The species Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus: classifying 2019-nCoV and naming it SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

The present outbreak of a coronavirus-associated acute respiratory disease called coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is the third documented spillover of an animal coronavirus to humans in only two decades that has resulted in a major epidemic. The Coronaviridae Study Group (CSG) of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, which is responsible for developing the classification of viruses and taxon nomenclature of the family Coronaviridae, has assessed the placement of the human pathogen, tentatively named 2019-nCoV, within the Coronaviridae. Based on phylogeny, taxonomy and established practice, the CSG recognizes this virus as forming a sister clade to the prototype human and bat severe acute respiratory syndrome corona- viruses (SARS-CoVs) of the species Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus, and designates it as SARS-CoV-2. In order to facilitate communication, the CSG proposes to use the following naming convention for individual isolates: SARS-CoV-2/host/location/isolate/date. While the full spectrum of clinical manifestations associated with SARS-CoV-2 infections in humans remains to be determined, the independent zoonotic transmission of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 highlights the need for studying viruses at the species level to complement research focused on individual pathogenic viruses of immediatesignificance. This will improve our understanding of virus-host interactions in an ever-changing environment and enhance our preparedness for future outbreaks.

Rapid Detection of COVID-19 Causative Virus (SARS-CoV-2) in Human Nasopharyngeal Swab Specimens Using Field-Effect Transistor-Based Biosensor

“…1 Later, the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) was identified from the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of a patient; 2 it was subsequently renamed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. 3 As human-to-human transmission rapidly increased, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic on March 12, 2020. 4 As of March 29, 2020, more than 634,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed around the world, resulting in 29,891 deaths.…”

Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 (previously 2019-nCoV) infection by a highly potent pan-coronavirus fusion inhibitor targeting its spike protein that harbors a high capacity to mediate membrane fusion

“…Shortly thereafter, a novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, as denoted by WHO, 3 was identified as the pathogen causing the coronavirus disease COVID-19. 4,5 2019-nCoV with 79.5 and 96% sequence identity to SARS-CoV and a bat coronavirus, SL-CoV-RaTG13, respectively, 6 was renamed SARS-CoV-2 by the Coronaviridae Study Group (CSG) of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), 7 while, in the interim, it was renamed HCoV-19, as a common virus name, by a group of virologists in China. [8][9][10] As of 24 February 2020, a total of 79,331 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 2618 deaths, were reported in China and 27 other countries, 11 posing a serious threat to global public health and thus calling for the prompt development of specific anticoronavirus therapeutics and prophylactics for treatment and prevention of COVID-19.…”

Letter to the Editor: Low-density lipoprotein is a potential predictor of poor prognosis in patients with coronavirus disease 2019

“…The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a global threat to public health [1]. SARS-COV-2 is a single-strand RNA virus with 96.3% sequence identity the bat coronavirus RaTG13 [2][3][4]. The spike protein of SARS-COV-2 is responsible for entry of the host cells via binding to surface angiotensin converting enzyme 2 [2,5].…”