BEIJING (Reuters) - A new virus that has killed nine people is adapting and mutating, underscoring the challenges for health authorities in controlling the outbreak, a Chinese health official said on Wednesday.

The coronavirus originated from a market with illegal wildlife transactions, Gao Fu, the director-general of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told a news briefing.

The virus, originating in the central city of Wuhan at the end of last year, has spread to Beijing and Shanghai, as well as overseas to the United States, Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

(This story has been refiled to correct typo in 2nd paragraph to “wildlife” from “widelife”)