Sewage study suggests COVID-19 was in Italy before China reported first cases; scientists examined December 2019 waste water from Milan, Turin


Source: firstpost.com firstpost.com

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Scientists in Italy have found traces of the new coronavirus in wastewater collected from Milan and Turin in December 2019, suggesting COVID-19 was already circulating in northern Italy before China reported the first cases. The Italian National Institute of Health looked at 40 sewage samples collected from wastewater treatment plants in northern Italy between October 2019 and February 2020. An analysis released on Thursday said samples taken in Milan and Turin on 18 December showed the presence of the SARS-Cov-2 virus. “This research may help us understand the beginning of virus circulation in Italy,” said Giuseppina La Rosa, an expert...