In June, a formerly healthy 60-year-old man was admitted to a hospital in Jidda, Saudi Arabia. He had been sick with a fever, cough and shortness of breath for several days; in the week that followed he developed severe pneumonia and renal failure. He died 11 days after his admission to the hospital.
In a report published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers revealed more about the man’s illness, which was caused by a previously unknown coronavirus called HCoV-EMC.
Researchers isolated the virus from mucus the patient coughed up and they sequenced its genome, discovering that it was most closely related to coronaviruses found in bats. (Coronaviruses are also found in birds, cats, dogs, pigs, mice, horses, whales and people.)
In a report published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers revealed more about the man’s illness, which was caused by a previously unknown coronavirus called HCoV-EMC.
Researchers isolated the virus from mucus the patient coughed up and they sequenced its genome, discovering that it was most closely related to coronaviruses found in bats. (Coronaviruses are also found in birds, cats, dogs, pigs, mice, horses, whales and people.)
