A pneumonia outbreak that has infected more than 50 people in the Chinese city of Wuhan was caused by a coronavirus, which is the same kind of pathogen involved in the deadly Sars outbreak in 2003, Chinese state media said on Thursday.
中国官方媒体周四报道，武汉爆发的一种导致逾50人感染的肺炎是由一种冠状病毒引起的，它与2003年爆发的致死性“非典”(SARS)疫情中的病原体属同一家族。（注：图为泰国曼谷机场人员检查来自武汉的中国游客。）
The outbreak, which comes ahead of the lunar new year holidays in late January when millions of Chinese will be travelling to see their families, has caused alarm in the region. The virus has prompted widespread concern on Chinese social media and triggered memories of the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or Sars, that infected more than 8,000 people worldwide and killed more than 700, including almost 300 in Hong Kong.
此次疫情的爆发在该地区引起了恐慌——此时正值1月底的春节假期前夕，无数中国人将回家探亲。引发此次疫情的病毒在中国社交媒体上引起了广泛关注，让人们回忆起了2003年严重急性呼吸综合征——又称非典——的爆发，当时，全球有逾8000人感染，逾700人死亡，其中香港因病致死的人数有近300人。
The World Health Organization said, in a statement issued on Thursday, the Chinese authorities believed the disease “does not transmit readily between people”, but noted that it could cause severe illness in some patients.
世界卫生组织(WHO)在周四发布的一份声明中称，中国当局表示这种疾病“未发现明确的人传人证据”，但指出它可在部分患者身上引发严重病症。
