Table I.

Comparison between influenza virus and coronavirus (see Figures 1 A and B also)

S. No	Influenza virus	Coronavirus
a	Family: Orthomyxoviridae	Coronaviridae
b	Genetic material: ssRNA (mostly) dsRNA rarely	ssRNA
c	Subtypes: A, B, C, D	Alpha, beta, gamma and delta coronavirus
d	Influenza type A is most common with 12 serotypes	Beta corona virus is the most common subtype affecting humans
e	Type B is less common and has 2–3 times slower mutation rates
f	Structure: Size: 80–120 nm Envelope: Glycoproteins – Hemagglutinin responsible for binding to host cells Neuraminidase for release of progeny virus from infected cells Genome: Mostly segmented negative sense RNA e.g.: Type A has 11 genes on 8 pieces of negative RNA each coding for different gene Replication: RNA dependent RNA polymerase	Size: 125 nm Envelope: Has lipid bilayer which has M: membrane E: envelope S: spike proteins are anchored E : S : M = 1 : 20 : 300 Also has short spike protein: hemagglutinin esterase Genome: positive ss RNA as bead on strand formation Size: 26.4 to 31.7kb with 5′-methylated cap and 3′-poly A tail 2/3rd of genome codes for replicase/transcriptase non-structural protein 4 structural proteins are: spike, envelope, membrane nucleocapsid
g	Incubation time: Short incubation time	5–6 days, sometimes longer
	Secondary infections: less common	Highly prevalent
i	Primary carriers: children	Adults
j	Mortality rate: < 0.1%	3–4%