The novel coronavirus is not a new virus.
, REVIEW  \nThis claim, which states that the “coronavirus is not a new virus”, has been published in numerous viral Facebook posts referencing the outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019 and has been provisionally named 2019-nCoV. These posts cite the existence of patents for completely different strains of coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV-1, which causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and the avian infectious bronchitis virus as proof that 2019-nCoV existed before 2019. In addition, some product labelling on animal vaccines and virus-killing disinfectants, such as Lysol, which list “coronavirus” as one of the microorganisms it kills as further evidence., These claims mistakenly assume that 2019-nCoV is the same strain of coronavirus as those that cause SARS or avian infectious bronchitis. In fact, the name “coronavirus” refers to a large and diverse group of viruses which include a group called “human coronaviruses”, none of which have caused the current 2019 outbreak. As the name indicates, human coronaviruses infect humans and some are known to cause severe respiratory illness, such as SARS and MERS, while others cause the common cold. And since 2019-nCoV was only recently discovered, the inclusion of the term “coronavirus” on disinfectant product labeling in no way suggests that such products can combat this virus or that the virus had been previously identified., Over time, mutations occurring in viruses give rise to new strains of coronaviruses that were not previously identified in humans—the current outbreak that originated in Wuhan has been recognised as a new coronavirus strain by scientists who sequenced its genome1,2., The exact source of 2019-nCoV remains unknown. However, given the fact that many animals, such as bats and snakes, host coronaviruses that can be transmitted to humans, and that the 2003 SARS outbreak was linked to civet cats, scientific evidence points to 2019-nCoV as a virus of animal origin. Preliminary work by researchers show that 2019-nCoV has a high degree of genetic similarity with coronaviruses of bat origin2,3., In summary, there are many coronaviruses that were identified long before the current outbreak, however this does not preclude new strains from emerging over time due to mutations. Care should be taken not to conflate references to well-known and characterized coronaviruses with references to novel strains., FactCheck.org checked a similar claim by Facebook users, which used a photo of an existing canine coronavirus vaccine to suggest that there is already a vaccine against the virus causing the COVID-19 pandemic, finding it to be false., Scientific research on 2019-nCoV is ongoing. This review will be updated as new information becomes available., 2019-nCoV \xa0Coronavirus \xa0COVID-19 \xa0Respiratory infections, Published on: 04 Feb 2020 | Editor: Flora Teoh, Health Feedback is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to science education. Our reviews are crowdsourced directly from a community of scientists with relevant expertise. We strive to explain whether and why information is or is not consistent with the science and to help readers know which news to trust. \nPlease get in touch if you have any comment or think there is an important claim or article that would need to be reviewed., Get email news updates:  \nFollow us:, See how we rate claims, , We depend on your support to operate. Help us create a more trustworthy Internet!\n\nDonate, Reviewers, Community standards, Apply to become a reviewer, About, Our method to evaluate articles, Our method to evaluate claims, Contact us
The 2019 coronavirus outbreak is caused by a novel virus, past mentions of coronaviruses refer to different strains - Health Feedback