Laboratory tests have show that an isolated strain of the virus from an Italian patient, showed genetic differences vs. the original Chinese strain. This means the virus could have made its rounds in northern Italy weeks before it was detected, and badly complicated our ability to track and control its spread through the continent.
Massimo Galli, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Milan, said “preliminary evidence suggested the virus could have been spreading below the radar in the quarantined areas.”
These new findings are very concerning for European health officials who’ve focused their efforts on identifying people coming from high-risk infected areas, and people showing symptoms and those who’ve had contact with them.
