NEW CORONAVIRUS
Virus family
The new corona virus is officially called Sars-CoV-2. It belongs to the same virus family as the causative agents of the lung diseases SARS and MERS as well as four well-known coronaviruses, which cause 10 to 15 percent of all colds.
From animals to humans
Researchers believe that Sars-CoV-2 has passed from animal to human, possibly at a market in the Chinese city of Wuhan where many wild animals have been traded.
INFLUENCE VIRUSES
Three types of viruses
There are three types of influenza viruses: A, B and C. Influenza A viruses cause the most serious outbreaks. A (H3N2) was very common in Austria this year.
Major influenza pandemics
There were three major pandemics in the 20th century:
1918–1920: A (H1N1) “Spanish flu”, 20 to 50 million deaths
1957–1958: A (H2N2) “Asian flu”, around one million dead
1968–1969: A (H3N2) “Hong Kong flu”, around one million deaths
–
