TheCable

Coronavirus, a disease that was first recorded in China, has killed at least six persons in the Asian country, according to BBC.

Almost 300 persons have reportedly been infected with the virus described as a form of pneumonia.

Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that are common among animals. In rare cases, they are what scientists call zoonotic, meaning they can be transmitted from animals to humans.

Following the outbreak, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is considering declaring an international public health emergency.

The declaration, if made, will be seen as an urgent call for a coordinated international response.

On Monday, the Chinese National Health Commission confirmed for the first time that the infection could be transmitted from human-to-human.

It established that after two people in Guangdong province were infected. The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said at least 15 medical workers in the municipal – where the virus first broke out – have also been infected with the virus, with one in critical condition.

The workers presumably became infected with the virus due to contact with patients. All of them are being treated in isolation.

The US recorded its first case of the virus on Tuesday, according to The Washington Post. A man, who arrived Los Angeles from Wuhan in China, is said to have contracted the disease.

“Shortly afterward, he began feeling ill and reached out to his health-care provider on Sunday,” the report read.

“Local, state and federal officials quickly collected samples and sent them to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where his case was confirmed Monday as the coronavirus, which has sickened close to 300 people in China and others in Thailand, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.”