Identified

By January 2020, investigators in China had traced the mysterious pneumonia cases in Wuhan to a previously unknown coronavirus. Early patients shared links to the Huanan Seafood Market, where live animals were sold, suggesting a potential zoonotic spillover. Genomic sequencing confirmed a novel betacoronavirus—later named SARS-CoV-2—with clear similarities to viruses circulating in bats. This discovery clarified that the infections were not caused by bacterial contamination or chemical exposure but by a rapidly spreading respiratory virus capable of human-to-human transmission. The finding marked the global warning that an emerging pathogen was already moving beyond its initial cluster across the broader region.