In the city of Vo'vecchio, rapid isolation and extensive testing have proven very effective. Indeed, the presence of Covid-19 in this city has simply been eradicated. Thus, the study shows the interest of quickly isolating carriers of the virus and carrying out numerous tests.
Andrea Crisanti, from the Department of Molecular Medicine at the University of Padua (Italy), investigated Vo'vecchio's case in a study published by Nature June 30, 2020. At the end of February 2020, this small town of 3,200 inhabitants declared its first case of Covid-19. Very quickly, the authorities placed the city in confinement for two weeks. Then, they carried out virological tests in more than 85% of the population.
You should know that the virus had infected 2.3% of the inhabitants at the start of the quarantine. On the other hand, this value was only 1.2% at the end of the confinement. In addition, 42.5% of people who tested positive had no symptoms, either at the time of the test or after. This observation therefore allowed the leaders of the study to affirm that the rapid isolation of cases and the practice of mass testing eradicated the coronavirus from the city.
“Testing all citizens, whether or not they have symptoms, helps manage the spread of the disease and prevent outbreaks from spiraling out of control. . Despite silent and widespread transmission, disease can be controlled says Andrea Crisanti.
The study also indicates that asymptomatic carriers had a similar viral load to that of patients who have fallen ill. If we have already known for a long time that asymptomatic carriers are contagious, the study does not hesitate to recall it. Above all, these people are completely unaware of their condition (in the absence of a test) and can unfortunately contribute largely to the spread of the virus .
Andrea Crisanti and his team therefore insist on the need identify foci of infection very quickly, from the start of an epidemic . It is then a question of isolating the cases of infection just as quickly, and this with or without symptoms, hence the usefulness of testing everyone (or almost).
Recently, a US study estimated between 30 and 45% the proportion of people infected with Covid-19 showing no symptoms. On the other hand, even these asymptomatic people are not immune to sequelae. According to the researchers, these are abnormalities of a subclinical nature. Indeed, it may be subtle deficits in lung function which might not be immediately apparent.
