Update: The article below was published, as the timestamp above indicates, in late January 2020. Much has changed since that time, and the information in the article below has become outdated or no longer applies; HuffPost is leaving it as it was originally reported, per our policy not to redact information that was correct at the time of publication. For more current information, please refer to HuffPosts latest coverage and some of the most frequently asked questions about the disease .

Previously:

By now, youve probably read a headline or two about coronavirus and how the first case appeared in the United States earlier this week.

The virus has been circulating around Wuhan, China , for about a month now, infecting several hundred people and killing at least 17 , according to the latest figures shared by Chinese health officials on Wednesday. Now that its in the U.S. specifically in Washington state youre probably wondering if were on the cusp of an outbreak, and if so, what your odds of getting sick are.

Infectious disease experts say we dont need to panic. Though health officials are still learning about the virus, it currently looks unlikely that well see an outbreak here in the U.S. That said, its good to be armed with information. Heres what we know about coronavirus so far:

What is coronavirus?

Coronavirus refers to a group of viruses known to cause respiratory infections. Some cases can be mild, whereas others involve more serious symptoms. The vast majority of coronavirus strains are benign, according to William Schaffner , medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. If you do contract coronavirus, its typically no worse than a cold.

Some coronavirus strains live in humans, and some live in animals. In the current outbreak in Wuhan, the virus was passed from an animal to a human, an event the World Health Organization calls a spillover event.

Every once in a while, one of these animal viruses gets rogue and jumps species from the animal species to the human, Schaffner told HuffPost.

The virus were currently seeing is novel to experts, its in an unusual host humans and appears to cause a very serious illness in certain people. At the very least, coronavirus can cause fever, cough and general malaise, similar to a cold. In more severe cases, it can lead to pneumonia, severe acute respiratory system problems, kidney failure and death, according to the WHO.

Health experts suspect it originated from live-animal markets in Wuhan, though the specific animal source is still unknown.

How coronavirus stacks up to other diseases

This coronavirus is, in some ways, similar to two other coronavirus strains that have caused outbreaks in the U.S.: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which struck in 2002, and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), which took off in 2012.

Both SARS and MERS caused serious and often fatal complications. SARS which infected 8,098 people and killed 774 worldwide was transmitted between humans, and originated from civets and bats. Like the new coronavirus, SARS is also thought to have come from live-animal markets.

MERS which sickened close to 2,500 and killed 858 didnt pass between humans easily and came from camels.

In general, both SARS and MERS appear to be more severe and life-threatening than the current coronavirus going around in Wuhan. SARS had a mortality rate of 9.6% and the MERS mortality rate was around 35% . With this new coronavirus, weve only seen 17 deaths.

Thats much less than we saw with SARS and with MERS, Schaffner said.

Coronavirus can pass between humans

How easily this particular coronavirus passes from person to person seems to fall somewhere in between MERS and SARS.

There is sufficient evidence to conclude that there is some human-to-human transmission. How much is uncertain at the present time, and of course, that will have a large determining factor on the seriousness of the public health problem, Schaffner said.

Its safe to presume that its transmitted through respiratory secretions or bodily fluids, which can be passed through something as simple as breathing, talking, coughing and sneezing. Researchers are still working to figure out how transmissible it is. Transmission likely requires close proximity to an infected person roughly three to six feet but its unknown how long it takes for someone to pass on the virus. It could take mere moments or require prolonged exposure.