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COVID-19 was spreading throughout the Americas before the first official recorded infection, according to a new study.
Examining blood samples collected by the American Red Cross between December 13 and January 17, some blood donors in nine states have tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, indicating they had come in contact with the virus before January 20, when officials confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the United States.
The study, published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America, was written primarily by U.S. government employees.
Retrospectively testing 7,389 blood samples donated to the Red Cross between December and January – all before the first confirmed case of COVID-19 – researchers found 106 samples showed signs of infection with COVID-19.
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In this 106, 84 showed even greater reactivity when screened using a pan Ig enzyme solution.
Donors were sampled in California, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin. They were collected from Red Cross banks and tested in Atlanta at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“These results indicate that antibodies reactive to SARS-CoV-2 were detected in 106 specimens, a small percentage of blood donations from California, Oregon and Washington as of December 13-16, 2019, ”the authors wrote. “The presence of these serum antibodies indicates that isolated infections with SARS-CoV-2 may have occurred in the western part of the United States earlier than previously recognized or that a small portion of the population may have the antibodies. drugs that bind to SARS-CoV -2 S. “
The average age of the blood donors tested in the study was 52 years old, ranging from 16 to 95 years old. The proportion of reactive blood samples was higher in male donors than in women, but male donations were higher during this period.
These results follow news from leaks Chinese documents which revealed scientists working with the Hubei provincial CDC recorded more cases in February than was officially released.
Serological tests presented in the US study demonstrate the effectiveness of using blood samples as a means of tracing the virus, especially since many infected people have only modest symptoms or are asymptomatic.
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