Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that usually cause mild illnesses, such as the

common cold. However, certain types of coronavirus can infect the lower airway,
causing serious illnesses like pneumonia or bronchitis. Most people get infected with
coronaviruses at some point in their lives and the majority of these infections are
harmless. The new coronavirus that
În vârstă de 79 de ani, rabinul Bakshi-Doron a fost marele rabin sefard al
Israelului între 1993 şi 2003. Născut la Ierusalim în 1941, el a fost mare rabin
al oraşului-port Haifa (nord) timp de 18 ani înainte de a fi ales mare rabin al
Israelului.
În 2000, în cursul vizitei efectuate în Israel de Papa Ioan Paul al II-lea, el a
avut o întâlnire cu acesta, fapt ce i-a atras numeroase critici din partea unor
rabini ultraortodocşi. În favoarea dialogului interconfesional, a avut
numeroase întâlniri cu responsabili musulmani şi creştini.
Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron a fost inculpat pentru corupţie şi abuz de încredere în
2012 şi condamnat la un an de închisoare cu suspendare în 2017.

Spitalizat în urmă cu câteva zile, el suferea de mai multe boli care au

antrenat o deteriorare a stării sale de sănătate după ce a fost contaminat cu
noul coronavirus, a precizat spitalul într-un comunicat. causes the covid-19
illness is a notable exception.

Coronaviruses have extraordinarily large single-stranded RNA genomes – approximately

26,000 to 32,000 bases or RNA “letters” in length. Coronavirus particles are
surrounded by a fatty outer layer called an envelope and usually appear spherical, as
seen under an electron microscope, with a crown or “corona” of club-shaped spikes on their
surface.

Covid-19

The virus that causes covid-19 is known as SARS-CoV-2. It appears to have first emerged
in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. The outbreak has since spread across China to other
countries around the world. By the end of January, the new coronavirus had been
declared a public health emergency of international concern by the WHO.

The most commonly reported symptoms include a fever, dry cough and tiredness, and in
mild cases people may get just a runny nose or a sore throat. In the most severe cases,
people with the virus can develop difficulty breathing, and may ultimately experience
organ failure. Some cases are fatal.

Coronaviruses replicate their RNA genomes using enzymes called RNA-dependent RNA
polymerases, which are prone to errors, but genomic analysis so far suggests that covid-
19 is mutating slowly, reducing the chance of it changing to become more deadly.
 There are currently no vaccines or specific drug treatments for coronaviruses, but efforts
to develop a vaccine are underway and HIV and Ebola drugs are being tested in people with
covid-19.

On 18 March, the World Health Organization (WHO) said they had begun a trial of the
most promising drugs, including the long-used antimalarial drugs chloroquine and
hydroxychloroquine, a new antiviral drug called remdesivir and a combination of two
HIV drugs called lopinavir and ritonavir. The HIV drugs will also be tested in
combination with an antiviral called interferon beta.

On 22 March, several countries in Europe, including the UK, launched a collaborative

trial of the same drugs, which will complement the WHO effort.

Many other potential treatments are being explored, particularly the possibility of
developing antibodies against covid-19.

Other severe coronaviruses

At least two other types of human coronavirus – Middle East respiratory syndrome
coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-
CoV) – are known to cause severe symptoms.

SARS-CoV first emerged in 2002 in Guangdong, China as an unusual pneumonia, which

developed into life-threatening respiratory failure in certain cases. The virus rapidly
spread across 29 countries, infecting more than 8000 people and killing about 800.

The MERS-CoV epidemic appeared in Saudi Arabia in 2012, with people experiencing
similar symptoms to SARS-CoV but dying at a much higher rate of 34 per cent. Unlike
SARS-CoV, which spread quickly and widely, MERS-CoV has been mainly limited to the
Middle East.

Spread from animals to people

Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning that they can be transmitted to people from animals.
Both SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV originally came from bats, though other animals –
including camels in the case of MERS – can act as intermediaries that spread
coronaviruses to humans.

Many of the early cases of covid-19 were traced back to a large seafood and animal
market in Wuhan. The virus is thought to have come from bats, possibly via an
intermediary animal.

 This article was last updated on 27 March 2020

Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/term/coronavirus/#ixzz6JTt1FncQ