The coronavirus has been spreading throughout the world although it had mostly been seen in China as it is likely to have originated there.

This virus is very similar to SARS which plagued the country nearly 20 years ago killing hundreds of people.

According to NBC,

More than 540 people have been sickened and 17 have died since the start of the month, according to an NBC News analysis of data collected from China’s National Health Commission, province and city health departments, China Central Television, and the People’s Daily. China Central Television is a government-run station and People’s Daily is Communist Party-run.

While most of the cases and all of the deaths have occurred in China, officials fear that this week’s busy travel season, in advance of Saturday’s Lunar New Year, could accelerate the virus’ spread.

The Chinese government, which is looking to avoid a repeat of the 2003 SARS outbreak, has warned officials not to cover up the spread of the virus.

Due to how deadly this virus is and how it’s spreading, the Chinese city of Wuhan has quarantined 11 million people to try and prevent it from spreading further.

Fox News reported that the coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV, began at an animal and seafood market in the city of Wuhan and has since spread to several other countries, including the United States. The illness is now said to be transferable between humans.

As news of the virus spread and death tolls began to spike, many have begun to question how dangerous the new outbreak is. Coronaviruses, which get their name from their crown-like appearance, come in many types that cause illnesses in people and animals.

The virus is said to have come from and animal and with the city of Wuhan being under quarantine it only makes sense that the origin of this virus came from a dish that is known to Wuhan.

These people have been eating soup made from bats.

Scientists say that the bats were a host to the virus and that it spread through eating this disgusting soup.

I was going to include some photos of the soup here, but I decided I’d rather not. But if you want to see them, you can go here, but they are not for the squeamish.