Scientists say mass tests in Italian town have halted Covid-19 there

[KY_EnviroGuy]

Scientists say mass tests in Italian town have halted Covid-19 there

A study in Vò, which saw Italy’s first death, points to the danger of asymptomatic carriers

Read it here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/18/scientists-say-mass-tests-in-italian-town-have-halted-covid-19

(snips)

The small town of Vò, in northern Italy, where the first coronavirus death occurred in the country, has become a case study that demonstrates how scientists might neutralise the spread of Covid-19.

A scientific study, rolled out by the University of Padua, with the help of the Veneto Region and the Red Cross, consisted of testing all 3,300 inhabitants of the town, including asymptomatic people. The goal was to study the natural history of the virus, the transmission dynamics and the categories at risk.

The researchers explained they had tested the inhabitants twice and that the study led to the discovery of the decisive role in the spread of the coronavirus epidemic of asymptomatic people.

When the study began, on 6 March, there were at least 90 infected in Vò. For days now, there have been no new cases.
Coronavirus: the week explained - sign up for our email newsletter

“We were able to contain the outbreak here, because we identified and eliminated the ‘submerged’ infections and isolated them,” Andrea Crisanti, an infections expert at Imperial College London, who took part in the Vò project, told the Financial Times. “That is what makes the difference.”

and.....

The research allowed for the identification of at least six asymptomatic people who tested positive for Covid-19. ‘‘If these people had not been discovered,” said the researchers, they would probably have unknowingly infected other inhabitants.

“The percentage of infected people, even if asymptomatic, in the population is very high,” wrote Sergio Romagnani, professor of clinical immunology at the University of Florence, in a letter to the authorities. “The isolation of asymptomatics is essential to be able to control the spread of the virus and the severity of the disease.”

And the only way to identify asymptomatic people is to test, test, test........

[SunSeeker]

1. WSJ: America Needed Coronavirus Tests. The Government Failed.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-washington-failed-to-build-a-robust-coronavirus-testing-system-11584552147

[struggle4progress]

6. It wasn't "the government" --- Trump and the Republican ideologues failed.

[Scarsdale]

13. Yes, they did.

The Obama administration warned of this, and the plans were thrown away by the "jenius" and his relatives in the WH. The gop will pay for their slavish devotion to the orange mistake. Unfortunately it will cost many innocent people their lives. I hope those tax breaks for the rich were worth it?

[uponit7771]

19. +1

[SunSeeker]

24. Well of course, Trump is in charge of the government. nt

[struggle4progress]

25. No, he's head of the federal executive branch.

[SunSeeker]

26. He's certainly in charge of the part of the government that failed.

The CDC is headed by a Trump appointee, Robert Redfield, who looks a lot like Robert Bork. Same brand of GOP toadie.

[canetoad]

2. Yes!

I've only this minute seen Rachel reporting this story.

People can be asymptomatic for 5-14 days (at last reading). Test and isolate. No brainer.

[DFW]

3. Here in my part of Germany it is almost impossible to get tested unless you show up half dead

I was in Spain last week, so though I show no symptoms, I wanted to get tested. No way.

I called up my ENT doctor. He said he didn't do the test. Call my GP or a lung doctor. They both said they didn't test, call the health department. THEY said if I don't have any severe symptoms, stay home, because they won't test anyone who exhibits no symptoms.

In other words, don't call us. Right, as if there were anyone else I COULD call!

[uponit7771]

20. Hmmmmm, something up cause that's 100% what they're saying in US. If you're not half dead don't

... call us about CV, we're not interested.

So these people are willing to crash whole economies instead of isolating the sick relatively cheap to burning it down?

Somethings wrong here

[DFW]

21. I'm sure they're completely overwhelmed here

Parts of Europe are already temporarily converting suddenly empty hotels into makeshift supplemental hospitals.

I was on the phone with my Swiss office in Geneva this morning, and the man there said that the Canton of Ticino was being sealed off from the rest of Switzerland. Northern Italy (bordering Ticino) had 475 new virus deaths just yesterday. The number of confirmed infections of our state of NRW (Nordrhein-Westfalen) went up yesterday from 1600 to 2100, and we are the most thickly settled area of Germany, so that number is sure to jump exponentially.

[Roland99]

4. Saw that yesterday. And makes perfect sense and is the only way out of this

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213127390

But I fear our federal leadership will continue to fail us

[Dem2theMax]

5. I had symptoms. All of them.

The only thing that wasn't severe was my coughing. And unless I was having breathing difficulties to the point where I felt like I was going to die, no test

America. We're number one?

