Scientists Show Evidence of COVID-19 Presence as of September 2019 in Italy

Nov. 16, 2020 (EIRNS)—A team of researchers from the National Cancer Institute of Milan (IRCCS) has detected the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Italy already in September 2019 in a study that “may reshape the history of the pandemic.” The team has tested blood samples of individuals enrolled in a lung cancer screening and reported the results in a study published by the Tumori Journal, the publication of the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, datelined Nov. 11. They “investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD)-specific antibodies in blood samples of 959 asymptomatic individuals enrolled in a prospective lung cancer screening trial between September 2019 and March 2020 to track the date of onset, frequency, and temporal and geographic variations across the Italian regions. 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,” wrote the researchers in “Unexpected Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in the Prepandemic Period in Italy.”

Independent of this and other worthwhile investigations into the origin of the virus, the attacks leveled against China for various alleged crimes of malfeasance or deliberate promotion of the spread of the virus have been, in the main, lies spread to drive a wedge between China and other nations, especially the United States.