A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019

TLDR

A cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan in December 2019 was linked to a seafood market, and the novel coronavirus identified is the seventh human coronavirus, distinct from MERS‑CoV and SARS‑CoV. Enhanced surveillance and further investigation are ongoing. The virus was isolated from human airway epithelial cells and classified within the sarbecovirus subgenus of Orthocoronavirinae. Unbiased sequencing of patient samples revealed a previously unknown betacoronavirus. Funding was provided by the National Key Research and Development Program of China and the National Major Project for Control and Prevention of Infectious Disease in China.

Abstract

In December 2019, a cluster of patients with pneumonia of unknown cause was linked to a seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, China. A previously unknown betacoronavirus was discovered through the use of unbiased sequencing in samples from patients with pneumonia. Human airway epithelial cells were used to isolate a novel coronavirus, named 2019-nCoV, which formed a clade within the subgenus sarbecovirus, Orthocoronavirinae subfamily. Different from both MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, 2019-nCoV is the seventh member of the family of coronaviruses that infect humans. Enhanced surveillance and further investigation are ongoing. (Funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China and the National Major Project for Control and Prevention of Infectious Disease in China.).