© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. Human coronaviruses (HCo. Vs) were first described in the 1960s for patients with the common cold. Since then, more HCo. Vs have been discovered, including those that cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), two pathogens that, upon infection, can cause fatal respiratory disease in humans. It was recently discovered that dromedary camels in Saudi Arabia harbor three different HCoV species, including a dominant MERS HCoV lineage that was responsible for the outbreaks in the Middle East and South Korea during 2015. In this review we aim to compare and contrast the different HCo. Vs with regard to epidemiology and pathogenesis, in addition to the virus evolution and recombination events which have, on occasion, resulted in outbreaks amongst humans. Six coronaviruses (Co. Vs) are known to infect humans: 229E, OC43, SARS-CoV, NL63, HKU1, and MERS-CoV. Many Co. Vs are simultaneously maintained in nature, allowing for genetic recombination, resulting in novel viruses. Recombination of CoV in camels has resulted in a dominant MERS lineage that caused human outbreaks in 2015.
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