SARS-CoV-1

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1
Electron microscope image of a SARS virion
Virus classification
(unranked):	Virus
Realm:	Riboviria
Kingdom:	Orthornavirae
Phylum:	Pisuviricota
Class:	Pisoniviricetes
Order:	Nidovirales
Family:	Coronaviridae
Genus:	Betacoronavirus
Subgenus:	Sarbecovirus
Species:	Severe acute respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus
Strain:	Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1
Synonyms
SARS coronavirus SARS-related coronavirus Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus[1]

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1), previously known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV),^[2] is a strain of coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the respiratory illness responsible for the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak.^[3] It is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus that infects the epithelial cells within the lungs.^[4] The virus enters the host cell by binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2.^[5] It infects humans, bats, and palm civets.^[6][7] The SARS-CoV-1 outbreak was largely brought under control by simple public health measures. Testing people with symptoms (fever and respiratory problems), isolating and quarantining suspected cases, and restricting travel all had an effect. SARS-CoV-1 was most transmissible when patients were sick, so its spread could be effectively suppressed by isolating patients with symptoms.^[8]

On April 16, 2003, following the outbreak of SARS in Asia and secondary cases elsewhere in the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a press release stating that the coronavirus identified by a number of laboratories was the official cause of SARS. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States and the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) in Canada identified the SARS-CoV-1 genome in April 2003.^[9][10] Scientists at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, demonstrated that the SARS coronavirus fulfilled Koch's postulates, thereby confirming it as the causative agent. In the experiments, macaques infected with the virus developed the same symptoms as human SARS patients.^[11]

A virus very similar to SARS was discovered in late 2019. This virus, named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is the causative pathogen of COVID-19, the propagation of which started the COVID-19 pandemic.^[12]