Chinese social-media platform WeChat saw spikes in the terms ‘SARS,’ ‘coronavirus,’ and ‘shortness of breath,’ weeks before the first cases were confirmed, a study suggests [ARTICLE]

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A research paper released this week describes a surprising trend on the Chinese social-media platform WeChat: Usage of keywords related to the new coronavirus spiked more than two weeks before officials confirmed the first cases. The authors, five infectious-disease researchers in China, analyzed the prevalence of the terms "SARS," its Chinese equivalent "Feidian," "Coronavirus," "Shortness of breath," "Dyspnea," and "Diarrhea" in posts and searches on WeChat from November 17 to December 31. If confirmed, the findings might indicate that the coronavirus started circulating weeks before the first cases were officially diagnosed and reported. An inconsistent timeline of coronavirus cases The first cases of the novel coronavirus were reported in Wuhan, China at the end of December. One paper published by Chinese researchers in The Lancet analyzed the first 41 clinical cases and found that the first patient came down with flu-like symptoms on December 1. "The index for SARS behaved abnormally in the first three days in December with a peak on December 1, 2019," the report says. Usage of "Feidian," meanwhile, began to rise on December 15 and stayed at relatively high levels through December 29. Usage "Rose rapidly on December 29, 2019 with a peak on December 30, 2019," the researchers wrote. The World Health Organization and Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention first confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in Wuhan on December 31. The Chinese population is especially attuned to illnesses that resemble SARS , the researchers wrote. "In 2003, the SARS outbreak caused mass panic among people in China and approximately half of the victims were health care workers. Since then, Chinese physicians are alert to SARS and similar diseases.” The researchers added that if Chinese doctors were to see a cluster of patients with symptoms of viral pneumonia, it would be natural for them to think of SARS and mention Feidian on WeChat. A new type of medical surveillance Despite lingering questions about the observed WeChat trends, the researchers suggest their new study demonstrate sa way in which social-media keyword usage could be a medical-surveillance tool. Currently, the Chinese government relies on a countrywide medical-surveillance system created after the SARS outbreak to catch emerging diseases. SEE ALSO: A medical-surveillance system that China implemented after SARS led officials to discover the new coronavirus within 1 week here's how it works. Source | Create Website | Criar site | Crear sitio web | Créer un site Web