Epidemiological characteristics of SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2
| SARS-CoV | MERS-CoV | SARS-CoV-2 | |
| Emerged year | 2002 | 2012 | 2019 |
| Intermediate host | Palm civet and raccoon dogs | Dromedary camels | To be determined |
| Incubation period | 2–10 days | 2–14 days | 1–14 days |
| Number of confirmed cases | 8096 | 2519 (as of 31 January 2020) | 2 072 114 (as of 15 April 2020) |
| Associated deaths | 774 | 886 (as of 31 January 2020) | 138 475 (as of 15 April 2020) |
| Mortality | 10% | 25%–50% | 2%–5% |
| Number of affected countries | 29 | 27 | 210 |
MERS-CoV, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus ; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; SARS-CoV, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus .