SARS-COV-2 is a pathogenic virus belonging to the coronavirus family. It takes its name from the crown-like spikes on the virus envelope, “corona” being the Latin word for crown.

At present, we know of seven different coronaviruses that can infect humans. Four of them mainly cause mild cold symptoms or diarrhea while the other three are more dangerous and can cause severe airway infections:

  • SARS-CoV

The SARS-CoV coronavirus (which is also called SARS-CoV-1) causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS. There was an outbreak in 2002-2003, occurring mainly in China but affecting some other countries as well. Around the world, about 8000 people became infected and about 800 of them died from the effects of the illness. Further information about SARS is available from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

  • MERS-CoV

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) can cause severe airway infections, pneumonia and kidney failure. MERS-CoV was first detected in 2012. Up to now, most cases of MERS have occurred on the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East. It is thought that many people become infected as a result of contact with infected dromedaries. In other parts of the world such as Africa, Asia and Europe, only a few imported cases have so far been detected. Further information is available from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

  • SARS-CoV-2

SARS-CoV-2 is the pathogen causing COVID-19. Up to now, it is the most dangerous member of the coronavirus family as far as humans are concerned. A number of different variants of the virus have arisen as a result of mutations (changes) in the virus’s genetic make-up. These have been named with letters of the Greek alphabet (alpha, beta, gamma, delta, omicron). Such variants are considered to be a cause for concern if, for example, they are particularly infectious or if they are particularly likely to cause serious illness.

You’ll find more information about COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 in our other sections.

Information about COVID-19 is available in different languages from the World Health Organization (WHO) and in English from Pfizer Inc.

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