{"id":1188,"date":"2021-12-16T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-16T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-19-may-have-spread-faster-in-the-u-s-because-the-first-symptom-was-cough\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T20:28:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T03:28:36","slug":"covid-spread-first-symptom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 may have spread faster in the U.S. because the first symptom was cough"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                          \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3600-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3600-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"COVID-19 may have spread faster in the U.S. because the first symptom was cough\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Coronavirus variants that caused coughing, rather than fever, as the first symptom of COVID-19 may have hastened the disease\u2019s spread. (Image Source: iStock.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=faculty\">Faculty<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>COVID-19 may have spread faster in the U.S. because the first symptom was cough<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  A study by USC Dornsife researchers finds that the order of symptoms in the first wave of COVID-19 varied among virus strains. <strong>[2\u00bc min read]<\/strong>\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Lance Ignon<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">December 16, 2021<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 4.0350274 1.058837 1.0874543 2.51831502 1.6884158 4.03502747 1.6884158 1.44087681 0 2.80427251-.5423678 3.86936601-1.5289606l.1656615-.1594552 2.2321428-2.2321428-1.6311813-1.6311813-2.2321429 2.26076c-.6581959.658196-1.5167124 1.0016026-2.43246332 1.0016026s-1.7742674-.3434066-2.43246337-1.0016026c-.65819597-.6581959-1.00160257-1.5167124-1.00160257-2.4324633 0-.8547009.2991453-1.6595442.87416905-2.2981957l.12743352-.1342677 2.23214286-2.2321429zm6.88661855-.40736607-5.26116068 5.26116075 1.61881868 1.6188186 5.2611607-5.2611607zm1.3837569-5.54501488c-1.4408768 0-2.8042725.54236779-3.869366 1.52896062l-.1656615.15945513-2.23214282 2.23214286 1.63118132 1.63118132 2.2321429-2.23214286c.6581959-.65819597 1.5167124-1.00160256 2.4324633-1.00160256s1.7742674.34340659 2.4324634 1.00160256 1.0016026 1.51671246 1.0016026 2.43246337c0 .85470089-.2991453 1.65954419-.8741691 2.29819559l-.1274335.1342678-2.2321429 2.2321428 1.5739469 1.5739469 2.2321429-2.2321428c1.0874542-1.058837 1.6884157-2.5183151 1.6884157-4.03502751 0-1.51671245-.6009615-2.94757326-1.6884157-4.03502747-1.058837-1.08745421-2.518315-1.68841575-4.0350275-1.68841575z\" transform=\"translate(-3 -3)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Copy Link<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_facebook\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#facebook\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Facebook\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_facebook\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m23.9512 6h-16.9024c-.57923625 0-1.0488.46956375-1.0488 1.0488v16.9024c0 .5792362.46956375 1.0488 1.0488 1.0488h9.10024v-7.34768h-2.46772v-2.87584h2.46772v-2.11508c0-2.45404 1.49872-3.79012 3.68828-3.79012.7389668-.00263323 1.4775241.03516995 2.21236.11324v2.56348h-1.51392c-1.18788 0-1.4174.56544-1.4174 1.39612v1.8316h2.84772l-.37088 2.87584h-2.47684v7.34844h4.83284c.5792362 0 1.0488-.4695638 1.0488-1.0488v-16.9024c0-.57923625-.4695638-1.0488-1.0488-1.0488z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -6)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Facebook<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_twitter\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#twitter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"X\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_twitter\">\n              <svg version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" x=\"0px\"\n\t y=\"0px\" viewBox=\"0 0 30 30\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 30 30\" xml:space=\"preserve\" width=\"19\" height=\"19\">\n<path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M14.5,16.2l-0.8-1.1l-6.3-9h2.7l5.1,7.3l0.8,1.1\n\tl6.6,9.4h-2.7L14.5,16.2L14.5,16.2z M16.9,13.4l7.4-8.7h-1.8l-6.5,7.5L11,4.8H5l7.8,11.4L5,25.2h1.8l6.8-7.9l5.5,7.9h6L16.9,13.4\n\tL16.9,13.4z\"\/>\n<\/svg>\n\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">X<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#linkedin\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Linkedin\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_linkedin\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m25 21.4220779c0 1.974026-1.6038961 3.5779221-3.5779221 3.5779221h-11.84415582c-1.97402598 0-3.57792208-1.6038961-3.57792208-3.5779221v-11.84415582c0-1.97402598 1.6038961-3.57792208 3.57792208-3.57792208h11.84415582c1.974026 0 3.5779221 1.6038961 3.5779221 3.57792208zm-14.5584416-12.21428569c-.98701295 0-1.60389606.61688311-1.60389606 1.48051949-.12337663.8636364.49350649 1.4805195 1.48051946 1.4805195.987013 0 1.6038961-.6168831 1.6038961-1.4805195 0-.86363638-.6168831-1.48051949-1.4805195-1.48051949zm1.3571429 12.70779219v-8.6363636h-2.83766234v8.6363636zm10.2402597 