ABSTRACT
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Subject(s)
Communicable Diseases, Emerging/epidemiology , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/epidemiology , Virus Diseases/epidemiology , Communicable Diseases, Emerging/pathology , Communicable Diseases, Emerging/prevention & control , Communicable Diseases, Emerging/virology , Female , Humans , Pregnancy , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/pathology , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/prevention & control , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/virology , Pregnancy Outcome/epidemiology , Virus Diseases/pathology , Virus Diseases/prevention & control , Virus Diseases/virology , Viruses/classification , Viruses/immunology , Viruses/pathogenicityABSTRACT
Coronaviruses are a well-known cause of upper and lower respiratory disease, and since 2002 have been a recognized source of potential pandemic spread. Over the past two decades, since the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak, a large body of research has accumulated on the virology, clinical symptoms and signs, and experimental treatments of Coronaviruses. In 2020, a new form of Coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-2) emerged and spread rapidly throughout the globe. Given the wide-ranging clinical presentations of those infected with SARS-CoV-2, other viruses might be overlooked when evaluating at-risk patients. Furthermore, due to suboptimal testing capabilities, an early clinical diagnosis is not always possible. Here, we present a case of a patient with pneumonia thought to be caused by SARS-CoV-2 only to be found to have another Coronavirus. This emphasizes the need to be vigilant when evaluating patients with viral-like respiratory infections.
Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections/virology , Coronavirus/classification , Coronavirus/isolation & purification , Respiratory Distress Syndrome/virology , Aged , Communicable Diseases, Emerging/diagnosis , Communicable Diseases, Emerging/pathology , Communicable Diseases, Emerging/therapy , Communicable Diseases, Emerging/virology , Coronavirus Infections/diagnosis , Coronavirus Infections/pathology , Endemic Diseases , Fatal Outcome , Female , Humans , Respiratory Distress Syndrome/diagnosis , Respiratory Distress Syndrome/pathology , Respiratory Distress Syndrome/therapyABSTRACT
Emerging infectious diseases, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Zika virus disease, present a major threat to public health1-3. Despite intense research efforts, how, when and where new diseases appear are still a source of considerable uncertainty. A severe respiratory disease was recently reported in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. As of 25 January 2020, at least 1,975 cases had been reported since the first patient was hospitalized on 12 December 2019. Epidemiological investigations have suggested that the outbreak was associated with a seafood market in Wuhan. Here we study a single patient who was a worker at the market and who was admitted to the Central Hospital of Wuhan on 26 December 2019 while experiencing a severe respiratory syndrome that included fever, dizziness and a cough. Metagenomic RNA sequencing4 of a sample of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from the patient identified a new RNA virus strain from the family Coronaviridae, which is designated here 'WH-Human 1' coronavirus (and has also been referred to as '2019-nCoV'). Phylogenetic analysis of the complete viral genome (29,903 nucleotides) revealed that the virus was most closely related (89.1% nucleotide similarity) to a group of SARS-like coronaviruses (genus Betacoronavirus, subgenus Sarbecovirus) that had previously been found in bats in China5. This outbreak highlights the ongoing ability of viral spill-over from animals to cause severe disease in humans.