A deadly virus which has infected more than 160 people in four countries can be transmitted through human-to-human contact, Chinese authorities have confirmed.
The viral pneumonia, which has no cure, has been dubbed Wuhan Virus as it originated at the seafood market in the city of Wuhan in central Hubei province in China.
It belongs to the same family of coronaviruses that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 800 people around the world during a 2002-2003 outbreak that originated there.
China's National Health Commission confirmed it will step up monitoring during Chinese New Year as President Xi Jinping said 217 people in the country have been infected by the virus.
The confirmation comes as airports around the world introduced temperature screening as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel home and abroad for the Lunar New Year holiday on Saturday.
WHO advice for international travel and trade in relation to the outbreak of pneumonia caused by a new #coronavirus in #Wuhan, #China🇨🇳
👉🏼 https://t.co/UU8IgFvjpn pic.twitter.com/6Bcrm73CCl— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 11, 2020
Three people have died from the virus and over the weekend new cases tripled to 139 in China, while cases have also been confirmed in Thailand, Japan and South Korea.
President Xi's announcement today that 217 people had been infected is much higher than the 62 cases health officials said on Sunday.
He said: "The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and other places must be taken seriously.
"Party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels should put people's lives and health first."
Authorities in other countries have been put on alert, with at least half a dozen Asian countries and three US airports - New York's JFK, LA and San Francisco - screening incoming passengers from central China.
Two cases have been confirmed in Thailand, both women who had been to Wuhan, and the four Thai airports running flights between Wuhan are carrying out tests.
South Korea reported its first case on Monday after a 35-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan tested positive a day after arriving at Seoul's Incheon airport.
Symptoms
Doctors in China began seeing symptoms including fever, coughing and breathing difficulties in people who worked at or visited Wuhan's seafood market late last month.
Health officials maintained yesterday that the virus is not easily transmitted between humans and the hundreds of people who have been in close contact with diagnosed patients have not got sick.
Some experts say the new virus may not be as deadly as SARS, but there is still little known about it, including its origin and how easily it can be transmitted between humans.
Reporting by IRN
