WHO: Wuhan pneumonia outbreak may be linked to new type of virus from same family of viruses that caused SARS, MERS

LONDON (Reuters): A cluster of more than 50 pneumonia cases in the central Chinese city of Wuhan may be due to a newly emerging member of the family of viruses that caused the deadly SARS and MERS outbreaks, World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday (Jan 8).

While the United Nations health agency said it needed more comprehensive information to confirm precisely the type of pathogen causing the infections, it said a new coronavirus was a possibility.