Beijing, Jan 22 (AFP/APP): A new SARS-like virus has killed nine people in China, infected hundreds and reached as far as the United States, with fears mounting about its spread as hundreds of millions travel for Lunar New Year celebrations, which start Friday. Many countries have stepped up screening of passengers from Wuhan, the Chinese city identified as the epicentre, and the World Health Organization has called an emergency meeting. Here’s what we know so far about the virus: – It’s entirely new – The pathogen appears to be a never-before-seen strain of coronavirus — a large family of viruses that can cause diseases ranging from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed 349 people in mainland China and another 299 in Hong Kong between 2002 and 2003. Arnaud Fontanet, head of the department of epidemiology at the Institute Pasteur in Paris, told AFP the current virus strain was 80 percent genetically identical to SARS. China has already shared the genome sequencing of this novel coronavirus with the international scientific community. It has been named “2019-nCoV”. – It’s being passed between humans – The WHO said Monday it believed an animal source was the “primary source” … Continue reading What do we know so far about the new China virus