Experts are concerned rising caseloads suggest the coronavirus may make its way across the world, according to an article on The New York Times website.
Scientists do not yet know how lethal the new coronavirus but there is growing consensus that it is readily transmitted between humans.
The coronavirus is spreading more like influenza than like its slow-moving viral cousins, SARS and MERS, the article said.
In the last weeks, the number of lab-confirmed cases has grown from about 50 in China to more than 17,000 in at least 23 countries; there have been more than 360 deaths.