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Under the electron microscope, a coronavirus may resemble a spiny sea urchin or appear crownlike, (the shape from which this family of pathogens takes its name). Previously recognized as the second leading cause of the common cold in humans and for economically important diseases in many domesticated animals, a new disease form abruptly emerged as a major public health concern in 2002, when the SARS coronavirus (CoV) surfaced in Asia.

Although the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic infected an estimated 60 million people and hospitalized more than 250,000 in the United States, it also brought one significant benefitclues about how to make a vaccine that could protect against multiple strains of influenza.