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As coronavirus continues to sweep across the globe brave volunteers are being asked to take part in a vaccine trial in an attempt to beat the killer bug.

An East London are looking for volunteers to be infected with a strain COVID-19 in an effort to develop an effective vaccine.

Those who put themselves forward can reportedly earn a whopping £3,500 (€4,046) but they will also have to spend two weeks in quarantine and have no contact with the outside world.

Volunteers will be kept in a unit at Queen Mary BioEnterprises Innovation Centre in Whitechapel.

They will be infected with two common strains of coronavirus, 0C43 and 229E, which cause only a mild respiratory illness.

These strains are different to the deadly COVID-19.

The unit will test up to 24 people at a time and are hoping to develop a vaccine by next winter.

The volunteers will have the symptoms of a cough and cold that would model COVID-19.

Researchers and pharmaceutical companies will test the efficacy of various antiviral medications on the patients over the two-week period.

What is the Coronavirus? Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that cause respiratory infections. There are seven known strains that can infect humans, including the new virus detected in China. They range in how serious they are, with some causing a common cold, and others causing pneumonia. To date, the most famous coronavirus is the SARS virus, which has a mortality rate of between 9% and 50%, depending on the age of the patient. Under a microscope, coronaviruses have a crown shape, which is where they get their name - 'corona' means crown in Latin. What are the symptoms of the China coronavirus? Health officials in China have reported that early symptoms of the new coronavirus include a high fever, shortness of breath, coughing and tightness of the chest. It causes viral pneumonia, and in severe cases it has led to kidney failure and death. People with weakened immune systems, babies and the elderly are particularly susceptible to coronaviruses. Is it contagious? While authorities initially believed that every single case of the new coronavirus was linked to the seafood market in Wuhan, China's National Health Commission has now confirmed that the disease can spread from person to person. At least two people have caught the new coronavirus from family members, and it's believed that health workers have also been infected. Coronaviruses are typically spread through the air, with infected people coughing or sneezing, or by close personal contact, such as shaking hands. It's also possible to be infected by touching an object or surface with the virus on it, and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes before washing your hands. Is it fatal? Numerous people have died of the coronavirus, although most are thought to have had pre-existing medical conditions. Is there a treatment for coronavirus? As the coronavirus is a virus, there is no treatment. Patients can be given pain medication to relieve the symptoms, but the virus will not respond to antibiotics.

Potential participants must provide details of their full medical history and undergo blood, urine and cardiac tests before being selected.

During their stay, volunteers will not be able have physical contact with anyone.

They will also not be allowed to exercise and the food the eat will be tightly controlled.

The only people they will see are doctors and nurses, who will enter the room wearing protective clothing to collect nasal swabs and blood tests.

Further details can be found at flucamp.com