Tian H Y
State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science/College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2020 Mar 6;54(3):235-238. doi: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.0253-9624.2020.03.002.
The outbreak of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Wuhan, Hubei province of China, at the end of 2019 shaped tremendous challenges to China's public health and clinical treatment. The virus belongs to the β genus Coronavirus in the family Corornaviridae, and is closely related to SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, causing severe symptoms of pneumonia. The virus is transmitted through droplets, close contact, and other means, and patients in the incubation period could potentially transmit the virus to other persons. According to current observations, 2019-nCoV is weaker than SARS in pathogenesis, but has stronger transmission competence; it's mechanism of cross-species spread might be related with angiotensin-converting enzyme Ⅱ (ACE2), which is consistent with the receptor SARS-CoV. After the outbreak of this disease, Chinese scientists invested a lot of energy to carry out research by developing rapid diagnostic reagents, identifying the characters of the pathogen, screening out clinical drugs that may inhibit the virus, and are rapidly developing vaccines. The emergence of 2019-nCoV reminds us once again of the importance of establishing a systematic coronavirus surveillance network. It also poses new challenges to prevention and control of the emerging epidemic and rapidly responses on scientific research.
2019年末，中国湖北省武汉市爆发了由新型冠状病毒（2019 - nCoV）引起的肺炎，给中国的公共卫生和临床治疗带来了巨大挑战。该病毒属于冠状病毒科的β属冠状病毒，与严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒（SARS-CoV）和中东呼吸综合征冠状病毒（MERS-CoV）密切相关，可引发严重的肺炎症状。该病毒通过飞沫、密切接触等方式传播，潜伏期患者也可能将病毒传染给他人。根据目前观察，2019 - nCoV在致病力方面比SARS弱，但传播能力更强；其跨物种传播机制可能与血管紧张素转换酶Ⅱ（ACE2）有关，这与SARS-CoV的受体一致。疫情爆发后，中国科学家投入大量精力开展研究，研发快速诊断试剂、确定病原体特征、筛选可能抑制该病毒的临床药物，并迅速开展疫苗研发。2019 - nCoV的出现再次提醒我们建立系统的冠状病毒监测网络的重要性。它也给新兴疫情的防控以及科研快速响应带来了新挑战。
