An outbreak of a new pneumonia-like coronavirus was first detected in China at the end of 2019.
Scientists have said it has similarities to two viruses, SARS and MERS, both of which turned into global killers.
The World Health Organisation (WHO)has said it "needs more information" before declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in response to the outbreak.
It will only be the fifth time the WHO will issue the emergency declaration. The previous epidemics were Swine Flu, Polio, Ebola and Zika.
SARS or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome first emerged in China in 2002 and killed 774 people as it spread to Asian countries, the UK and Canada.
MERS or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome originated in the Middle East and killed 787 people.
How many people are affected?
The outbreak has killed 80 and the number of cases has so far risen to more than 2700.
All the deaths have been in the Hubei province, where the first illnesses were reported in December.
Authorities have warned the virus could mutate and spread further and many countries are bringing in screening processes amid concern of a global epidemic.
People in the city of Wuhan, the main affected area, are in quarantine.
The neighbouring city of Huanggang is also on lockdown.
What is coronavirus?
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause the common cold as well as more serious illnesses such as the Sars outbreak
Others found in bats, camels and other animals have evolved to cause more severe illnesses in humans.
Like SARS and MERS, the new coronavirus appears to have originated with animals.
Traces of the disease were found at a food market in Wuhan, China, which has been identified at the epicentre of the outbreak.
Items available to buy at the food market include seafood and chicken.
Officials said it was too early to compare the new virus with Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) or Mers (Middle East respiratory syndrome), in terms of how lethal it might be. They attributed the spike in new cases to improvements in detection and monitoring.
What are the causes and symptoms?
According to the Deputy Director of the National Health Commission Li Bin evidence has shown the disease has been transmitted through the respiratory tract and there is the possibility of viral mutation.
It means the virus is contagious and can spread from person to person by inhaling, coughing or sneezing.
Initial symptoms of the new coronavirus include fever, cough, tightness of the chest runny nose, headache and shortness of breath.
According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, shortness of breath, chills and body aches are associated with more dangerous kinds of coronaviruses.
Serious cases can lead to pneumonia, kidney failure and even death.
So far there isn’t a treatment for the new virus however scientists have identified markers, allowing health care professionals to make a quicker diagnosis of those infected.
Coronaviruses are named after the spikes that protrude from their membranes, like the sun’s corona.
Because SARS and MERS proved deadly, the emergence of a new coronavirus has been treated with caution.
Which areas in China have been affected by coronavirus?
The government of Wuhan, central China, first confirmed that hospitals were treating dozens of patients for pneumonia on December 31.
Many of the cases were connected to the Huanan Seafood Market which sold live poultry and exotic animal meats.
Thought to be a likely source of the virus, the market was closed and disinfected.
However, Wuhan health commission later revealed that the illness was also present in people who had not been exposed to the market, raising the possibility that the virus could be present at other locations in the city.
All 80 deaths occurring from the illness have been in Hubei, a province in central China.
The World Health Organisation said the new virus could spread further and has warned hospitals around the world..
China however has downplayed speculation that it could be a reappearance of the SARS epidemic, which killed hundreds in 2002 and 2003.
Local officials in Wuhan pledged to handle the outbreak with transparency.
Cases reported outside China
Thailand and Hong Kong have each reported eight cases of infection.
The United States, Australia, Taiwan and Macau have five cases of the illness each.
Japan, Singapore and Malaysia have each reported four cases. France became the first European country to confirm that the Wuhan coronavirus had reached its shores, with three cases so far..
South Korea has also reported three cases; Vietnam has two, and there has been one each so far in Canada and Nepal.
