AKIPRESS.COM - An apparent surge in traffic outside Wuhan hospitals from August 2019 may suggest the coronavirus hit the area earlier than reported, a study says, BBC reports. 

Harvard researchers say satellite images show an increase in traffic outside five hospitals in the city from late August to December.

The traffic spike coincided with a rise in online searches for information on symptoms like "cough" and "diarrhoea".

China said the study was "ridiculous" and based on "superficial" information.

It is believed that the virus first appeared in China some time in November. Authorities reported a cluster of pneumonia cases with an unknown cause to the World Health Organization (WHO) on 31 December 2019.

"Clearly, there was some level of social disruption taking place well before what was previously identified as the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic", Dr John Brownstein, who led the research, told ABC news.

The study has not been peer-reviewed.