The new coronavirus: What is it and how does it behave?

Test tube with Corona virus name label is seen in this illustration taken on January 29, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

LONDON (Reuters) - Here are some key features of viruses and the new coronavirus that was identified in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December and is causing an outbreak of disease in China and beyond.

** Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that get their name from what they look like under a microscope - they are spherical and their surfaces are covered with "crown"-like spikes.