研究表明美国疫情起始时间或更早丨Study may push back date COVID hit US
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Study may push back date COVID hit US 研究表明美国疫情起始时间或更早 A study of big data and epidemic models indicates with 50 percent probability that the first COVID-19 infection in the United States may have occurred between August and October 2019, and the earliest possible case was on April 26, 2019, in Rhode Island, according to a preprint of a study published on Wednesday. 周三，一项最新研究的预印本报告显示，结合大数据和传染病传播模型分析，美国新冠肺炎疫情首例感染发生率为50%的日期可能位于2019年8月至10月之间，首例病例位于罗德岛州，发生于2019年4月26日。 The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, is published on the Chinese preprint server ChinaXiv and is still undergoing peer-review. 该报告由中国科学技术大学与中国科学院大学发起，发布于中科院预印本平台。报告现处同行评议阶段。   After analyzing daily epidemic data published by local health authorities from 11 US states and the District of Columbia, the researchers said they are 50 percent confident that the first COVID-19 cases in the US emerged between August and October 2019, considerably earlier than the currently acknowledged date of the first confirmed US case, on Jan 20, 2020. 研究人员结合美国11个地州和哥伦比亚特区的卫生机构每日发布的疫情统计数据分析，在报告中美国新冠肺炎疫情中首例感染发生率为50%的日期多数位于2019年8月至10月之间，早于此前美国公布的首例病例出现时间2020年1月20日。 ， "The calculations show that the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States has a high probability of beginning to spread around September 2019," according to the paper. 报告显示，“计算结果表明，美国新冠疫情有较大概率于2019年9月前已开始流行。” The 11 states are New Jersey, Vermont, Virginia, Michigan, New Hampshire, Louisiana, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, Delaware and Rhode Island. 数据来源于以下11个州：新泽西州、佛蒙特州、弗吉尼亚州、密歇根州、新罕布什尔州、路易斯安那州、康涅狄格州、纽约州、宾夕法尼亚州、马里兰州、马萨诸塞州、特拉华州和罗德岛州。 "A series of previous studies showed that the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Brazil and other countries had been attacked by the coronavirus before its outbreak in China," the researchers wrote. 研究人员指出，此前一系列研究显示，美国、西班牙、法国、意大利、巴西等多国早在中国新冠疫情暴发前就已被新冠病毒侵袭。 Last week, a team of Laotian and French researchers published a preprint study saying they had discovered three coronaviruses found in horseshoe bats that live in northern Laotian limestone caves that are the closest known ancestors yet of the COVID-19 virus. 上周，老挝与法国的研究小组公布了一项预印本研究报告。报告指出，在生活在老挝北部石灰岩洞穴内部的马蹄蝠体内发现了三种冠状病毒，是目前已知最接近新冠病毒的始祖病毒。 These viruses share a key feature with SARS-CoV-2 in the part of its genome known as the receptor binding domain, a region that allows it to latch onto cells. This research supports the hypothesis that the COVID-19 virus originated from the horseshoe bat species. 这些病毒的基因组具有与新冠病毒几乎相同的受体结合区，该受体结合区让病毒得以与细胞结合。研究结果为新冠病毒源于马蹄蝠的假说提供了基础。 Last month, researchers from the University of Milan and the Italian National Institute of Health reported that a different version of the COVID-19 virus may have been circulating in Lombardy, northern Italy, as early as late summer 2019. 上月，来自米兰大学和意大利国家卫生研究院的研究人员报告称，早在2019夏末，意大利北部的伦巴第大区可能已经出现了另一种新冠病毒。 The Italian preprint study suggested that a wider geographical area and a broader time span should be considered when investigating the origins of the virus. 此项意大利预印本研究也提议，应将更大的地理范围与更长的时间线纳入新冠病毒的溯源研究。

1. preprint 英[ˈpri:ˈprɪnt]；美 [ˈpriˌprɪnt] adj. 预先印好的 n. 预印本；预行刊物。 
2. peer-review 英[ˌpɪər rɪˈvjuː]；美[ˌpɪr rɪˈvjuː]   n. 同行评审；同行评议；各领域专家互相评阅。
3. latch (onto) 英[lætʃ ˈɒntə]；美[lætʃ ˈɑːntə]   v. 拴住；缠住不放；依附；细胞结合；接受