In 2003, a viral respiratory illness began in Guangdong Province in southern China and spread to more than two dozen North America, South America, Europe, and Asia countries. It was caused by a coronavirus called SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV).
SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV were not the cause of the 2019 coronavirus disease outbreak (COVID-19); SARS-CoV-2 caused COVID-19.
SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses share many common respiratory illness characteristics but still differ. Influenza viruses are from a different family of viruses than coronaviruses.
SARS-CoV-2 was first identified in Wuhan, China, in November 2019 before spreading internationally.
The taxonomy of SARS-CoV-2 is as follows:
Family: Coronaviridae
Genus: Betacoronavirus
Species: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-related coronavirus
