Australian scientists have become the first outside China to grow the Wuhan coronavirus, in a breakthrough that is hoped will speed up diagnosis and aid in the development of a vaccine.

Scientists from Melbourne's Doherty Institute used a patient sample that arrived at Royal Melbourne Hospital on Friday to successfully grow the virus, announcing their "game-changing" development on Wednesday morning.

Doherty Institute screengrab of coronavirus and medical workers in Wuhan. Credit:Doherty Institute, AP

Julian Druce, head of the Doherty Institute's virus identification lab, said up to now health authorities have been using the genome sequence of the novel coronavirus to identify cases.

"Having the real virus means we now have the ability to actually validate and verify all test methods, and compare their sensitivities and specificities. It will be a game-changer for diagnosis," he said.