A new strain of virus that was first reported in China has killed 17 people and infected nearly 600 others.
Sometimes referred to as the Wuhan virus, it has been temporarily named the “2019-nCoV” and belongs to a family of viruses known as coronaviruses, which can be transmitted from person to person.
The deadly pneumonia-like disease was first identified on December 31, 2019, in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei Province. It has since spread beyond Wuhan to more populated cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. New cases have also been detected in countries including Thailand, Japan the United States.
The World Health Organization is debating on whether it should classify the outbreak a global health emergency.
Here’s a snapshot of the number of known cases and where they are, as well as confirmed deaths.
Mainland China: 571
Hong Kong: 2
Macau: 1
Taiwan: 1
South Korea: 1
Japan: 1
Thailand: 4
United States: 1
* Chinese cities with reported cases include Wuhan (Hubei), Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Hebei, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Fujian
