Background: It has been speculated that the SARS-CoV-2 was already widespread in western countries before February 2020. Methods: We gauged this hypothesis by analysing the nasal swab of infants with either bronchiolitis or a non-infectious disease admitted to the Ospedale Maggiore, Milan (one of the first epicentres of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Europe) from November 2019. Results: The SARS-CoV-2 RNA was never detected in 218 infants with bronchiolitis (95 females, median age 4.9 months) and 49 infants (22 females, median age 5.6 months) with a non-infectious disease between November 2019 and February 2020. On the contrary, two infants hospitalised for bronchiolitis between March and April 2020 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Conclusions: This study does not support the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 was already circulating among infants before the official outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, it shows for the first time that SARS-CoV-2 might cause bronchiolitis requiring hospitalisation.

Bronchiolitis and SARS-CoV-2 / G.P. Milani, V. Bollati, L. Ruggiero, S. Bosis, R.M. Pinzani, G. Lunghi, F. Rota, L. Dioni, A. Luganini, C. Agostoni, P. Marchisio. - In: ARCHIVES OF DISEASE IN CHILDHOOD. - ISSN 0003-9888. - (2021), pp. archdischild-2020-321108.1-archdischild-2020-321108.3. [Epub ahead of print] [10.1136/archdischild-2020-321108]

Bronchiolitis and SARS-CoV-2

G.P. Milani
Primo
;
V. Bollati
Secondo
;
S. Bosis;L. Dioni;C. Agostoni
Penultimo
;
P. Marchisio
Ultimo
2021

Abstract

Background: It has been speculated that the SARS-CoV-2 was already widespread in western countries before February 2020. Methods: We gauged this hypothesis by analysing the nasal swab of infants with either bronchiolitis or a non-infectious disease admitted to the Ospedale Maggiore, Milan (one of the first epicentres of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Europe) from November 2019. Results: The SARS-CoV-2 RNA was never detected in 218 infants with bronchiolitis (95 females, median age 4.9 months) and 49 infants (22 females, median age 5.6 months) with a non-infectious disease between November 2019 and February 2020. On the contrary, two infants hospitalised for bronchiolitis between March and April 2020 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Conclusions: This study does not support the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 was already circulating among infants before the official outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, it shows for the first time that SARS-CoV-2 might cause bronchiolitis requiring hospitalisation.
COVID-19; epidemiology; virology
Settore MED/38 - Pediatria Generale e Specialistica
Settore MED/44 - Medicina del Lavoro
   Nasal microbiota, bronchiolitis and air pollution: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
   MINISTERO DELL'ISTRUZIONE E DEL MERITO
   2017HWPZZZ
2021
mar-2021
Article (author)
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/857315
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