Any one of a large family of viruses that can cause disease in the breathing and eating systems of humans and animals (respiratory and digestive systems). Coronavirus diseases can range from the relatively harmless common cold to more severe and potentially fatal diseases such as sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome). Seen through a microscope, coronaviruses appear circular with spikes, like crowns, and are named from the latin for crown, which is corona. Coronaviruses normally originate in animals and usually cannot be passed to humans. But very occasionally a coronavirus mutates and can then be transmitted from animal to human, and then from human to human. This is how the sars epidemic started in the early 2000s, for example.

This term refers to a category of viruses that can cause fever, breathing difficulties, pneumonia and diarrhea. Some are potentially fatal. Others can cause a certain percentage of common colds. The name comes from the Latin word "corona," which means crown. Under a microscope, these viruses are characterized by circles with spikes ending in little blobs.

Coronaviruses originate in animals - like camels, civets and bats - and are usually not transmissible to humans. But occasionally a coronavirus mutates and can pass from animals to humans and then from human to human, as was the case with the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic in the early 2000s.

The coronavirus is actually not one type of virus; it is a large family of viruses that also includes SARS and other minor to major respiratory illnesses. Coronaviruses can be spread between animals and people, as we have seen with this current strain. The term "corona," which is from a Latin root meaning crown or ring of light, refers to the shape of the virus under a microscope. (See also: novel)

A group of RNA viruses that circulate in animals and humans. In humans, they cause respiratory illnesses, which means they cause symptoms in the lungs, throat, and airways.

A type of microscopic organism that causes illness in humans. “Corona” alludes to the tiny spikes found on the surface of the virus, which scientists thought resembled a crown, when seen through a microscope.

A family of viruses, named for their crown-like spikes, which can cause mild to severe respiratory illness (e.g. Middle-East respiratory syndrome or MERS; Avian flu).

A family of viruses that predominantly affect animals, but in rare cases can spread to humans.. The viruses can cause respiratory problems, fever, and other issues. The strain of coronavirus that has sparked this global pandemic is Covid-19.