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Shocking CT and X-ray images of those diagnosed with coronavirus show how the virus affects the lungs.

The images, released by the Radiological Society of North America, show what radiologists call ground glass opacity - the partial filling of air spaces.

They include those of a 44-year-old Chinese man who died from coronavirus. He was a transportation staff member at the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, where Covid-19 is thought to have originated.

The abnormalities identified by doctors in the scans are similar to those found in patients infected with SARS and MERS.

The scan of the market worker shows how fluid in spaces of the man’s lungs became more pronounced over time.

He was admitted to hospital on December 25 last year after having a fever and cough for nearly two weeks.

He was diagnosed with pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome but, despite treatment, died a week later.

Another scan shows the recovery of a 42-year-old man from Wuhan.

A series of scans starting seven days after he started showing symptoms show the opacities gradually worsening but after day 19 they show his lungs are healing. After day 31 the scans show a complete recovery.

The release of the images come as the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic after the number of global cases passed 112,000 and death toll neared 4,500.