Tumori . Unexpected detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the prepandemic period in Italy

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Tumori


. 2020 Nov 11;300891620974755.
doi: 10.1177/0300891620974755. Online ahead of print.
Unexpected detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the prepandemic period in Italy


Giovanni Apolone ¹ , Emanuele Montomoli ^{2 3} , Alessandro Manenti ^{3 4} , Mattia Boeri ¹ , Federica Sabia ¹ , Inesa Hyseni ⁴ , Livia Mazzini ^{2 4} , Donata Martinuzzi ⁴ , Laura Cantone ⁵ , Gianluca Milanese ⁶ , Stefano Sestini ¹ , Paola Suatoni ¹ , Alfonso Marchian? ¹ , Valentina Bollati ⁵ , Gabriella Sozzi ¹ , Ugo Pastorino ¹



Affiliations

• PMID: 33176598
• DOI: 10.1177/0300891620974755

Abstract

There are no robust data on the real onset of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and spread in the prepandemic period worldwide. We investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD)-specific antibodies in blood samples of 959 asymptomatic individuals enrolled in a prospective lung cancer screening trial between September 2019 and March 2020 to track the date of onset, frequency, and temporal and geographic variations across the Italian regions. SARS-CoV-2 RBD-specific antibodies were detected in 111 of 959 (11.6%) individuals, starting from September 2019 (14%), with a cluster of positive cases (>30%) in the second week of February 2020 and the highest number (53.2%) in Lombardy. This study shows an unexpected very early circulation of SARS-CoV-2 among asymptomatic individuals in Italy several months before the first patient was identified, and clarifies the onset and spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Finding SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in asymptomatic people before the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy may reshape the history of pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2 antibodies; Screening.