The outbreak is not entirely unexpected. Coronaviruses are among the emerging pathogens that the World Health Organisation in 2015 identified as likely to cause severe outbreaks in the near future.For a long time is was difficult to identify the causative agent of infectious diseases. The rapid development of various molecular detection tools has enabled researchers to identify several new respiratory viruses. It has also helped with the characterisation of novel emergent strains.

Guest: Professor Burtram Fielding – The Director: Research Development and Principal Investigator for Molecular Biology and Virology Research Laboratory Department of Medical BioSciences atUniversity of the Western Cape