Here is one of the first images of the new virus Sars-CoV-2, the origin ofCovid-19 epidemic which started in Wuhan in December 2019. They come from the Rocky Mountain laboratory (RML) of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Niaid), who analyzed a sample from an American patient. The image is a combination of two techniques: scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which allows to visualize the surface and the shape of a sample by detecting the electrons which bounce, and transmission microscopy which allows to observe the organization and the internal structure of the virus. It was then artificially colored.
The Sars-CoV-2 virus closely resembles that of Mers-CoV or Sars-CoV original. ” Which is hardly surprising: these are the peaks [des particules virales] arranged in a crown on the surface of the coronavirus who give their name to this family “(Corona meaning crown in Latin), specifies the RML. The new virus is however closer to Sars-CoV than Mers-CoV. According to a study published in Nature on February 3, Sars-CoV-2 shares 79.5% of sequences genetic common with the original Sars-CoV and 96% with the bat coronavirus. The Covid-19 virus could therefore come from a recombination between a Sars coronavirus bat with an as yet unknown betacoronavirus.
– .
