The lowdown on CORONAVIRUS

In January this year, a new strain of coronavirus, previously unidentified in humans, was confirmed by Chinese authorities, now known as 2019-nCoV. Coronaviruses have been around for years and are a large family of zoonotic viruses, meaning that they are initially transmitted between animals and humans before they are spread between people. Some previous strains for example, were transmitted to humans by cats or camels.

The symptoms

Regardless of the strain, coronaviruses can affect people of all ages, and cause respiratory illnesses ranging from mild colds to much more severe diseases that