Coronavirus warning: Spread of coronavirus ‘MUCH worse’ than deadly Ebola outbreak

The head of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Professor Peter Piot, said the disease outranked Ebola in terms of severity.

He told Sky News: “This is much, much worse than Ebola.

“Ebola requires very close contact for transmission. People are very scared of it, but frankly it is usually very contained. There are some exceptions.

“But because it is a respiratory transmitted virus, that makes it so worrisome.”

“It’s very infectious because there’s so much virus in your throat.

“So this is literally something you can catch by talking to somebody, which is not the case with other viruses.”

Professor Piot is a Belgian microbiologist who has conducted research into emerging viruses such as Ebola and AIDS.

In the same year as the first Ebola virus was discovered, 1976, Professor Piot also became one of the pioneering researchers into AIDS – the life threatening illness which arises from the HIV virus. 

The scientist added coronavirus has the potential to become “a really bad situation”. 

In his interview, he also criticised the decision of President Donald Trump to place a travel ban on flights from mainland Europe to the United States.

It appears only countries within the Schengen Agreement – those European states which have abolished passport and border control – will be affected by the ban.

However, Professor Piot described the move as “pretty bizarre”

He added: “The US has in-country transmission, lots of cases,” he said.

“I can only think that this is a political decision. It’s hard to imagine that this would have any impact.”

This is a breaking news story. More to follow…