How covid-19 is differ from sars?

COVID-19, which is caused by the new coronavirus, has been dominating the news lately. However, you may have first become familiar with the term coronavirus during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003.

Both COVID-19 and SARS are caused by coronaviruses. The virus that causes SARS is known as SARS-CoV, while the virus that causes COVID-19 is known as SARS-CoV-2. There are also other types of human coronaviruses.

Despite their similar name, there are several differences between the coronaviruses that cause COVID-19 and SARS. Keep reading as we explore coronaviruses and how they compare to each other.

What is coronavirus?

Coronaviruses are a very diverse family of viruses. They have a large host range, which includes humans. However, the greatest amount of coronavirus diversity is seen in batsTrusted Source.

Coronaviruses have spiky projections on their surface that look like crowns. Corona means “crown” in Latin — and that’s how this family of viruses got their name.

Most of the time, human coronaviruses cause mild respiratory illnesses like the common cold. In fact, four types of human coronaviruses cause 10 to 30 percentTrusted Source of upper respiratory tract infections in adults.

A new type of coronavirus can emerge when an animal coronavirus develops the ability to transmit a disease to humans. When germs are transmitted from an animal to a human, it’s called zoonotic transmission.

Coronaviruses that make the jump to human hosts can cause serious illness. This can be due to a variety of factors, particularly humans’ lack of immunity to the new virus. Here are some examples of such coronaviruses:

SARS-CoV, the virus that caused SARS, which was first identified in 2003

MERS-CoV, the virus that caused Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), which was first identified in 2012

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, which was first identified in 2019

What is SARS?

SARS is the name of the respiratory illness that’s caused by SARS-CoV. The acronym SARS stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome.

The global SARS outbreak lasted from late 2002 to mid-2003. During this time, over 8,000 peopleTrusted Source were sickened and 774 people died.

The origin of SARS-CoV is thought to be bats. It’s believed that the virus passed from bats to an intermediate animal host, the civet cat, before jumping to humans.

Fever is one of the first symptoms of SARS. This may be accompanied by other symptoms, such as:

✓cough

✓malaise or fatigue

✓body aches and pains

Respiratory symptoms can worsen, leading to shortness of breath. Serious cases rapidly progress, leading to pneumonia or respiratory distress.

How does COVID-19 differ from SARS?

COVID-19 and SARS are similar in many ways. For example, both are respiratory illnesses caused by coronaviruses are believedTrusted Source to have originated in bats, jumping to humans via an intermediate animal host are spread by respiratory droplets produced when a person with the virus coughs or sneezes, or by contact with contaminated objects or surfaces have similar stability in the air and on various surfaces can lead to potentially serious illness, sometimes requiring oxygen or mechanical ventilation can have worseningTrusted Source symptoms later on in the illness.

✓have similar at-risk groups, such as older adults and those with underlying health conditions

✓have no specific treatments or vaccines

✓However, the two illnesses and the viruses that cause them are also different in several important ways. Let’s take a closer look.