0v-4.9350649c0-2.5909091-1.3571428-3.8246753-3.3311688-3.8246753-1.4805195 0-2.0974026.8636363-2.4675325 1.4805194v-1.2337662h-2.8376623v8.6363636h2.8376623v-4.9350649c0-.2467532 0-.4935065.1233767-.7402597.1233766-.4935065.6168831-.987013 1.4805194-.987013.987013 0 1.4805195.7402597 1.4805195 1.974026v4.564935z\" transform=\"translate(-6 -6)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">LinkedIn<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_bluesky\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#bluesky\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Bluesky\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_bluesky\">\n              <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\">\n                <path fill=\"#00000\" d=\"M12 10.8c-1.087-2.114-4.046-6.053-6.798-7.995C2.566.944 1.561 1.266.902 1.565C.139 1.908 0 3.08 0 3.768c0 .69.378 5.65.624 6.479c.815 2.736 3.713 3.66 6.383 3.364c.136-.02.275-.039.415-.056c-.138.022-.276.04-.415.056c-3.912.58-7.387 2.005-2.83 7.078c5.013 5.19 6.87-1.113 7.823-4.308c.953 3.195 2.05 9.271 7.733 4.308c4.267-4.308 1.172-6.498-2.74-7.078a8.741 8.741 0 0 1-.415-.056c.14.017.279.036.415.056c2.67.297 5.568-.628 6.383-3.364c.246-.828.624-5.79.624-6.478c0-.69-.139-1.861-.902-2.206c-.659-.298-1.664-.62-4.3 1.24C16.046 4.748 13.087 8.687 12 10.8\"  fill-rule=\"evenodd\" \/>\n              <\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Bluesky<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_email\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#email\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"E-mail\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_print\">\n              <svg height=\"12\" viewBox=\"0 0 18 12\" width=\"18\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>The strain of COVID-19 virus that was circulating in the United States and Europe during the first wave of the pandemic may have been particularly infectious because the most common first symptom was likely a cough, according to a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/ploscompbiol\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1009629.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study<\/a>\u00a0led by researchers from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Science.<\/p>\n<p>The study suggests that people infected with what was the world\u2019s most infectious strain of COVID-19 in May 2020, and the most dominant strain in the U.S. two months later,\u00a0were likely to experience a cough as their first symptom, followed by\u00a0fever.<\/p>\n<p>The greater transmissibility of that variant \u2014\u00a0D614G \u2014\u00a0might be explained by infected individuals coughing and spreading the virus before they were incapacitated by fever.\u00a0The research was conducted at the <a href=\"https:\/\/michelson.usc.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience<\/a> in the Convergent Science Institute in Cancer led by Peter Kuhn. COVID-19 is most commonly spread through respiratory droplets, often amplified by a cough of symptomatic patients.<\/p>\n<p>Conversely, those infected with the COVID-19 variant during the initial outbreak in China, the Wuhan reference strain, probably experienced fever as their first symptom, followed by cough.<\/p>\n<p>Studying the likely order of symptoms, in addition to how the disease spreads, can inform additional research and health care about how people experience the disease.<\/p>\n<p>The study, which was published today by\u00a0<i>PLOS Computational Biology<\/i>, also noted that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In Japan, it\u2019s likely a fever was the initial symptom when the Wuhan reference strain was dominant there. When the D614G variant supplanted it, a cough was likely the first symptom. This finding validates similar results from other geographical regions and supports the hypothesis that a cough occurs earlier in the D614G variant than the Wuhan reference strain.<\/li>\n<li>The predicted symptom order was not altered by region, weather, patient age or comorbidity.<\/li>\n<li>The study did not answer the question of whether the order of symptoms found in the initial waves of the pandemic holds true for current variants.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Expert Analysis<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cWith the emergence of new variants and the likelihood COVID-19 becomes endemic in the population, it\u2019s important that researchers continue to show how viral variants affect progression of symptoms and disease in individuals and populations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cf\/faculty-and-staff\/faculty.cfm?pid=1057916\">Peter Kuhn<\/a>,\u00a0Dean\u2019s Professor of Biological Sciences and professor of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/bisc\">biological sciences<\/a>, medicine, biomedical engineering, aerospace and mechanical engineering and urology at\u00a0USC Dornsife<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStudying the likely order of symptoms may increase our understanding of how disease spreads and further inform future research and health care on how individuals are likely to experience disease.