The study by Andrea Crisanti and others, currently being published on Nature, entitled “Suppression of the COVID-19 epidemic in the municipality of Vo ‘Italy” is the bearer of extraordinary good news. Too bad that the authors do not underline them. So it is good, while we thank them for the work done, we make clear the positive numbers that can be glimpsed between the lines. So, as far as I intend to report, the study is based on two surveys conducted between 21 February and 7 March, which affected 85% (2812 people) and 71.5% (2343 people) of the population of Vo ‘ Euganeo (PD), the town of 3300 inhabitants where, on February 21, the first death from pneumonia occurred, which was attributed (by whom and on what basis?) to the SARS CoV-2 infection in Italy. The study not reported as a case of pneumonia has been defined, nothing regarding the clinical picture, nor anatomo-pathological disorders. It refers to the basis of a news item learned in the press (a man 78 years old, cardiopathic, who went through several shelters in intensive care died in that sad day. The study seems interested to elucidate, interestingly, the mechanisms of transmission of the virus and in particular the dynamics of its onward transmission, between symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects. The study produces also some useful data. The prevalence of Sars CoV-2 positive cases was 2.6% (73 positive tests / 2812 tests) in the first survey and 1.2% (29 positive tests / 2343 tests) in the second survey on 7 March. How many symptomatic cases with positive tests? The table show n. 43 symptomatic subjects/ 2812 subjects tested, equivalent to 0.015%. In the second survey 16/2343 symptomatic cases were found, that is equal to 0.0068%. Isn’t this good news? Only 7 -15 per 1000 inhabitants of Vo’ Euganeo manifested fever or cough in the winter period in a town of Veneto. Meanwhile, the Schiavonia Hospital, where Mr. Trevisan died, was first closed and then reopened as a COVID hospital. May be this is also a good new. We are preparing at the best, for the next pandemia. The study claims to have also collected data on the progression of symptoms and hospitalization of some subjects. Well, we will look forward to seeing them on a new publication.
Best Regards
Pasquale Valente
MD, PhD in Ind. & Environ. Hygiene . Italy
che sta succedendo? 