Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 facts for kids

This picture shows what the SARS-CoV-2 virus looks like.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a type of virus that can make people sick. It was first called the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). This virus is very contagious, meaning it spreads easily from person to person.

SARS-CoV-2 is the reason for the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, which is a worldwide epidemic of a sickness called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The World Health Organization (WHO) said this was a big global health emergency.

Scientists think SARS-CoV-2 probably came from bats. It might have then spread to other animals, like a pangolin, before reaching humans. From a science point of view, SARS-CoV-2 is a specific type of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARSr-CoV) family.

Because the virus was first found in Wuhan, China, some people informally called it the Wuhan coronavirus. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) does not like using names for diseases that come from places. To avoid confusion with another disease called SARS, the WHO sometimes calls it "the virus that causes COVID-19" when talking to the public.

Understanding SARS-CoV-2

What is SARS-CoV-2?

SARS-CoV-2 is a tiny living thing, much smaller than a cell. It is a type of coronavirus, which gets its name because it looks like it has a crown (corona means crown) when seen under a powerful microscope. Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 need to enter living cells to make copies of themselves and spread.

How the Virus Spreads

The SARS-CoV-2 virus mainly spreads when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. Tiny drops carrying the virus can go into the air and be breathed in by others. It can also spread if someone touches a surface with the virus on it and then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth. This is why washing hands and keeping a distance from others are important.

Where Did SARS-CoV-2 Come From?

Most scientists believe that SARS-CoV-2 originally came from bats. Bats are known to carry many different types of coronaviruses without getting sick themselves. It's thought that the virus might have then passed through another animal, like a pangolin, before it started infecting humans. This kind of jump from animals to humans is called a zoonotic event.

Images for kids

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  Transmission of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS‑CoV‑2 from mammals as biological carriers to humans

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  Samples taken from Rhinolophus sinicus, a species of horseshoe bats, show an 80% resemblance to SARS‑CoV‑2.

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  Transmission electron micrograph of SARS‑CoV‑2 virions (red) isolated from a patient during the COVID-19 pandemic

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  False-colour transmission electron micrograph of a B.1.1.7 variant coronavirus. The variant's increased transmissibility is believed to be due to changes in the structure of the spike proteins, shown here in green.

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  SARS‑CoV‑2 spike homotrimer with one protein subunit highlighted. The ACE2 binding domain is magenta.

See also

You can also read about SARS-CoV-2 in Spanish: SARS-CoV-2 para niños