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Joseph Larsen, graduate researcher at USC\u2019s Convergent Science Institute of Cancer and doctoral candidate in USC Dornsife\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.qcb-dornsife.usc.edu\/\">Quantitative and Computational Biology Department<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Background<\/h2>\n<p>The latest findings expand on research that Kuhn and his collaborators published in August 2020 that discovered\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/3292\/coronavirus-covid-19-symptoms-in-order-of-onset\/\">the order of symptoms<\/a>\u00a0from the Wuhan reference strain.\u00a0The discovery was based on a mathematical model using data from an outbreak in China in early 2020.<\/p>\n<h2>About the study<\/h2>\n<p>In addition to Kuhn and Larsen, study co-authors were James Hicks,\u00a0professor (research) of biological sciences\u00a0at USC Dornsife, Margaret Martin at Tufts University and John Martin at Materia Therapeutics. Kuhn, Hicks and Larsen are also associated with the\u00a0USC Michelson Center.<\/p>\n<p>Funding support came from the Hsieh Family Foundation and the Kathy &amp; Richard Leventhal Research Fund. Larsen also had support from USC Dornsife and the Schlegel Family Endowment Fellowship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/why-low-covid-19-vaccination-among-children\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Why are COVID-19 vaccination rates among children so low? Parents\u2019 worry about long-term risks, responsibility<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/time-sensitive-research-at-warp-speed\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >How scholars conduct time-sensitive research at warp speed<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/moral-values-and-vaccine-acceptance\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Moral values explain differences in COVID-19 vaccination rates across U.S. counties<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A study by USC Dornsife researchers finds that the order of symptoms in the first wave of COVID-19 varied among virus strains. <strong>[2\u00bc min read]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":1191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,16],"tags":[117,62,202,61,300,86],"class_list":["post-1188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty","category-science-and-technology","tag-biology","tag-covid-19","tag-michelson-center-for-convergent-bioscience","tag-pandemic","tag-peter-kuhn","tag-quantitative-and-computational-biology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>COVID-19 may have spread faster in the U.S. because the first symptom was cough<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A study by USC Dornsife researchers finds that the order of symptoms in the first wave of COVID-19 varied among virus strains.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COVID-19 may have spread faster in the U.S. because the first symptom was cough\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A study by USC Dornsife researchers finds that the order of symptoms in the first wave of COVID-19 varied among virus strains.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"USC Dornsife News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-16T19:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-28T03:28:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3600.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"520\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Margaret Crable\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uscdornsife\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uscdornsife\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Margaret Crable\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/079941d34348eaa3a2f145191f66290c\"},\"headline\":\"COVID-19 may have spread faster in the U.S. because the first symptom was cough\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-16T19:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-28T03:28:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/\"},\"wordCount\":15,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3600.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"biology\",\"covid-19\",\"michelson center for convergent bioscience\",\"pandemic\",\"peter kuhn\",\"quantitative and computational biology\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Faculty\",\"Science and Technology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/\",\"name\":\"COVID-19 may have spread faster in the U.S. because the first symptom was cough\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3600.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-16T19:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-28T03:28:36+00:00\",\"description\":\"A study by USC Dornsife researchers finds that the order of symptoms in the first wave of COVID-19 varied among virus strains.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3600.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3600.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":520,\"caption\":\"COVID-19 may have spread faster in the U.S. because the first symptom was cough\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"COVID-19 may have spread faster in the U.S. because the first symptom was cough\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/\",\"name\":\"USC Dornsife News\",\"description\":\"USC Dornsife news and events\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"USC Dornsife News\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/01\/USC-Dornsife-Cardinal-Black-on-White-RGB.