Curiouser and curiouser.
An Italian study from last week suggests coronavirus possibly hit Europe in September 2019. Researchers published their findings in Tumori Journal looking at the presence of coronavirus antibodies within almost a thousand people involved in a lung cancer trial. SARS-CoV-2 RBD-specific antibodies were detected in 111 of 959 (11.6%) individuals, starting from September 2019 (14%), with a cluster of positive cases (>30%) in the second week of February 2020 and the highest number (53.2%) in Lombardy. This study shows an unexpected very early circulation of SARS-CoV-2 among asymptomatic individuals in Italy several months before the first patient was identified, and clarifies the onset and spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Finding SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in asymptomatic people before the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy may reshape the history of pandemic. Italy’s first coronavirus case was reported in January, however, a previous study in Italy suggested the virus was in their water supply in December. It’s no new theory that coronavirus may have been circling the globe sooner than China and the World Health Organization originally speculated. Doctors in France reported at least one pneumonia patient later tested positive for the virus in late December 2019. Again, before China reported the virus existed to the WHO. Understanding when the pandemic started and managing it now are two different topics. It’s certainly possible health systems could have responded quicker to the virus if its existence was reported sooner.
