Outbreaks of viral infections are unpredictable. We are currently dealing with one caused by a virus labelled COVID-19 which originated in Wuhan, China. This virus is a newly emerged subtype within the large family of Coronavirus and bears the characteristic spiky projections that give it a crown-like appearance and hence the name Corona. Diseases caused by Coronaviruses vary widely in severity, host animals, and transmission routes. In humans, Coronaviruses cause illnesses ranging from the mild common cold to more severe ones, such as MERVS, SARS and now COVID-19.
This variability in diseases highlights an important characteristic of the Coronavirus, known as a RNA virus, and all viruses with this type of gene code reading. History confirms infectious epidemics are primarily driven by the frequently and rapidly mutating RNA viruses. The most commonly infected animals are camels, cows, cats and bats. Yet, as this COVID-19 outbreak illustrates, a mutation in the virus allowed infections to cross species boundaries and spread from animals to people and now from people to people.