WUHAN, CHINA — A new virus from the Chinese city of Wuhan has made 440 people sick, at least nine of whom have died, as of Wednesday, Reuters reports, citing China's National Health Commission.

The state-run Xinhua news agency on Monday reported that the commission confirmed the virus is capable of human-to-human transmission.

According to NBC, a man who recently visited Wuhan and lives alone near Seattle became the first case of the virus in the U.S.

The man fell ill and read about the outbreak online before he contacted his doctor.

Citing U.S. officials, the network reports that he was sequestered but is doing well.

Taiwan's Liberty Times reports that a Taiwanese woman working in Wuhan got sick and decided to return to Taiwan because she did not trust Chinese hospitals.

The woman informed the flight crew of her condition and was sent to a hospital upon landing. She is confirmed to have been infected.

The novel coronavirus's rapid spread from across China to Thailand, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan has sparked fears of a larger epidemic.

The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission states that the novel coronavirus' symptoms include fever, respiratory difficulties, coughing and invasive lesions on both lungs."

China's state-run CCTV reports that scientists identified the pathogen as a coronavirus by its microscopic appearance and its novel strain by genetic analysis.

According to the BBC, the new virus resembles SARS and is one of the seven coronaviruses that prey on humans.