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SARS-CoV-2 (2019-nCoV): A running fact sheet.

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Last Updated: 02.26.2020

So far…

WHO announced the official disease name as COVID-19 caused by the newly named virus SARS-CoV-2 to replace the former “2019-nCoV” (International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses).

Although people don’t like to say it, COVID-19 is a pandemic. It’s been shown to appear on pockets and demographics that do not seem to have any direct contact/relation to China.

Origins & Genome

  • 2019-nCoV was first found & recognized in Wuhan, China.
  • Genetically closest to SARS-CoV (shared 79.5% similarity) in the Betacoronaviruses (Nidovirales, Coronaviridae, Coronavirinae, Betacoronavirus, Sarbecovirus), and also shares similiarities with bat SARS-like variants, possibly BatCoV RaTG13 (96.2%).
  • Virus was thought to have crossed over to humans from bats.
  • The report trying to link HIV to 2019-nCoV was erroneous.
  • Reports of 2019-nCoV originating from snakes were erroneous.
  • Approx 29 kilobases (29,000 nucleotide bases) long.
  • As of 02.05.2020, GenBank produced 44 nucleotide sequences for 2019-nCoV (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/2019-ncov-seqs/#nucleotide-sequences).

Clinical Presentation

  • Produces acute respiratory illnesses, fever, cough, difficulty breathing/shortness of breath.
  • 2019-nCoV targets the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor.
  • Incubation ranges between 2-14 days. Some say up to 20 days.
  • Use standard airborne disease precautions.
  • The severity of symptoms is variable.
  • Babies and children have mostly been spared.
  • There have been some cases of people being re-infected, but that is not too clear.
  • Testing has been somewhat unclear at this point.

Transmission

  • Human-to-human spread up to approximately 6 feet distance (CDC, 02.05.2020) via airborne droplets from in infected person (e.g. sneezing, coughing, etc.).
  • High sputum viral load.
  • The virus may persist on surfaces but only for a relatively “short time”.
  • The virus has been found in feces, but the main transmission method is still in droplets–airborne.
  • People who carry the virus but don’t show symptoms can still spread the disease, asymptomatic spreading.
  • Hand hygiene is important. As taught in nursing school: use warm water; use antibacterial soap to vigorously scrub front-back-nails of hand for at the very least 20 secs. DO NOT TOUCH the faucet or anything else. Dry your hands and use the paper towel to shut off the water. If your paper towel dispenser is not automatic/motion-controlled, then before you wash your hands pull some paper towel down so that you can avoid touching the dispenser after your hand wash. https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html
  • For health providers: https://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/providers/index.html
  • Be aware of what you’re touching. Use hand sanitizer as needed.

Other News

U.S. Travel Advisory is at Level 4 which means Do NOT TRAVEL (to China). https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-what-are-symptoms-fast-facts-china-wuhan-virus-death-toll/

References

Centers for Disease Control (CDC), & National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Division of Viral Diseases. (2020, January 31). Transmission of Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Retrieved February 5, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission.html

Cohen, J. (2020, January 31). Mining coronavirus genomes for clues to the outbreak’s origins. Retrieved February 5, 2020, from https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/01/mining-coronavirus-genomes-clues-outbreak-s-origins

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). (2020, January 31). Disease background of 2019-nCoV. Retrieved from https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/2019-ncov-background-disease

Greens, K. (2020, February 4). Report of asymptomatic transmission of 2019-nCoV inaccurate. Retrieved from https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/report-of-asymptomatic-transmission-of-2019-ncov-inaccurate-67060

Kupferschmidt, K. (2020, February 3). Study claiming new coronavirus can be transmitted by people without symptoms was flawed. Retrieved from https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/02/paper-non-symptomatic-patient-transmitting-coronavirus-wrong

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). (2020, January 30). Transmission of 2019-nCoV infection from an asymptomatic contact in Germany. Retrieved from https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2001468

Paraskevis, D., Kostaki, E. G., Magiorkinis, G., Panayiotakopoulos, G., Sourvinos, G., & Tsiodras, S. (2020). Full-genome evolutionary analysis of the novel corona virus (2019-nCoV) rejects the hypothesis of emergence as a result of a recent recombination event. Infection, Genetics and Evolution, 104212.

Robertson, D. L. (2020, January 26). nCoV’s relationship to bat coronaviruses & recombination signals (no snakes) – no evidence the 2019-nCoV lineage is recombinant. Retrieved February 5, 2020, from https://virological.org/t/ncovs-relationship-to-bat-coronaviruses-recombination-signals-no-snakes-no-evidence-the-2019-ncov-lineage-is-recombinant/331