Topic summary
Novel virus
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Virus.
Novel viruses
A novel virus is one that has not previously been recorded. It can be a virus that is isolated from its natural reservoir or isolated as the result of spread to an animal or human host where the virus had not been identified before. It can be an emergent virus, one that represents a new virus, but it can also be an extant virus that has not been previously identified. The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic is an example of a novel virus.