What time did the new coronavirus circulate?



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This illustration shows a coronavirus particle in blood plasma showing the Y-shaped immunoglobulin G antibodies (IgG, light blue) bound to the coronavirus spike proteins (red). IgG antibodies are Y-shaped proteins produced by the white blood cells of B lymphocytes as part of an immune response. Immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies are also shown in light blue. (Image credit: JUAN GAERTNER / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via Getty)

At the end of December 2019, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission reported cases of unidentified viral infection. pneumonia, which, along with other reports, alerted the World Health Organization (WHO) of a potential new health threat that has been identified as a coronavirus in January 2020 and was subsequently named SARS-CoV-2.

But it became clear that the virus appeared before the end of December 2019, possibly even months before. A joint WHO study by Chinese and international researchers identified 174 SARS-CoV-2 infections throughout December, with the first dating back to December 8. Although most researchers believe the virus first appeared in the fall or winter of 2019, it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact time without more data. Finding out when SARS-CoV-2 started to spread among people could help prevent or control future epidemics and pandemics providing insight into the kind of disease surveillance that would have been needed to prevent it, experts say.

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