A member asked:
What is special about a novel coronavirus that gets it labeled as novel?
2 doctor answers • 2 doctors weighed in
Dr. Cynthia Archeranswered
Internal Medicine 20 years experience
Novel means "new": That's all there is to it. There are many different coronaviruses in this family of viruses and several are known to infect Humans. This one is both genetically distinct, it's manifestations in illness are new, and it has only recently been identified as a new Human disease/virus/pathogen. It's really that simple.
77 viewsAnswered May 11, 2020
Dr. Heidi Fowleranswered
Psychiatry 26 years experience
Novel virus: It is a new or novel virus that we have not experienced before. Our bodies are naive to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, they we have no immunity to it. This makes it dangerous.
75 viewsAnswered May 21, 2020
Last updated Oct 19, 2020
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