Home » News » Coronavirus: the Italian city that won the battle against “asymptomatic carriers” | Univision Salud News

Coronavirus: the Italian city that won the battle against “asymptomatic carriers” | Univision Salud News

Vo ‘Euganeo, a small town of less than 3,500 inhabitants in the Veneto region that recorded the first death by coronavirus in Italy it has become an example to follow in the fight against covid-19: the locality managed to curb the number of infected people thanks to the massification of diagnostic tests, according to a study by the Padua University.

Thanks to the study, which was developed in conjunction with the authorities of the Veneto region and the Red Cross, the 3,300 inhabitants of Vo ‘Euganeo were tested on two occasions regardless of whether they presented symptoms of the disease or not.

The scientific study began on March 6 when there were at least 90 infected with the virus in Vo ‘Euganeo and in recent days there has been no new contagion.

The researchers intended to analyze the virus, its transmission dynamics and risk categories, but were able to determine the important role of asymptomatic carriers in its transmission.

According to one of the researchers, the director of the chair of diagnostic microbiology and virology at the University of Padua, Andrea Crisanti, told the newspaper Wall street journalHis team was able to contain the outbreak because they identified, eliminated, and isolated the asymptomatic carriers (who, had they not been isolated, would have spread to others).

According to the media, the Governor of Veneto, Luca Zaia, of the more than 3,000 tests that were done in Vo ‘Euganeo, 66 positives were found, which were isolated for 14 days. After that period, six of them continued to test positive.

Between 50% and 75% of those infected are asymptomatic

“It has been shown that a majority of infected people, between 50% and 75%, are completely asymptomatic but represent a great source of contagion”Sergio Romagnoni wrote in the scientific journal Scienza in Rete when referring to the study of Vo ‘Euganeo.

According to the study, most of the asymptomatic carriers were young, although not all.

“In Vo ‘Euganeo, thanks to the isolation of infected subjects, the total number of patients fell from 88 to 7 in a space of 7 to 10 days,” adds Romagnoni. “What is even more interesting and surprising is the demonstration that the isolation of the infected (symptomatic or not) was not only able to protect others from contagion, but in part seems to protect the evolution of the disease in the subjects infected because the recovery rate in the infected and isolated patients was 60% in just 8 days. “

The study seems to show that, contrary to what health authorities have recommended so far, testing the population regardless of whether they show symptoms or not would be essential to control the spread of the virus.

Governor Zaia has boasted that his strategy of testing more than any other region in the country is part of his success in controlling the disease. According to what he said, Veneto, which has 5 million inhabitants, will go from doing 3,000 tests a day to more than 11,000.

For the time being, the WHO has not recommended mass testing of the population.

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