Unexpected detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the prepandemic period in Italy
Open accessAbstract
There are no robust data on the real onset of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and spread in the prepandemic period worldwide. We 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.
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Whether identifiable COVID-19 cases appeared earlier than December 2019 is unknown.
“Whether identifiable cases appeared earlier than December, 2019, is unknown.68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73”
From The Lancet Commission on lessons for the future from the COVID-19 pandemic (2022) · cites this paper as [69]
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- Authors
- Apolone, G., Montomoli, E., Manenti, A., Boeri, M., Sabia, F., Hyseni, I., Mazzini, L., Martinuzzi, D., Cantone, L., Milanese, G., Sestini, S., Suatoni, P., Marchianò, A., Bollati, V., Sozzi, G., & Pastorino, U.
- Affiliations
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori (IT)
- University of Siena (IT)
- VisMederi Research (IT)
- University of Milan (IT)
- University of Parma (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Sozzi, Gabriella
- ORCID
- Venue
- Tumori Journal
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2020-11-11
- Volume
- 107
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 446-451
- ISSN
- 0300-8916 (ISSN-L)
- 2038-2529
- PMC
- PMC8529295
- OpenAlex
- W3104578244
- Cited by
- 166
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 78 · 2020: 4
- FWCI
- 4.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- expression_of_concern (2021-03-22)
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Tumori Journal (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- istituto nazionale tumori irccs “fondazione g. pascale”
- Ministero della Salute
- Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC 5x1000 cod.12162)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Modeling and Simulation › COVID-19 epidemiological studies
- Keywords
- SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 pandemic, asymptomatic infection, seroprevalence, Lombardy, Italy, lung cancer screening
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Aged, Antibodies, Viral, Female, Humans, Italy, Male, Middle Aged, Prospective Studies, Asymptomatic Infections
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