In 2019, a new human pandemic coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged in Wuhan, China. We present the actual state of knowledge on Betacoronaviruses, including data on SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. Betacoronaviruses are enveloped viruses with nonsegmented, positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome. SARS-CoV, MERSCoV, and SARS-CoV-2 are highly pathogenic zoonotic viruses. SARS-CoV-2 is an etiological factor of COVID-19, which has been brought to global attention and declared a pandemic by the

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... orld Health Organization in 2020. The SARS-CoV-2 is similar to other coronaviruses, nevertheless some differences were observed. As no specific therapeutics and vaccines are available for disease control, the epidemic of COVID-19 is posing a great threat for the global public health.