(MPDI, 2020) Schoeman, Dewald; Fielding, Burtram C.
Since the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, human coronaviruses
(hCoVs) have been identified as causative agents of severe acute respiratory tract infections.
Two more hCoV outbreaks have since occurred, the most recent being SARS-CoV-2, the
causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The clinical presentation of SARS
and MERS is remarkably similar to COVID-19, with hyperinflammation causing a severe form
of the disease in some patients.