It has already spread wider than SARS in 2003. It may not sweep the globe as swine flu did in 2009 but is more dangerous. It doesn't kill at anywhere near the terrifying pace of Ebola in 2014 but can be passed through the air.
Even as the number of new coronavirus cases in China appears to ebb, experts are preparing for a future with a disease that past pandemics have only hinted at.
China's lockdown of Hubei province, where the outbreak began, gave the world several weeks to throw up its defenses, global health officials said Tuesday. But it hasn't stopped the virus, with new cases popping up around the globe, potentially seeding a pandemic to come.