DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SARS AND COVID 19
COVID-19 and SARS are both caused by coronaviruses. The
viruses that cause these illnesses likely originated in
animals before they were transmitted to humans by an
intermediate host. HERE
There are many similarities between COVID-19 and SARS.
However, there are also important differences. COVID-19
cases can range from mild to severe, while SARS cases, in
general, were more severe. But COVID-19 spreads more
easily. There are also some differences in the symptoms
between the two illnesses.
Both COVID-19 and SARS are caused by coronaviruses. The
virus that causes SARS is known as SARS-CoV, while the
virus that causes COVID-19 is known as SARS-CoV-2. There
are also other types of human coronaviruses.
SEVERITY
SARS cases were more severe, in general. Estimates of the
mortality rate of COVID-19 vary greatly depending on
factors like location and the characteristics of a population.
Generally speaking, mortality rates for COVID-19 have been
estimated to range between 0.25 and 3 percent.
SARS is much more deadly than COVID-19. The estimated
mortality rate is about 10 percent
TRANSMISSION
COVID-19 appears to transmit more easily than SARS.
According to CDC, some research suggests that COVID-19
can be spread by people who aren’t showing symptoms.
Another difference between the two illnesses is the fact
that there haven’t any reported cases of SARS transmission
before symptom development.
MOLECULAR FACTORS
SARS-CoV-2 samples found that the virus was more closely
related to bat coronaviruses than the SARS virus. The new
coronavirus has a 79 percent genetic similarity to the SARS
virus. While SARS-CoV-2 is overall more similar to bat
coronaviruses, the receptor binding site was more similar
to SARS-CoV.
RECEPTOR BINDING
A recent study has confirmed that both SARS-CoV-2 and
SARS-CoV use the same host cell receptor. It also found
that, for both viruses, the viral proteins used for host cell
entry bind to the receptor with the same tightness
(affinity). It observed that the receptor binding site of
SARS-CoV-2 binds to the host cell receptor with a higher
affinity than that of SARS-CoV. If the new coronavirus
indeed has a higher binding affinity for its host cell
receptor, this could also explain why it appears to spread
more easily than the SARS virus.