A SARS-like virus that has spread across China has been found to be contagious among humans.
Health workers are among those affected by the new coronavirus strain, which has killed three Chinese locals and affected four others across Thailand, Japan and South Korea.
The total number of people diagnosed with the virus has risen to 222.
The World Health Organization announced that a key emergency committee would meet this week to discuss the infections.
Australia's Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy says Australians should not be concerned yet.
The virus was first discovered in China's central city of Wuhan.
It has since caused alarm because of its connection to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS, which killed nearly 800 people globally during a 2002/03 outbreak that also started in China.
Its symptoms include fever and difficulty in breathing, similar to many other respiratory diseases.
Allen Cheng is an infectious disease and epidemiology expert from Monash University.
He says it's not entirely clear how infectious the virus is.
