On 11th February 2020, World Health Organisation made an official announcement of the name, 'Covid-19 Virus' for the new coronavirus that has led to the recent pandemic. This was for communicating to the public and is not intended as replacement for the official name. Which of the following is the correct official name:
Options
AHuman coronavirus 229 E (HCoV-229E)
BMiddle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease caused by a SARS-associated coronavirus.
On 11th February 2020, WHO gave the "Covid-19 Virus" name to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Hence, option 3 is correct.
It is a highly transmissible and pathogenic coronavirus.
It is an airborne virus and can spread through small droplets of saliva.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus can be spread indirectly via surfaces that have been touched by someone who is infected with the virus.
Additional information
SARS-CoV-2 was found to be a single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the genus Betacoronavirus.
The genetic material of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) or COVID-19 virus comprises only RNA. It means that the coronavirus relies on infiltrating healthy cells to multiply and survive.
Once inside the cell, the virus uses its RNA to take control of and re-programme the cells and turn them into virus-making factories.
A diagram of the SARS-CoV-2 virus labelling the spike, nucleocapsid, membrane, envelope and ssRNA.
