The deadly coronavirus outbreak in China could have spread from bats to humans through the illegal traffic of pangolins - the world's only scaly mammals which are prized in Asia for food and medicine.

The pangolin is one of Asia's most trafficked mammals, although protected by international law, because its meat is considered a delicacy in countries such as China and its scales are used in traditional medicine.

"This latest discovery will be of great significance for the prevention and control of the origin (of the virus)," South China Agricultural University, which led the research, said in a statement on its website.

Image: The mammal's scales are used in traditional medicine

The news came as:

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose to 636, with more than 31,000 people infected globally

outbreak rose to 636, with more than 31,000 people infected globally A British man on board a cruise ship has been diagnosed with the coronavirus while on his honeymoon

while on his honeymoon The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned of a chronic shortage of gowns, masks, gloves and other protective equipment in the fight against the spreading epidemic

The head of the WHO said a drop in the number of new virus cases for two days is "good news" but warned "the numbers could go up again"

Hong Kong said it may jail or fine anyone who fails to observe the two-week quarantine for arrivals from mainland China

A doctor who tried to warn others about the coronavirus outbreak in December died from the infection.

The outbreak, which has killed more than 600 people in mainland China, is believed to have started in a market in the city of Wuhan, in central Hubei province that also sold live wild animals.


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Health experts think it may have originated in bats and then passed to humans, possibly via another species.

The genome sequence of the novel coronavirus strain separated from pangolins in the study was 99% identical to that from infected people, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.

It added that the research found that pangolins to be "the most likely intermediate host".

But Dirk Pfeiffer, professor of veterinary medicine at Hong Kong's City University, said the study was still a long way from proving pangolins transmitted the virus.

"You can only draw more definitive conclusions if you compare prevalence (of the coronavirus) between different species based on representative samples, which these almost certainly are not," he said.

Even then, a link to humans via food markets still needs to be established, Prof Pfeiffer added.

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