The virus causing the illness in Wuhan and beyond is a novel coronavirus. This means it is a member of the family of viruses - known as coronavirus - which has never previously been encountered. Like many other illnesses of its type, it originated from animals with the source pinpointed at a food market in Huanan in the city of Wuhan, which has 11 million residents. One theory is snakes are the original source of 2019-nCOV - which is the full name of the virus - whereas other scientists suggested it was harboured by bats. Other viruses which have originated in animal hosts include Ebola. Is it like Sars and Mers? The severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers) were both caused by coronaviruses that originated from animals. Sars was first reported in China late in 2002. Initially, like in this case, the authorities played down the reports of the flu-like illness, which led it spreading unchecked to 26 countries, causing widespread global panic. More than 8,000 people were infected and 750 people died. The difference between 2020 is that while the authorities may originally have downplayed the outbreak, they have been quicker to introduce measures to control it - shutting down the market and ultimately putting the city in lockdown. Mers, which originated in dromedaries in 2012, was harder to pass from human to human but had a higher death rate - killing 858 of the 2,494 people who became infected. In both Sars and Mers, the original hosts for both coronaviruses was probably bats. Sars began in bats then spread to civet cats before it first infected humans. What are the symptoms? The virus causes pneumonia and those who have become ill have reported coughs, fever and breathing difficulties. As this is viral pneumonia, there's no point taking antibiotics. Anti-viral drugs can be used, but they only usually reduce the severity of the symptoms. Those who have died have been known to already have underlying health conditions. Is is being transferred from human to human? It has been confirmed to be transmitting in this way and the number of cases has tripled in the last week. There have now been 17 deaths and more than 500 confirmed cases of infection. There are 13 provinces affected in China in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Tianjin. Confirmed cases outside of China included a man of 30 in Washington, and cases in Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. No cases have been confirmed in the UK at present but there was a scare at a police station in Bristol when a person of Chinese heritage became unwell and had connections with Wuhan. And, separately, there are four Chinese nationals currently in hospital in Scotland after they developed flu-like symptoms while on holiday here. Clinical staff have been unable to rule out coronavirus, but it's hoped that they are merely suffering from common flu. Modelling of the virus by academics at Imperial College, London, suggests there may b
What is the coronavirus and should we be worried about the outbreak?
The virus causing the illness in Wuhan and beyond is a novel coronavirus. This means it is a member of the family of viruses - known as coronavirus - which has never previously been encountered. Like many other illnesses of its type, it originated from animals with the source pinpointed at a food market in Huanan in the city of Wuhan, which has 11 million residents. One theory is snakes are the original source of 2019-nCOV - which is the full name of the virus - whereas other scientists suggested it was harboured by bats. Other viruses which have originated in animal hosts include Ebola. Is it like Sars and Mers? The severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers) were both caused by coronaviruses that originated from animals. Sars was first reported in China late in 2002. Initially, like in this case, the authorities played down the reports of the flu-like illness, which led it spreading unchecked to 26 countries, causing widespread global panic. More than 8,000 people were infected and 750 people died. The difference between 2020 is that while the authorities may originally have downplayed the outbreak, they have been quicker to introduce measures to control it - shutting down the market and ultimately putting the city in lockdown. Mers, which originated in dromedaries in 2012, was harder to pass from human to human but had a higher death rate - killing 858 of the 2,494 people who became infected. In both Sars and Mers, the original hosts for both coronaviruses was probably bats. Sars began in bats then spread to civet cats before it first infected humans. What are the symptoms? The virus causes pneumonia and those who have become ill have reported coughs, fever and breathing difficulties. As this is viral pneumonia, there's no point taking antibiotics. Anti-viral drugs can be used, but they only usually reduce the severity of the symptoms. Those who have died have been known to already have underlying health conditions. Is is being transferred from human to human? It has been confirmed to be transmitting in this way and the number of cases has tripled in the last week. There have now been 17 deaths and more than 500 confirmed cases of infection. There are 13 provinces affected in China in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Tianjin. Confirmed cases outside of China included a man of 30 in Washington, and cases in Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. No cases have been confirmed in the UK at present but there was a scare at a police station in Bristol when a person of Chinese heritage became unwell and had connections with Wuhan. And, separately, there are four Chinese nationals currently in hospital in Scotland after they developed flu-like symptoms while on holiday here. Clinical staff have been unable to rule out coronavirus, but it's hoped that they are merely suffering from common flu. Modelling of the virus by academics at Imperial College, London, suggests there may b
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