Causes of corona

The disease is caused by the virus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-
CoV-2), previously referred to as the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). It is primarily
spread between people via respiratory droplets from coughs and sneezes. The virus has been
found in the faces of infected persons, but whether transmission through faces is possible is
unknown.

SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted from person to person. It can survive within aerosols generated
by humans while breathing or coughing for three hours. It can stay stable on hard surfaces as
well. On plastic and stainless-steel SARS-CoV-2 can last up to three days.

The lungs are the organs most affected by COVID-19 because the virus accesses host cells
via the enzyme ACE2, which is most abundant in the type II alveolar cells of the lungs. The
virus uses a special surface glycoprotein, called "spike", to connect to ACE2 and enter the
host cell. The density of ACE2 in each tissue correlates with the severity of the disease in that
tissue and some have suggested that decreasing ACE2 activity might be protective, though
another view is that increasing ACE2 using Angiotensin II receptor blocker medications
could be protective and that these hypotheses need to be tested. As the alveolar disease
progresses, respiratory failure might develop, and death may follow. ACE2 might also be the
path for the virus to assault the heart causing acute cardiac injury. People with existing
cardiovascular conditions have the worst prognosis.

The virus is thought to have an animal origin, through spill over infection. It was first
transmitted to humans in Wuhan, China, in November or December 2019, and the primary
source of infection became human-to-human transmission by early January 2020. On 14
March 2020, South China Morning Post reported that a 55-year-old from Hubei province
could have been the first person to have contracted the disease on 17 November 2019. As of
14 March 2020, 67,790 cases and 3,075 deaths due to the virus have been reported in Hubei
province; a case fatality rate (CFR) of 4.54%. On 17 March 2020, scientists reported that the
novel SARS-CoV-2 virus originated naturally, and not otherwise