Some say they ate cats and bats, and others say the got in close contact with cattle and camels in one way or another. The question still remains: What is it?

In late December 2019, a new disease that affects the lungs and other organs that allow a person to breathe and exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide throughout the body emerged.

It is caused by a virus. This new virus has a "surname" called Coronavirus. Its "first name" is "2019-nCoV" and it was first found in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.

The Coronavirus family has so many viruses in it and they are commonly found in animals, including camels, cattle, cats and bats.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) are members of the Coronavirus family which means they are brothers and/or sisters with the new 2019-nCoV. In rare cases whereby humans interact with and/or eat infected animals, these viruses can infect people and spread from one person to another.

For example, in 2014 MERS infected people in the Arabian Peninsula, and in February 2003 SARS infected humans in Asia and it spread to North America, South America and Europe.

So far, as I write this article on 29/01/2020 the new 2019-nCoV is spreading worldwide. There are 6061 confirmed cases of the virus in mainland China, including 132 deaths.

As of now, it is not clear how this virus spreads from one person to another, but experts suspect that it spreads in the same way that SARS and MERS did. This is through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, just like the same way people spread flu.

The signs and symptoms of this new disease include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. These may appear between two to fourteen days after infection.

Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent 2019-nCoV infection. To prevent exposure to it, you should not visit the affected places, avoid being in close physical contact with people from the affected areas, and also practise that personal hygiene your mama taught you from the day you were born.

If you are sick and you suspect that you have been infected with 2019-nCoV, go and see your doctor immediately.

Although the new Coronavirus has caused many deaths so far, I am sure very soon it will be contained and become a thing of the past.