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Researchers found evidence of infection in 106 of 7,389 blood donations from residents in nine states, suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 infections may have been present in the United States in December 2019, earlier than is known. previously recognized.
WASHINGTON, December 1 – COVID-19 infections were present in the United States in mid-December 2019, weeks before it was first identified in China and about a month before the first case was officially confirmed in China. the United States. according to a new study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In the study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, CDC researchers analyzed blood samples from 7,389 routine blood donations collected by the American Red Cross between December 13, 2019 and January 17, 2020, looking for antibodies specific to the new coronavirus, known as SARS. -CoV-2.
The study aims to determine whether antibodies reactive to SARS-CoV-2 were present in serum prior to the first case identified in the United States on January 19 of this year.
Researchers found evidence of infection in 106 of 7,389 blood donations from residents of nine US states.
Antibodies were found in 39 samples from the state of California, Oregon and Washington collected between December 13 and 16, and 67 samples in Massachusetts, Michigan, Wisconsin or Iowa, and Connecticut or Rhode Island collected between January 30 and 17 .
The findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infections may have been present in the United States in December 2019, earlier than previously recognized, the authors wrote in the study.
The study also highlighted the value of examining routinely collected blood samples for evidence of viruses spreading in a population, the researchers said, adding that the CDC continues to conduct ongoing surveillance through donations of blood and clinical laboratory samples. to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection at multiple sites throughout the country.
The results add to mounting evidence that COVID-19 was circulating outside of China earlier than previously known.
The first COVID-19 infection in the United States was reported on January 19, 2020 in a traveler who returned from China, two days after national testing began, according to the CDC.
Two other people who were subsequently diagnosed with COVID-19 in the United States also developed symptoms in mid-January.
Some reports have suggested that the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into the United States may have occurred earlier than initially recognized, although widespread community transmission was not likely until late February, according to the study.