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/01\/USC-Dornsife-Cardinal-Black-on-White-RGB.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":330,\"caption\":\"USC Dornsife News\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/uscdornsife\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uscdornsife\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/USCCollege\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/uscdornsife\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/079941d34348eaa3a2f145191f66290c\",\"name\":\"Margaret Crable\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6791ff163203ae7627b9daae41a5c65889c50dd161b0f2d259103ec9db9e64e4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6791ff163203ae7627b9daae41a5c65889c50dd161b0f2d259103ec9db9e64e4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Margaret Crable\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/author\/mcrable\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"COVID-19 may have spread faster in the U.S. because the first symptom was cough","description":"A study by USC Dornsife researchers finds that the order of symptoms in the first wave of COVID-19 varied among virus strains.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"COVID-19 may have spread faster in the U.S. because the first symptom was cough","og_description":"A study by USC Dornsife researchers finds that the order of symptoms in the first wave of COVID-19 varied among virus strains.","og_url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/","og_site_name":"USC Dornsife News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife","article_published_time":"2021-12-16T19:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-28T03:28:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":520,"url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3600.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Margaret Crable","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@uscdornsife","twitter_site":"@uscdornsife","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/"},"author":{"name":"Margaret Crable","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/079941d34348eaa3a2f145191f66290c"},"headline":"COVID-19 may have spread faster in the U.S. because the first symptom was cough","datePublished":"2021-12-16T19:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-28T03:28:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/"},"wordCount":15,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3600.jpg","keywords":["biology","covid-19","michelson center for convergent bioscience","pandemic","peter kuhn","quantitative and computational biology"],"articleSection":["Faculty","Science and Technology"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/","name":"COVID-19 may have spread faster in the U.S. because the first symptom was cough","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3600.jpg","datePublished":"2021-12-16T19:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-28T03:28:36+00:00","description":"A study by USC Dornsife researchers finds that the order of symptoms in the first wave of COVID-19 varied among virus strains.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3600.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3600.jpg","width":800,"height":520,"caption":"COVID-19 may have spread faster in the U.S. because the first symptom was cough"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/covid-spread-first-symptom\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"COVID-19 may have spread faster in the U.S. because the first symptom was cough"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/","name":"USC Dornsife News","description":"USC Dornsife news and events","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization","name":"USC Dornsife News","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/01\/USC-Dornsife-Cardinal-Black-on-White-RGB.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/01\/USC-Dornsife-Cardinal-Black-on-White-RGB.jpg","width":1000,"height":330,"caption":"USC Dornsife News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife","https:\/\/x.com\/uscdornsife","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uscdornsife\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/USCCollege","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/uscdornsife"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/079941d34348eaa3a2f145191f66290c","name":"Margaret Crable","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6791ff163203ae7627b9daae41a5c65889c50dd161b0f2d259103ec9db9e64e4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6791ff163203ae7627b9daae41a5c65889c50dd161b0f2d259103ec9db9e64e4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Margaret Crable"},"url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/author\/mcrable\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1188"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1188\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27050,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1188\/revisions\/27050"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}