What causes novel coronavirus pneumonia
Novel coronavirus pneumonia is a lung infection caused primarily by infection with 2019-nCoV, a novel coronavirus that can cause epidemics of novel coronavirus pneumonia in populations lacking immunity to the variant virus.
The virus can infect a variety of hosts, including humans, and is most likely derived from wild animals. Based on current viral gene sequence alignment analysis, its natural host is likely to be bats, and the intermediate hosts for this process, from bats to humans, are unknown.
Pathogenicity of coronaviruses
Coronaviruses primarily infect adults or older children, causing the common cold and pharyngitis, and certain strains can also cause diarrhea in adults. The virus is transmitted by droplets and can also be transmitted by fecal-oral route. It is prevalent mainly in winter and spring. The incubation period of the disease averages 3-7 days.
The degree of harm of a virus is measured by the lethality and infectivity, and 2019-nCoV is relatively mild in both aspects for the time being compared to SARS. The novel coronavirus is already lethal, and the lethality cannot be determined yet, but its high risk is perhaps lower than that of SARS virus and is in a preventable and controllable state.
Can the new coronavirus be transmitted from person to person?
Currently, more than 95% of novel coronavirus pneumonia cases are associated with Wuhan, have been to Wuhan, or come from Wuhan. Judging from the order of association of some aggregated cases and the infection of medical personnel, the characteristics of human-to-human transmission are obvious, and there is a certain range of community transmission.
References
[1] Hubei Technical Publishing House, “Handbook for the prevention of novel coronavirus pneumonia
[2] Life Times, “Epidemic Q&A