China was hit over the weekend with a virus that has killed three people and infected hundreds. A majority of the cases were detected in the city of Wuhan but has since spread to Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, tripling from when the case was first reported. Also, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea seem to have reported a few cases.
Coronaviruses (CoV) according to WHO, are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).
This outbreak is believed to have originated from a market late last year but officials and scientists are yet to know how it has been spreading.
This is not the first time Asia has been hit with a similar virus. The SARS Virus – also a coronavirus – broke out in the early 2000s and killed over 700 people across many countries in Asia.
Though there haven’t been many deaths as with the SARS virus, authorities are being watchful since very little is known about the virus.