[cstanleytech]

8. So did you eventually get the test and was it confirmed you had it or are you only assuming you

did because you were sick?

[Dem2theMax]

15. No. Cannot get the test. My doctor confirmed it's very possible I have it.

It could be regular flu or another virus, but the symptoms were totally different from regular flu, and unlike anything I have ever experienced in my life. But they will not test you unless you are having severe breathing problems along with all of the other symptoms

That, or if you are famous, as we have come to see in the previous days and weeks

[DrToast]

27. Did you...

Did you try telling them you play in the NBA?

[Dem2theMax]

28. Oh, that made me laugh!

Honest to goodness, the local news is carrying stories about people getting tested. But the people getting tested are the famous people. Local city councilman. Local TV news reporter.

Mere citizens? Hahaha!

I'm finally feeling better. Whatever it was, I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. And it's not THAT tunnel. The one people say they are seeing when they have near-death experiences.

A neighbor brought me some sliced turkey and some Gouda cheese. I'm hoping I'm hungry enough tomorrow to make a sandwich. Never thought I would be so happy to be anticipating having a sandwich!

[Scarsdale]

14. So, we have "the best healthcare system

in the world"? Yeah, right, if you are wealthy. I see several politicians have the virus. Where did THEY get their tests? No problem, they do not have to worry about their paychecks drying up if they stay home sick. If this fiasco does not open people's eyes to the disaster that the gop has caused, then we are totally SCREWED as a country. They allowed this unmanageable toddler in the WH along with his unqualified relatives, to run the country. Right into the ground. God help us all.

[Dem2theMax]

16. I'm in San Diego County.

There have been a number of reports of so-called famous people in town who were able to get the test. Local TV reporters, a local city councilman. The councilman had the same exact severe symptoms that I had. The TV reporter was much less symptomatic. But they were able to get tests

I'm just a mere mortal, and I'm sure there are tens of thousands out there just like me who will never be able to get near a test to see if we had it or not. I am in a higher risk category, I live around people who are in a higher risk category and I had contact with them before I was symptomatic. You would think they would want to test someone like me, to make sure I didn't pass it on to others. That makes sense, so of course it won't be done.

And I woke up this morning a million times better than I have been in 11 days. I had symptoms for 18 days. So no need to test me now. Once I no longer show any symptoms, I will still self isolate for at least two more weeks. I don't want to take any chances on passing whatever I had to anyone else.

[cstanleytech]

7. So what happened to the 6 asymptomatic people? Cured? Virus cleared out on its own or are they still

being held and if so for how long will they need to be held? All their life?

[KY_EnviroGuy]

11. I think this summary tells the story...

From the article...

“Here there were the first two cases. We tested everyone, even if the ‘experts’ told us this was a mistake: 3,000 tests. We found 66 positives, who we isolated for 14 days, and after that 6 of them were still positive. And that is how we ended it.’’

Probably not the same six, but the point is they had it cornered. Once you have no more symptomatic cases, you're home free.

[cstanleytech]

17. That doesn't say if they have been released though.

[karynnj]

22. They do not explicitly say if the 6 are from the 66

They also do not say if they retested everyone. I assume they did because otherwise they could not say there are now only 6. Either way, this plan has to be considered a success.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

9. From another post - More reasons we should be testing.....

* Covid-19 damages the lungs of most all infected patients and that should be in patient's medical records and a patient's MD should be aware of it for future treatments (surgery, respiratory and cancer treatments, etc.)

* The CDC needs accurate records of disease outbreaks and spread patterns for planing for future outbreaks.

* Should future currently unknown post-infection complications arise from this disease, all having had the infection need to be made aware of those issues.

* If the extent of a disease outbreak is not thoroughly understood, vaccine and treatment developers may not work aggressively to complete those products or even drop the research all together. In addition, no stores of vaccines or treatment supplies would be on hand.

* Insurance companies need to know the exact nature of all illnesses in a populace for setting rates and planning for future outbreaks.

I'm sure there are more I haven't thought of.......

From: Why We Still Need To Test Widely For Coronavirus
Link: https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=13126937

[Wounded Bear]

10. Gee, science. Who knew?

[KY_EnviroGuy]

12. Telegram to Trump.....

[bluedigger]

18. Sounds like what they are attempting in Telluride.

They want to do two tests on everyone in the county, two weeks apart. 👍

[Shanti Mama]

23. Imagine if we offered testing to many, MANY

My son and I, holed up together, could be sure neither is infected and relax a bit. His restaurant work in a big city has me worried.

[moondust]

29. Ideally,

an affordable or free simple test would be developed that can be self-administered by an individual at home. Something like a litmus test.