Ebola co-discoverer: New virus 'much, much worse'

The man who co-discovered the Ebola virus has warned that the new coronavirus is "much, much worse". Peter Piot told Sky News that unlike Ebola, which requires close contact with a victim, the new virus was "very infectious". "There's so much virus in the throat. So this is literally something you can catch by just talking to somebody," he said.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

Piot, currently the director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, equated the virus outbreak with the Spanish Flu.

The influenza outbreak infected 500 million around the world in 1918 and killed an estimated 50 million people. But he pointed out that at least this time around, the world was better equipped through antibiotics and specialist medical tools.