THE’coronavirus epidemic in Italy would have started much earlier than previously thought. A study conducted by the Italian Higher Institute of Health informed that it had found traces of Covid-19 in wastewater samples taken in Milan and Turin in December 2019.
Tracce di #SARS-CoV-2 in December 2019 nelle acque di scarico di Milano e Torino, scoperte da uno studio ISS. I campioni prelevati utilizzati come ‘spia’ della circolazione del virus nella popolazione. Per deepen leggi il comunicato: https://t.co/1LGsSmpIWP
– ISS (@istsupsan) June 18, 2020
Officially, the first case of coronavirus in Italy was detected in Bologna on February 20, 2020, in Codogno, not far from Milan. But it would have infected long before that, if we are to believe the results of analyzes of the sewage.
The Institute of Health compared samples from October 2019, November 2019, December 2019 and this until February 2020. If those from October and November reveal nothing, those from December are eloquent. To be sure, two laboratories treated them with two different methods.
The coronavirus already in Europe in December
On January 29, 2020, Bologna wastewater also revealed the presence of Covid-19. This phenomenon indicates that the virus was already circulating, a little before what we thought. This was also observed in Barcelona, 40 days before identifying the first case.
Same situation in France. TOwhen one thought the first case occurred at the end of January, it would have in fact dated December 27, according to Professor Yves Cohen, Head of the intensive care unit at Avicennes hospitals in Bobigny and Jean-Verdier in Bondy. The doctor had treated a patient for pneumonia before performing a test showing he was already positive for the virus.
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