Coronavirus Basic Components

Common human Coronavirus generally causes a mild to moderate upper respiratory infection. It is the third leading cause of the common cold. Young children are more likely to get infected, but infections can occur multiple times throughout their lifetime. Symptoms of the common Coronavirus include runny nose, sore throat, headache, fever, cough, and general malaise. Common Coronavirus can also cause severe lower respiratory infections in infants, older adults, and those with compromised immune systems. Transmission generally occurs with close contact with someone coughing or sneezing as well as touching contaminated surfaces and then touching your face.

Coronavirus is an enveloped positive sense RNA virus in the Coronaviridae family. This virus is smaller, with a range of 60-125 nm in diameter, and has a glycoprotein "spike" (S) along with hemagglutinin esterase on the surface. The spike protein is used to bind to the host cell. There are seven Coronavirus types currently recognized, including MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2.

In addition to the symptoms associated with common Coronavirus infections, SARS-CoV-2 symptoms can also include shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, new loss of sense of smell or taste, and nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. These enhanced symptoms are thought to be related to the spike proteins on the virus that are able to mutate or morph into different shapes to elude detection and enhance attachment to the host cell.

Total cases on aggregate counts of COVID-19 cases in the United States reported to the CDC from January 21, 2020, through December 12, 2022, are estimated to be 100,216,983. The provisional data for all deaths involving COVID-19 are estimated at 1,084,096 for this same time period. These estimates may change as additional data becomes available.