Novel human coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2): A lesson from animal coronaviruses
Abstract
The recent pandemic caused by the novel human coronavirus, referrred to as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), not only is having a great impact on the health care systems and economies in all continents but it is also causing radical changes of common habits and life styles. The novel coronavirus (CoV) recognises, with high probability, a zoonotic origin but the role of animals in the SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology is still largely unknown. However, CoVs have been known in animals since several decades, so that veterinary coronavirologists have a great expertise on how to face CoV infections in animals, which could represent a model for SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans. In the present paper, we provide an up-to-date review of the literature currently available on animal CoVs, focusing on the molecular mechanisms that are responsible for the emergence of novel CoV strains with different antigenic, biologic and/or pathogenetic features. A full comprehension of the mechanisms driving the evolution of animal CoVs will help better understand the emergence, spreading, and evolution of SARS-CoV-2.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Understanding the factors influencing fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith) damage in African smallholder maize fields and quantifying its impact on yield. A case study in Eastern Zimbabwe
- Alarming situation of emerging H5 and H7 avian influenza and effective control strategies
- Livestock and food security: vulnerability to population growth and climate change
- Atmosphere–ocean oxygen and productivity dynamics during early animal radiations
- Characterization of the global distribution and diversified plasmid reservoirs of the colistin resistance gene mcr-9
- The global seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in pigs: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.