
What Was the Cause of Coronavirus?
According to specialists, SARS-CoV-2 is suspected of having started in bats. Coronaviruses were responsible for both the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
SARS-CoV-2 was discovered by people in one of Wuhan’s open-air “wet marketplaces” for the first time. Live animals, as well as fresh meat and fish, are available for purchase.
Cobras, wild boars, and raccoon dogs are sold at some wet markets. Viruses from various animals can swap genes in crowded environments. People can be infected and disseminated by a virus that has undergone significant alterations.
Despite this, the Wuhan market did not sell bats during the pandemic.
Pangolins, also known as scaly anteaters, are illegally sold in some Chinese marketplaces, which is why they were initially suspected. SARS-CoV-2 is comparable to other coronaviruses seen in pangolins.
Covid SARS-2 infected people who had no direct contact with animals as it spread both inside and outside of China. It means the infection may pass from one person to the next. People are unintentionally receiving and passing on the coronavirus, which is currently spreading across the United Kingdom worldwide. A pandemic has formed as a result of the increasing international dissemination.
Evolution Of Coronaviruses
In 1965, scientists discovered the first human coronavirus, which causes the common cold. During that decade, researchers found a group of similar human and animal viruses, which they named after their crown-like appearance.
Seven different coronaviruses can infect humans. In 2002, SARS was discovered in southern China, and it quickly spread to 28 other countries. Nearly 8,000 people had been affected by July 2003, with 774 of them dying. There were only four more cases in a small outbreak in 2004. This coronavirus causes fever, headaches, and respiratory problems such as cough and shortness of breath.
MERS was first founded in 2012 in Saudi Arabia. The nearly 2,500 cases are connected to people who live in or travel to the Middle East. Despite being less contagious than SARS, this coronavirus has killed 858 individuals. It has the same respiratory symptoms as a regular cold, but it also can cause kidney failure.
