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Italy - 8 of 10 initially positive asymptomatic cases of new coronavirus test negative in 2nd round - waiting for Ministry of Health confirmation - June 3, 2013
about ten the people found to be positive to the test ' for the new ' but completely asymptomatic Sars we sent samples to the Istituto Superiore di Sanita ' confirmation '. This was stated by professor Alessandro Bartoloni, head of the infectious diseases Department of the Aou Careggi. (ANSA).
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Re: Ten positive cases of 'new coronavirus' in Italy
Source: La Stampa, full text in Italian: http://www.lastampa.it/2013/06/03/it...NP/pagina.html
Novel Coronavirus, a dozen of close contacts of first patient tested positive for the virus, currently asymptomatic
June 3 2013
The three hospitalized patients are in good condition.
''A dozen of close contacts tested positive for the virus, but are currently asymptomatic,'' said the 'Careggi' Hospital Infectious Diseases Department Chief.
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Re: Ten positive cases of new coronavirus in Italy
If independently confirmed, these cases would represent one of the biggest human cluster of MERS-CoV infections detected since the discovery of the virus in the early 2012.
Also, the first confirmed imported case may be a feared 'super-spreader', like those seen during 2003 SARS outbreak.
Clearly, more details are eagerly awaited around the clinical course of these cases in the coming days.
GMComment
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Re: Ten positive cases of new coronavirus in Italy
The number of cases of suspected New Sars in Florence. ' I'm a dozen about people found to test positive ' explains professor Bartoloni, head of the Department of infectious diseases hospital of Careggi is completely asymptomatic but we have sent the samples to the National Institute of health to confirm. 'People found to be HIV-positive on the Professor-were not isolated and they are at home because they do not have any symptoms. We continue to take samples and examine them to determine how far the virus has spread. The behavior of the new Sars seems to have caught by surprise the experts. ' There was a conviction, according to the World Health Organization-20-fold continues-, that the virus is transmitted and is rather aggressive. What we're seeing so far seems to be, instead, just the opposite. The pattern has reversed.
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Re: Ten positive cases of new coronavirus in Italy
I do not see this on the Ministry of Health website yet:
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Re: Ten positive cases of new coronavirus in Italy
communicated by TUSCANY REGION
CORONAVIRUS, samples SENT to the ISS to CONFIRM Any POSITIVE Coronavirus, the contacts of the three hospitalized cases were identified by the public health service of Asl in Florence, and then checked at the Hospital of Careggi samples are now at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, for confirmation of a possible positive coronavirus. Meanwhile, the three patients (two at Careggi and Meyer) are in good condition. The crisis unit set up last Friday, constantly monitors the clinical and epidemiological situation. And tomorrow's technicians will be in Florence of the Ministry and the National Institute of health, to meet with fellow Tuscans. The clinical situation. The three patients – the index case and the woman who has had working contacts with him, both at Careggi, and granddaughter, Meyer – are in good condition and the symptoms that arise, however in quick mitigation, are not worrisome. The epidemiological situation. You are making all the necessary controls to check the spread of the virus. Starting from the three hospitalized cases, the Department of prevention of Florence, in agreement with the hospital wards for infectious diseases, sent to the laboratory of Virology at the University of Florence the swabs all subjects who have had close contact with the index case and with family members of the other two cases. The samples were sent to the National Institute of health to confirm any positive. The crisis unit. Already active since Friday 31 May, consists of technicians to the right to health, of two companies-University Hospital of Careggi and Meyer and 10 health company in Florence. Met this morning to review all data currently available and monitor both the clinical and epidemiological situation. According to the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, the Tuscan crisis unit is trying to study the behavior of the virus. 'We will expand the number of checks – say the crisis unit technicians – but so far we have verified that the virus is not particularly aggressive and does not involve serious symptoms, presenting a clinical symptoms of rapid resolution'. Tomorrow afternoon is expected in Florence a crisis unit meeting with the technicians of the Ministry and the ISS. the region will issue a daily bulletin, to give a constant update on
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Re: Ten positive cases of new coronavirus in Italy
Machine translation:
"New Sars ten more cases
positive test, no symptoms
It is people who have come into contact with infected patients: they are at home
FLORENCE - Ten people on a dozen or so, subject to the buffer on the new Sars virus were positive. All people who had been in contact with the three patients who tested positive to the virus. To give the results of the analysis is Professor Alessandro Bartoloni, head of infectious diseases at the AOU Careggi, "I'm about a dozen people tested positive." But the special feature of these cases is that they are "completely asymptomatic." Samples collected through buffer on people who have had contact with the three patients with SARS were sent "Istituto Superiore di Sanit? to confirm a possible positivity. " "People with positive screening results - continues the professor - have not been isolated and are at home. We continue to take samples and examine them to see how far the virus has spread. "
The behavior of New SARS seems to have surprised the experts. "There was a belief, as indicated by the World Health Organization - continues the infectious disease - that the virus was transmitted recently and was quite aggressive. What we're seeing so far seems to be, however, just the opposite. The pattern is reversed. " The tests are then conducted on people who have had contact with someone who already is positive, although it does not present any symptoms. "In addition to the protection of persons - says Professor Bartoloni - this study will help us to understand what is the size of the phenomenon. The question at this point is: the virus has changed or is another virus? ?..."
