Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that usually cause mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses in humans. However, three coronaviruses have caused more serious and fatal disease in people: SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), which emerged in November 2002 and causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS); MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which emerged in 2012 and causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS); and SARS-CoV-2, which emerged in 2019 and causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) leads
NIH COVID-19 basic and pre-clinical research, and NIH research to
develop treatments for coronaviruses.
Fogarty grantees and trainees played major roles in
the research response to COVID-19 in various countries, including Cambodia, China, Haiti, Peru, and South Africa.