Rumor: A paper about the novel coronavirus published in The New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday (Jan 29) has sparked a storm of criticism among Chinese netizens, some of whom claim the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has withheld important information about the outbreak.

In the paper, a team of Chinese researchers, including those from the center, drew on data from 425 confirmed cases as of Jan 23 and stated "there is evidence human-to-human transmission has occurred among close contacts since the middle of December 2019."

The conclusion has led some people to believe such evidence had already been discovered by Chinese researchers in December. Some have accused researchers and CCDC officials of intentionally covering up the risk of transmission among people out of self-interest to gain academic clout.

Fact:

"The conclusion is a deduction based on a retrospective study that looks back on epidemiology research of infected cases," the CCDC said in a statement, reaffirming the risk of the virus spreading among people was not discovered at the onset of the outbreak in December.

The center said information about the 425 cases analyzed in the paper, including the infection of 15 medical workers, had already been released to the public before researchers conducted the study.

Evidence of person-to-person transmission of the coronavirus during the outbreak was first disclosed to the public by Zhong Nanshan - who leads a senior-level expert team convened by the National Health Commission - on Jan 20, before studies associated with the paper began.

The center added the prompt release of research results on the virus in academic journals is meant to share the latest information with scientists in China and abroad, joining efforts to evaluate the outbreak and improve control measures.