While the UN health agency said it needed more comprehensive information to confirm precisely the type of pathogen causing the infections, it said a new coronavirus was a possibility. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause infections ranging from the common cold to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars). Some of the virus types cause less severe disease, while some – like the one that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) – are far more severe.
“The initial information about the cases of pneumonia in Wuhan ... pointed to a coronavirus as a possible pathogen causing this cluster,” the WHO said in a statement.
