Coronaviruses

The Coronaviruses topic includes research on the causes, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of human diseases caused by coronaviruses. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that usually cause mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses in humans. However, three coronaviruses have caused more serious and fatal disease in people: SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), which emerged in November 2002 and causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS); MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which emerged in 2012 and causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS); and SARS-CoV-2, which emerged in 2019 and causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

This topic includes research on the spread of coronaviruses between animals and people and animal-to-human coronavirus spillover potential. It also includes behavioral and social research on the COVID-19 pandemic.