Nations the world are preparing a possible major outbreak of a new deadly virus. The coronavirus, which started the Chinese city of Wuhan, has already killed 17 people. It has spread to the USA, Japan, Korea and Thailand. More than 540 people have caught the virus and are hospital. The World Health Organization (WHO) is meeting to decide whether the outbreak is a global health emergency. China is urging people not to panic ahead the Chinese New Year next week. Millions of Chinese will be travelling the country to spend the holiday season their families. Meanwhile, the city Wuhan has suspended its public transport systems to help stop the spread the virus.
The new coronavirus is suspected to have come illegally traded animals a Wuhan market. The virus mutated and spread an animal to a human. There are fears it could mutate and spread further. Scientists say the virus is contagious and can be passed person to person the air. Dr Linfa Wang, a virologist at the Duke-National University of Singapore, said the new coronavirus is in the same family as SARS, but it's different from SARS. He said people needed to look for pneumonia- symptoms, such as fever, cough and difficulty breathing. Fu Ning, a 36-year-old woman Beijing, said: "I feel fearful because there's no cure the virus."
