It has already killed nine people and been contracted by hundreds of people, mostly in China but also in Japan, South Korea and the United States. The little-known coronavirus that appeared last month has prompted Beijing and other countries to take steps to stop its spread.
While the fear of a mutation of the virus has been clearly expressed by the Chinese authorities, the World Health Organization must decide this Wednesday whether or not it will declare the sixth "public health emergency of international scope" in its history.
What do we know about this virus?
The “2019-nCoV”, the name given by researchers to this virus, belongs to the family of coronaviruses. While they are often benign for humans, some of them can be dangerous. Appeared in China, SARS, a virus with which the 2019-nCoV shares many genetic commonalities, had killed nearly 800 people in 2003.
Both of them cause respiratory illnesses, but they could also have a comparable incubation period, researchers said. In the case of SARS, it lasts a maximum of two weeks. However, the symptoms of 2019-nCoV seem less worrying.
Other uncertainties remain, notably on the degree of contagiousness of 2019-nCoV. Human-to-human contamination is, however, "proven," as Zhiong Nanshan, a scientist with the Chinese National Health Commission, said earlier this week. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is done by "close contact".
How has it been transmitted to humans?
The first cases were detected in China a little over a month ago in people working in a market in Wuhan, a city in the heart of China with a population of no less than 11 million. It is on this market, closed by the authorities on January 1 and where dead and alive animals rubbed shoulders, that the virus would have passed from an animal to the man.
Coronavirus: mysterious virus born on a market worries China
What animal was carrying it? The answer is not yet known. Analyzes are underway to find out the identity of this famous host. The scenario, however, recalls that of the appearance of Sras. Before being transmitted to humans, the virus had mutated from the bat to the civet.
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This small mammal, very popular in China, has been banned from sale since the SARS epidemic. However, according to CNN images, civets were sold well in the Wuhan market. On Wednesday, the director of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that illegal sales of wild animals were taking place in this market, without specifying whether they were civets or other animals.
Where was it detected?
Detected in half of the Chinese provinces and in the two most populous cities of China, Shanghai and Beijing, the virus first spread to neighboring countries - Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand - before crossing the Pacific Ocean. On Tuesday, the United States announced the first case on its soil, a man in his thirties from Wuhan and living near Seattle, in the northwest of the country.
For the moment, no case has been detected in France. A Frenchman who presented with respiratory symptoms a few days after staying in Wuhan did not actually contract the virus. "All virological examinations are negative," announced Tuesday the Director General of Health, Jérôme Salomon. "The risk of introduction is low but cannot be excluded," said Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn on Tuesday.
What measures have been taken to prevent its spread?
Limiting the spread of the virus is imperative as hundreds of millions of Chinese prepare to travel the country to celebrate New Year's Eve with family. Beijing decided Tuesday to classify the new coronavirus in the same category as SARS, a decision which provides in particular for the compulsory isolation of infected people.
Preventive measures have also been put in place, such as ventilation and disinfection in airports, stations and shopping centers. The mayor of Wuhan encouraged the Chinese not to go to his city. Residents are also asked not to leave Wuhan.
A disinfection operation in a district of Shanghai
Several countries with direct or indirect air links to Wuhan, such as Thailand, Russia and the United States, have tightened controls on arriving passengers. In Los Angeles, New York or San Francisco, agents take the temperature of travelers to make sure they are not sick.
In France, precautionary messages are broadcast on direct flights to and from Wuhan, but the detection of the temperature of travelers from China is not on the agenda, this measure being considered "complex to put in place "and" not very effective ", according to Jérôme Salomon.