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COVID-19 and lombardy: TESTing the impact of the first wave of the pandemic.
Perico, Luca; Tomasoni, Susanna; Peracchi, Tobia; Perna, Annalisa; Pezzotta, Anna; Remuzzi, Giuseppe; Benigni, Ariela.
  • Perico L; Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Bergamo, Italy.
  • Tomasoni S; Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Bergamo, Italy.
  • Peracchi T; Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Bergamo, Italy.
  • Perna A; Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Bergamo, Italy.
  • Pezzotta A; Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Bergamo, Italy.
  • Remuzzi G; Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Bergamo, Italy; Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: giuseppe.remuzzi@marionegri.it.
  • Benigni A; Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Bergamo, Italy.
EBioMedicine ; 61: 103069, 2020 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-983306
ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Italy was the first western country to experience a large Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak and the province of Bergamo experienced one of the deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks in the world. Following the peak of the epidemic in mid-March, the curve has slowly fallen thanks to the strict lockdown imposed by the Italian government on 9th March 2020.

METHODS:

We performed a cross-sectional study to assess the prevalence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in 423 workers in Bergamo province who returned to the workplace after the end of the Italian lockdown on 5th May 2020. To this end, we performed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect the humoral response against SARS-CoV-2 and a nasopharyngeal swab to assess the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR). As a secondary aim of the study, we validated a lateral flow immunochromatography assay (LFIA) for the detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.

FINDINGS:

ELISA identified 38.5% positive subjects, of whom 51.5% were positive for both IgG and IgM, 47.3% were positive only for IgG, but only 1.2% were positive for IgM alone. Only 23 (5.4%) participants tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by rRT-PCR, although with high cycle thresholds (between 34 and 39), indicating a very low residual viral load that was not able to infect cultured cells. All these rRT-PCR positive subjects had already experienced seroconversion. When the ELISA was used as the comparator, the estimated specificity and sensitivity of the rapid LFIA for IgG were 98% and 92%, respectively.

INTERPRETATION:

the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the province of Bergamo reached 38.5%, significantly higher than has been reported for most other regions worldwide. Few nasopharyngeal swabs tested positive in fully recovered subjects, though with a very low SARS-CoV-2 viral load, with implications for infectivity and discharge policies for positive individuals in the post-pandemic period. The rapid LFIA used in this study is a valuable tool for rapid serologic surveillance of COVID-19 for population studies.

FUNDING:

The study was supported by Regione Lombardia, Milano Serravalle - Milano Tangenziali S.p.A., Brembo S.p.A, and by MEI System.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Pneumonia, Viral / RNA, Viral / Coronavirus Infections / Betacoronavirus / Antibodies, Viral Type of study: Diagnostic study / Experimental Studies / Observational study / Prognostic study / Randomized controlled trials Limits: Adult / Female / Humans / Male / Middle aged Country/Region as subject: Europa Language: English Journal: EBioMedicine Year: 2020 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: J.ebiom.2020.103069

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Pneumonia, Viral / RNA, Viral / Coronavirus Infections / Betacoronavirus / Antibodies, Viral Type of study: Diagnostic study / Experimental Studies / Observational study / Prognostic study / Randomized controlled trials Limits: Adult / Female / Humans / Male / Middle aged Country/Region as subject: Europa Language: English Journal: EBioMedicine Year: 2020 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: J.ebiom.2020.103069