Group Group IV ((+)ssRNA) Family Coronaviridae Genus Betacoronavirus | Order Nidovirales Subfamily Coronavirinae Species HCoV-EMC/2012 | |
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HCoV-EMC/2012, or Human Coronavirus Erasmus Medical Center/2012 is the name of a novel strain of coronavirus isolated from the sputum of the first person to become infected with what was later named Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or MERS-CoV.
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Natural reservoir
An investigation of bat roosts in Bisha, the hometown of the index patient, by the Saudi Ministry of Health discovered an Egyptian tomb bat in a large roost close to the index patient's home. Phylogenetic analysis showed a 100% match between the virus isolated from the bat and HCoV-EMC/2012 isolated from the index patient.
Virology
HCoV-EMC/2012 is the sixth coronavirus known to infect humans and the first human virus within betacoronavirus lineage C. It is a new genotype which is related to bat coronaviruses, specifically an Egyptian tomb bat, and is not the same beta-CoV as the SARS-CoV, but is distantly related.