The worm first appeared on 20 January 1999.[8] Media reports of the worm started coming in from the United States and Europe, in addition to numerous complaints on newsgroups from users that had become infected with the worm.[9] Asia Pulse reported 74 cases of the virus from Japan in February, and 181 cases were reported in March—a monthly record at the time.[10][11] On 3 March 1999, a Tokyo job company accidentally sent 4000 copies of the virus to 30 universities in Japan.[12]