The novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, belongs to the β genus of novel coronaviruses. After analysis and comparison of the viral sequences, it is speculated that the natural host of this virus may be bats, but the transmission of the virus from bats to humans is likely to have an unknown intermediate host vector, but it has not been confirmed what the intermediate vector actually is. How the virus achieves wildlife to human transmission In nature, certain animals carry the virus for a long time, and the virus survives and evolves in their bodies for a long time, but the animals themselves do not develop the disease and can live peacefully with the virus. And people may also be infected with hundreds of viruses in their lifetime, most of which can be cleared by the immune system, and some of which are with us for life, but when humans eat wild animals and encroach on the territory where they live, the contact between humans and animals also increases dramatically, and they may be infected by some viruses that they have not encountered before. For example, the familiar SARS virus has its source in bats. Experts speculate that the virus in bats infected civets in Yunnan by chance, and then the civets were sold to Guangdong, where the virus further spread and mutated in the civets, eventually producing the highly transmissible SARS virus that infected humans. How does the new coronavirus achieve human-to-human transmission? 1, direct transmission: patients sneezing, coughing, talking droplets, exhaled gas, close contact with direct inhalation, can lead to infection; 2, aerosol transmission: droplets mixed in the air, the formation of aerosols, inhalation leads to infection; 3, contact transmission: droplets deposited on the surface of objects, contact contaminated hands, and then contact with the oral cavity, nasal cavity, eyes and other parts of the mucous membrane, leading to infection. 4, digestive tract transmission: a study published by bioRxiv on January 30, 2020 concluded that novel coronaviruses have the potential to be transmitted through the digestive tract, an aspect that requires more epidemiological investigation studies to focus on. How to prevent an encounter with such a virus? It’s simple, stay away from it! 1. Eliminate illegal hunting of wild animals; 2. Reduce invasion of wildlife habitats; 3. Avoid direct contact with wild animals. Can domestic pets be infected with the new coronavirus? There is no evidence that pets such as dogs and cats can be infected with novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Then, washing hands with soap and water after contact with pets can significantly reduce the transmission of other common bacteria between pets and humans, such as E. coli and Salmonella. Content source: Dr. You Lai Reference: World Health Organization official microblogging “Answer to the questions of novel coronavirus” Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention “Public protection guide for pneumonia with novel coronavirus infection” Xinjing News “How can wild animals trigger an outbreak?