Coronaviruses are large, enveloped, single-stranded, positive-sense RNA viruses with a genome of approximately 30 kilobases in length. The genus Coronavirus belongs to the family Coronaviridae in the order Nidovirales. They are classified into three groups. Group 1 contains various mammalian viruses including porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus, and human coronaviruses 229E and NL63. Group 2 includes canine respiratory coronavirus among other mammalian viruses and human coronavirus OC43. Human severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is considered a distant relative of this group. Group 3 contains solely avian coronaviruses. Human coronaviruses (HCoVs) cause respiratory infections, mainly, but gastroenteritis and neurological disorders may also occur. So far, at least six human coronaviruses have been described including SARS-CoV2, which was just identified in 2020, and two of these coronaviruses (OC43 and 229E) are responsible for 10-30% of all common colds. HCoV-HKU1 is mostly associated with bronchiolitis and pneumonia.
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