While the first traces of the virus dated back to November 2019 in China (Wuhan), a new study on patients with lung cancer reveals that the coronavirus was already circulating in September 2019 in the Italian city of Milan.
The virus already present in Italy in September 2019
The National Cancer Institute (INT) carried out a study on 959 patients, who participated in screening for lung cancer between September 2019 and March 2020. According to Giovanni Apolone, co-author of the study, the result of this study shows that, in the city of Milan, 11.6% of volunteers had developed antibodies against the coronavirus. A surprising fact because the first reported case in Italy dates from February 2020, 5 months later.
Therefore, further research was carried out by the University of Siena, which performed another test for the detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. According to her, four cases were positive for antibodies in the first week of October, suggesting that the infection took place in September. The virus was therefore already circulating in September 2019 in the Milan region, in Lombardy.
A silent journey in Europe?
As a reminder, around fifteen cases have already been detected in France in November and December 2019 in Alsace, while the first official patient of the coronavirus, a resident of Seine-Saint-Denis, dated from the end of December.
The World Health Organization is therefore in search of an answer. The publication of this Italian study on Wednesday 11 November prompted the WHO to want more explanation. The organization indicates that the appearance of the virus could be before November 2019, when the first case was detected in Wuhan, the original focus of the virus. ” The possibility that the virus may have circulated silently elsewhere cannot be ruled out Says the WHO.
