Coronavirus (COVID-19) Research Priorities

As global research efforts intensify to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, what do we know about the disease, and what are our research priorities'. What we know Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds, and respiratory tract infections in humans. Typically, these infections are mild, but rarer forms such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) can be lethal. The current coronavirus outbreak, recently declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This virus has been shown to have a close genetic similarity to bat coronaviruses, which are thought to have been its likely origin. COVID-19 seems to be spread in a similar way to cold and flu bugs, through droplets created when a person coughs or sneezes being left on surfaces, which are then touched by other people and spread the disease further. At present, whilst COVID-19 appears to be more contagious than SARS or MERS, the fatality rate is relatively low (around 3%) when compared with MERS (34%) and SARS (10%), with early data suggesting the elderly and those with underlying health conditions are at a higher risk.