There have now been almost 10,000 cases of coronavirus, which has been declared a

global health emergency. The disease has spread to at least 17 countries.

Do people who have contracted coronavirus return to full health?

Yes. Many of those who contract coronavirus will experience only mild symptoms.
These include fever, coughing and respiratory problems.
Most people are expected to make a full recovery.But it can pose a particular risk
for elderly people and those with pre-existing problems
like diabetes or cancer, or weak immune systems.
How severe are the symptoms?
It seems to start with a fever, followed by a dry cough and then, after a week,
leads to shortness of breath and some patients needing hospital treatment.

Why China?
Prof Woolhouse says it is because of the size and density of the population and
close contact with animals harbouring viruses.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says the virus is a, public health emergency of
international concern - as it did with swine flu and Ebola.
It said it has done so in order to provide extra support to lower and middle-income
countries with weaker health systems that might not be able to
spot or isolate cases of coronavirus.

Are there any vaccines or treatments?

No.However, the work to develop them is already under way. It is hoped that
research into developing a vaccine for Mers, which is
also a coronavirus, will make this an easier job.
Patients are kept in isolation so they do not spread the virus; breathing support
is given to people with
the worst lung disease; and doctors manage the other conditions the patients have.
Wuhan - the centre of the outbreak - is building two new hospitals with beds for a
total of 2,300 people.

The coronavirus outbreak has killed at least 305 people and infected more than
14,300 globally, as it continues to spread beyond China.
One person outside mainland China, a man in the Philippines, has died.
Global spread: The virus has been confirmed in more than 25 countries and
territories since it was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December.
Countries are now sending planes to evacuate their citizens from the infection
zone, and imposing travel bans or restrictions on mainland China.

Where did the virus originate?

Chinese health authorities are still trying to determine the origin of the virus,
which they say likely
came from a seafood market in Wuhan where wildlife was also traded illegally.
The WHO also says an animal source appears most likely to be the primary source of
the outbreak.
On February 2, officials in Hubei said the virus had a 96 percent concordance with
an already-known
bat-borne coronavirus. Chinese scientists previously mentioned snakes as a possible
sources