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- A coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, has killed at least 170 people and infected more than 7,000.
- Coronaviruses are zoonotic diseases, meaning they jump from animals to humans. Both this virus and SARS likely originated in bats, then jumped to people.
- According to experts, as people continue to trade wildlife, encroach on habitats, and interact with animals, epidemics like the current outbreak will keep happening.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
When Chinese authorities reported an outbreak of a new coronavirus in Wuhan, China, many public health experts had a similar thought: History was repeating itself.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which spread in China 17 years ago, was also a coronavirus. These zoonotic diseases originate in animals before jumping to people. Experts haven't yet confirmed which species was the original host of the new coronavirus, but "there's an indication that it's a bat virus," Vincent Munster, a scientist at Rocky Mountain Laboratories, told Business Insider.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- The flu is a far bigger threat to most people in the US than the Wuhan coronavirus. Here's why.
- Experts say the Wuhan coronavirus is more contagious but less deadly than SARS so far. Here's how the 2 outbreaks compare.
- Wuhan, China, and at least 15 other cities have been quarantined as China attempts to halt the spread of the coronavirus. That's about 50 million people on lockdown.
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