COVID-19 is a disease caused by a respiratory virus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. This is a new virus that hasn?t caused illness in humans before.

COVID-19 is spread just like colds or flu The source of the coronavirus is believed to be a "wet market" in Wuhan which sold both dead and live animals including fish and birds.

Such markets pose a heightened risk of viruses jumping from animals to humans because hygiene standards are difficult to maintain if live animals are being kept and butchered on site. Typically, they are also densely packed.

The animal source of the latest outbreak has not yet been identified, but the original host is thought to be bats. Bats were not sold at the Wuhan market but may have infected live chickens or other animals sold there.

Bats are host to a wide range of zoonotic viruses including Ebola, HIV and rabies.