Zoonotic emergence of coronavirus: a potential public risk for Latin America

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a group of enveloped RNA viruses, single-stranded (positive sense) belonging to the order Nidovirales, family Coronaviridae. They are divided into four main groups: alpha, beta, gamma and delta; it seems, alpha and beta infect humans. The first known human coronaviruses (HCoV), HCoV-229E and HCoVOC43, cause mild respiratory infections (1). Coronaviruses are common throughout the world and six of them can make humans sick. Some coronaviruses have existed for a long time and commonly cause mild to moderate illnesses around the world. However, the two most recent coronaviruses, SARS-Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Mers-Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) frequently cause severe disease. However, with the exception of the previous coronaviruses, its role in respiratory disease in humans is still a matter of debate. In a multicentre study, where some countries in Latin America and Australia were considered, among others, which included 6.266 pediatric patients with symptoms compatible with influenza; the highest prevalence was Rhinovirus /Enterovirus (42%) and Coronaviruses was only 6%.