It's in the same family of viruses as the well-known severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which have killed hundreds of people in the past 17 years. The World Health Organization (WHO) has named the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV. This image is of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The Wuhan Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, where the coronavirus outbreak is believed to have started, is now closed. Reports indicate that snakes were sold in the local seafood market in Wuhan, raising the possibility that the 2019-nCoV might have jumped from the host species -- bats -- to snakes and then to humans at the beginning of this coronavirus outbreak.

Source: CNN January 23, 2020 00:27 UTC