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Research by the Mario Negri Institute indicates that 38.5% of the 423 volunteers who underwent a nasopharyngeal swab to look for viral particles and two types of serological tests to search for antibodies in May were positive for the SarsCov2 virus.
The Bergamo area was one of the most affected by the new coronavirus in the world, with a prevalence of positive cases higher than that of New York, London and Madrid: this is indicated by the research carried out last May by the Institute ” Mario Negri “from Bergamo and published in the journal EBioMedicine (” The Lancet “group). The research, by Giuseppe Remuzzi’s group and whose first author is Luca Perico, indicates that 38.5% of the 423 volunteers who underwent nasopharyngeal swabs to search for viral particles tested positive for the SarsCov2 virus and two types of serological tests for the detection of antibodies. Extending the data to the province, it can be assumed that then 96% of Covid-19 infections were not detected by the health system.
Bergamo – observe the authors of the research – is one of the most affected areas in the world with a seroprevalence that far exceeds the estimates of New York (19.9%), London (17.5%) and Madrid (11.3%). %). Of the 423 volunteers involved in the research, 133 are Mario Negri researchers and 290 employees of the Brembo company. 38.5% of the volunteers tested positive in serology and developed antibodies against the new coronavirus. The researchers calculated that, extending the data to the entire population of the province of Bergamo, “it can be assumed that 420,000 people have come into contact with the virus, compared to 16,000 in the official data as of September 25, 2020.” This is how the authors of the investigation continue. – It would indicate that 96% of Covid-19 infections have not been detected by the health system ”.
Therefore, asymptomatic people could help fight the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to their immune cells capable of fighting the virus. The director of the Mario Negri Institute points this out again with respect to research showing that “more than 90% of infections were not detected by our National Health Service. In other words – Remuzzi remarked – that the real figures are 25 times higher than the official ones ”, observed the study coordinator. However, he added, “this is not necessarily bad news.”
The investigation also revealed that the rapid lancing device serologic test has a sensitivity comparable to that of the traditional quantitative test based on the Elisa method. The data also indicates that the detection of positivity alone is not sufficient and that these data must be accompanied by those related to viral load, that is, the number of virus particles detected in the sample. A result, they point out, is very important to contain the infection.
Funded by the Lombardy Region, Milan Serravalle, Milan Tangenziale and Brembo, the research was conducted using the test developed by the Swiss company Prima Lab, said study first author Luca Perico, and the results indicate that the test “is substantially similar to the venous test in terms of sensitivity and specificity. This, Perico observes, makes it possible to consider the rapid “lancing device” test as an extremely effective and valuable tool to identify subjects who have come into contact with the virus in ten minutes ».
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