A total of 15 hospital staff have been infected by the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan city, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control.
However, sources with in-depth knowledge of the outbreak have now revealed that an increasing number of doctors and nurses are being seriously affected by the virus.
Last month, when the first outbreak was reported, it was previously classified as an unidentified pathogen.
Due to this, uninformed medical staff members who were caring for patients in hospitals were affected by the Wuhan virus, which is now identified to be easily transmittable by human contact.
At a press conference, Dr Yuen Kwok-Yung, an infectious disease specialist at Hong Kong University, suspects that the highly virulent disease was carried by a patient who is said to have infected at least 14 staff members at a hospital.
Earlier this week, Dr Yuen had visited Wuhan with other fellow doctors on the invitation of the Chinese Central Government.
Meanwhile, a doctor in Wuhan said that a dormitory facility at the hospital was being used to quarantine the affected medical staff.
Unauthorized to speak publicly on the issue, the unnamed doctor, confirms that there were more than 15 medical staff who were affected.
The outbreak has now spread to Huanggang, a nearby city some 75 kilometers away from Wuhan. The Hubei Health Commission confirmed that 5 medics from Huanggang have been infected.
The authorities at Beijing have taken forceful measures to curb the spread of the virus by halting public transportation in and out of Wuhan. This is a pre-emptive step to lock down the city which has a population of 11 million people.
Official figures reveal that coronavirus has claimed the lives of over 26 people and infected hundreds more in Wuhan alone.
