Snakes may have given humans the novel coronavirus behind a pneumonia outbreak that began in a live animal market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, researchers say.

As the death toll from the virus, 2019-nCoV, jumped from six to 17, Chinese researchers announced they had identified a probable animal reservoir.

A team of researchers used genetic sequencing to search various potential host species for the closest match, including the many-banded krait and Chinese cobra — two types of snake common to southeastern China.

The results suggest 2019-nCoV is a combination: a coronavirus, found in bats that mixed with a strain of unknown origin, which infected snakes, before jumping to humans.