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A 55 - year - old person from Hubei responsibility inChinamay have been the first somebody to have contracted COVID-19 , the disease due to the new coronavirus propagate across the globe . That case dates back to Nov. 17 , 2019 , according to theSouth China Morning Post .

That ’s more than a month originally than doctors note cases in Wuhan , China , which is in Hubei province , at the end of December 2019 . At the metre , authorities suspected the virus staunch from something betray at a wet securities industry in the city . However , it ’s now clear that early inwhat is now a pandemic , some septic people had no connection to the market place . That include one of the earliest cases from Dec. 1 , 2019 in an individual who had no link to that seafood marketplace , researchers reported Jan. 20 in the journalThe Lancet .

A transmission electron microscope image of a coronavirus.

A transmission electron microscope image of a coronavirus.

scientist now suspect this coronavirus , SARS - CoV-2 , spring up in a bat and somehow hop to another animal , possibly the pangolin , which then guide it on to humans . The disease is now broadcast between mass without any animal go-between .

Now , doctors and scientist are trying to describe the computer virus back to where it originated to learn more about its counterpane . If , for instance , doctors can chance the earliest cases , they may be able to identify the animal server where the computer virus lollygag .

They establish that following the Nov. 17 case , about one to five new cases were reported every day and by Dec. 15 , the total infections reached 27 . day-to-day cases seem to have increase after that , with the case count reaching 60 by Dec. 20 , the SCMP report .

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On Dec. 27 , Dr. Zhang Jixian , headspring of the respiratory section at Hubei Provincial Hospital , cover to health officials in China that a novel coronavirus was cause the disease ; by that day , it had infected more than 180 person . ( Doctors may not have been aware of all of those case at the metre , but only identified those causa after go back over the phonograph recording , the Morning Post reported . )

Even with this Nov. 17 case identified , medico ca n’t be sure the someone is " patient zero , " or the very first somebody to have been infect with SARS - CoV-2 , and there ’s a hazard even earlier cases will be found , the SCMP reported .

As of March 13 , there were well-nigh 148,000 cases globally and more than 81,000 cases in mainland China , with cases on every continent except Antarctica . scientist are proceed to canvass the virus and study on intervention , include a vaccine . A clinical trial of such a vaccine has already started recruiting Tennessean in Seattle , Live Science reported .

Illustration of coronavirus particles. Coronaviruses are a group of viruses named for their appearance under electron microscopy, where their round-tipped surface spikes make them resemble a crown.

— Coronavirus in the US : Map & case — What are the symptoms?—How deadly is the new coronavirus?—How long does virus last on surfaces?—Is there a cure for COVID-19?—How does it compare with seasonal flu?—How does the coronavirus spread?—Can multitude broadcast the coronavirus after they recover ?

earlier published onLive Science .

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a photo of a syringe pointing at the Democratic Republic of the Congo on a map

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A high-resolution microscope image of a particle of a hantavirus against an enlarged, blurred version of the same image. The virus is blue, green and black.

Researcher examining cultures in a petri dish, low angle view.

a photo of agricultural workers with chickens

Artist�s impression of the measles virus

A woman lies in bed looking tired and sick

A doctor places a bandaids on a patient�s arm after giving them a shot

An illustration of Y shaped antibodies in front of a coronavirus particle, blurred in the background

An older man stands in front of the National Covid Memorial Wall in London in the UK.

A young woman in a surgical mask sit in a doctor�s office as a doctor cleans her arm for a vaccination

an open box of astrazeneca vaccine vials, with one vial pulled out to show the label

An image comparing the relative sizes of our solar system�s known dwarf planets, including the newly discovered 2017 OF201

a person holds a GLP-1 injector

A man with light skin and dark hair and beard leans back in a wooden boat, rowing with oars into the sea

an MRI scan of a brain

A photograph of two of Colossal�s genetically engineered wolves as pups.

an abstract image of intersecting lasers