The number of new coronavirus cases being officially reported outside China has exceeded those reported by Beijing for the first time since the outbreak began.

Key points: WHO's director-general said the spread was "deeply concerning", but not a pandemic yet

WHO's director-general said the spread was "deeply concerning", but not a pandemic yet There are now 38 countries affected by coronavirus, including China

There are now 38 countries affected by coronavirus, including China A WHO mission will travel to Iran at the weekend to provide support

On Wednesday the World Health Organisation (WHO) said 459 new cases had been reported by 37 countries over the past 24 hours, compared with 412 by China.

"The sudden increases of cases in Italy, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Korea are deeply concerning," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

About 81,000 people around the globe have now been sickened by the coronavirus. More than 2,700 people have died since the outbreak began in December.

With Brazil confirming the arrival of Latin America's first case — a 61-year-old Brazilian who returned from Italy this month — the virus now has a toehold on every continent but Antarctica.

In Europe, where Germany, France and Spain are among the places with a growing caseload, an expanding cluster of 400 cases in northern Italy is being eyed as a source for transmissions.

On Thursday, Denmark confirmed its first coronavirus infection, in a man who returned from a ski holiday in northern Italy, the Danish health authority said.

The man was put in isolation in his own home.

In the Middle East, where cases have increased in Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq, blame is being directed towards Iran.

Infections linked to Iran had been confirmed in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman. ( Reuters: Stephanie McGehee )

In Asia, where the crisis originated late last year in China, threats are continuing to emerge around the region, with South Korea battling a mass outbreak centred in the 2.5 million-person city of Daegu.

But world health officials cautioned against the risks of unnecessary fears or stigma.

"We are in a fight that can be won if we do the right things," Dr Tedros said, cautioning that the outbreak was not yet a pandemic.

"Using the word pandemic carelessly has no tangible benefit, but it does have significant risk in terms of amplifying unnecessary and unjustified fear and stigma, and paralysing systems," he said.

"It may also signal that we can no longer contain the virus, which is not true."

Australian expert Ian Mackay, who studies viruses at the University of Queensland, said: "We're going to be trying to slow down the spread so that our hospitals are not overwhelmed in one big gulp, one big hit."

EU commissioner for health and food safety, Stella Kyriakides, said there was a need to avoid "misinformation and disinformation as well as xenophobic statements".

Dr Tedros said a WHO mission would travel to Iran at the weekend to provide support.

Nineteen people have died and 139 people have been infected by coronavirus in Iran, including the country's Deputy Health Minister, who announced his diagnosis in a press conference in which he coughed and was visibly sweating.

"We don't expect a miracle in the short term," Iran health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said.

Italy recorded 78 new infections and Greece announced its first case of the virus.

South Korea announced 284 new cases, largely in Daegu, bringing its total to 1,261.

China, still the epicentre of the crisis even as new outposts caught the world's attention, reported 52 more deaths. The country has a total of 78,604 cases of the virus and 2,715 fatalities.

There are now 38 countries affected by coronavirus, including China. ( Reuters: Tyrone Siu )

Trump accuses media of inflating problem

US President Donald Trump declared the US "very, very ready" for coronavirus, and put Vice-President Mike Pence in charge of overseeing the nation's response.

Earlier, Mr Trump had accused the media of presenting the danger from the coronavirus in as bad a light as possible and upsetting financial markets, as public health officials warned Americans to prepare for a likely outbreak.

Mr Trump wrote on Twitter that CNN and MSNBC, both of which frequently criticise him, "are doing everything possible to make [the coronavirus] look as bad as possible, including panicking markets," adding: "USA in great shape!"

At a later press conference, Mr Trump said the risk to American people from the virus remained "very low".

"We're ready to adapt and we're ready to do whatever we have to as the disease spreads, if it spreads," he said.

Officials at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the virus's global march had raised concern about its spread in the US, even as it remained unclear when that might happen, or how severe it might be.

Global stock markets have slumped in recent days due to worries over a prolonged disruption to supply chains and economies from the disease.

Mr Trump has been increasingly alarmed by the drop in the stock market, which he sees as key to his re-election.

During his visit to India, he praised US health officials while downplaying the virus's potential impact on the US.

US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the US had 59 coronavirus cases, including 42 American passengers repatriated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan.

There have been just two reported cases of person-to-person transmission within the US, both infected by people who had been to China.

Wires/ABC