Expert: Virus vaccine possible by Sep at earliest

An expert in infectious diseases on Monday said it was possible there could be a vaccine against the new virus originating in China "at the very earliest" by September.

Chair of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College London, Professor Azra Ghani, added "it's more likely to be towards the end of the year".

She spoke on the same day Britain declared the virus a "serious and imminent threat to public health'' and announced new measures to combat the spread of the disease.

The change came after a British man who caught the virus at a business conference in Singapore in January appeared to be linked to at least seven other confirmed cases in Europe.

Five British citizens, including a 9-year-old boy, contracted the virus in the French Alpine ski town of Contamines-Montjoie after staying in the same chalet as the British man.

French medical authorities tested scores of children and their families Sunday from the area for the new virus and temporarily closed three schools where the boy had spent time.

China on Monday said 908 people had died of the virus on the mainland and over 40,170 had been infected.

More than 360 cases have been confirmed outside mainland China, including two deaths in Hong Kong and the Philippines.