xhttp://corrierefiorentino.corriere.it/firenze/notizie/cronaca/2013/3-giugno-2013/nuova-sars-si-attendono-risultati-tamponi-venticinque-persone-2221464294295.shtml
"What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon
"The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam HoustonComment
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Re: Italy - 10 - 12 positive cases of new coronavirus - June 3, 2013
Wow. This might explain a lot. A dozen asymptomatic cases here would explain the sporadic nature of the severe cases, and drastically lower our estimates of the CFR of this virus. It would also explain why so many of the severe cases in Saudi Arabia are older and have so many pre-existing conditions; the virus is only detected when it reaches an individual in which it can cause severe disease. The few dozen confirmed cases so far might be only the most severe out of thousands of milder infections.
This finding gives new support to the remote possibiltiy that NCoV is NOT a zoonosis, but rather a circulating human pathogen, with a CFR closer to that of OC43 than to SARS.
Also, I hope the Italian authorities are sure that these people are indeed infected with NCoV and not OC43, as there is some potential for tests to be cross-reactive.Comment
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Re: Italy - 10 - 12 positive cases of new coronavirus - June 3, 2013
Remind that previous imported cases in Germany and France failed to spread the virus to unprotected close contacts, so that the virus must have undergone some changes or it is belonging to another lineage, with a different pattern of spread.
It is not clear at this joint what kind of test has been performed on these patients, if a throat swab or sputum analyzed through PCR or whether other technique were employed.
If the PRCs were positive the virus is replicating in these people, so that the clinical course may be only at the early stages.Comment
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Re: Ten positive cases of new coronavirus in Italy
Gregory Hartl, a spokesperson for the WHO, "The outbreaks that we're seeing now would not likely be overlooked even if a country weren't looking very hard."Originally posted by Catbird View Post
Finding 10 asymptomatic cases to a confirmed case does not change the striking presentation seen with outbreaks. Granted, the outbreaks with current demographics may not demonstrate the "general population" - but the disease DOES affect A population AND will be a large burden on THAT population if this virus becomes more easily transmissible.
The only difference between you and someone with co-morbidities or advanced age is time.
*** Please do not disregard this disease if it presents mildly for many, but not for others. ***Comment
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Re: Italy - 10 - 12 positive asymptomatic cases of new coronavirus - June 3, 2013
I think the head of the infectious department of the 'Careggi' hospital in Florence raised the suspicion that perhaps the virus has changed or belongs to another lineage at all since it has not demonstrated the properties seen so far in all other sporadic cases in EU and elsewhere, ie all cases presented with a mild- self-limiting disease.
It is early to say Beyond the scarce details about the kind of test battery used and the possible surge in viral load in these - for now asymptomatic - patients.Comment
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Re: Italy - 10 - 12 positive cases of new coronavirus - June 3, 2013
Originally posted by Giuseppe Michieli View Post
I'm also curious about the testing methods. The article posted by tetano above mentions swabs, but this early info may be incomplete. Hopefully, more details will be released soon, and confirmed by the MoH.
...Starting from the three hospitalized cases, the Department of prevention of Florence, in agreement with the hospital wards for infectious diseases, sent to the laboratory of Virology at the University of Florence the swabs all subjects who have had close contact with the index case and with family members of the other two cases.
"What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon
"The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam HoustonComment
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Re: Ten positive cases of new coronavirus in Italy
And that is the lesson from the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.Originally posted by curiosity View Post
But, in the remote chance NCoV does have this characteristic, it would change the measures used to treat and contain it. There's not much point in quarantining healthy contacts of NCoV cases if there are thousands of infectious asymptomatic humans spreading the virus silently. I believe the human coronavirus OC43 has this behavior; in most people it produces only mild symptoms, but in 2003 it got into a nursing home and killed about 12 people:
We don't yet know that this is the case (and everything in the past year argues against it!) but we cannot rule this out.Comment
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Re: Italy - 10 - 12 positive asymptomatic cases of new coronavirus - June 3, 2013
It has passed only few week after the French cases. They had surely tested some of the close contacts and HCWs. No further cases has been found.
So, or the virus changed dramatically, or there's a superspreader or the virus belongs to another lineage and finally Italian labs performed wrongly tests...Comment
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Re: Italy - 10 - 12 positive asymptomatic cases of new coronavirus - June 3, 2013
This is exactly like that August 2003 "SARS" OC43 outbreak in British Columbia linked above; the presentation is too mild, the epidemiology is not consistent, but the laboratory results are coming back positive. And we are asking the same questions:
- Did the virus mutate?
- Did we just discover yet another previously unknown coronavirus?
- Does everything we thought we knew about the old SARS virus (NCoV this time) go out the window?
- Or is this just a laboratory error?
For a week in 2003, the world asked themselves these questions over and over, until the answer was ultimately determined to be the latter case: a laboratory error.
We will see what the explanation is this time.Comment
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