Coronaviruses are found in avian and mammalian species. They resemble each other in morphology and chemical structure: for example, the coronaviruses of humans and cattle are antigenically related. There is no evidence, however, that human coronaviruses can be transmitted by animals. In animals, various coronaviruses invade many different tissues and cause a variety of diseases, but in humans they are only proved to cause mild upper respiratory infections, i.e. common colds. On rare occasions, gastrointestinal coronavirus infection has been associated with outbreaks of diarrhoea in children, but these enteric viruses are not well characterized and are not discussed in this chapter.
Copyright © 1996, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.