A new virus called the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified as the cause of a disease outbreak that began in China in 2019. The disease is called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.
Stay aware of the latest information on the COVID-19 outbreak, available on the WHO website and through your national and local public health authority.
Pneumonia is an infection caused by both bacteria and virus. It attacks the air sacs in one of both lungs. The infected sac(s) may fill with phlegm and cause cough and difficulty in breathing.
With winter starts flu season when people start getting hit by influenza and norovirus a.k.a. winter vomiting virus or stomach flu. But doctors often focus more on influenza partly because vaccines are available to prevent this virus.