BRUSSELS, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on Wednesday updated its assessment for the risks of the further spreading of a novel coronavirus that has infected hundreds in China and the adjacent area.

It said that Chinese health authorities have confirmed human-to-human transmission and 15 healthcare workers have been reported to have infected with the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Wuhan, central China.

While the original source of the outbreak remains unknown, ECDC considered there is a moderate likelihood of infection for EU/EEA (European Union/European Economic Area) travelers visiting Wuhan, and a moderate likelihood of detecting cases imported into EU/EEA countries.

In its previous risk assessment a week ago, ECDC put the potential level of EU/EEA travelers' infection at low, and considered the risk of importation to EU/EEA to be low as well.