Amendola A, Bianchi S, Gori M, Colzani D, Canuti M, Borghi E, Raviglione MC, Zuccotti GV, Tanzi E. Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in an Oropharyngeal Swab Specimen, Milan, Italy, Early December 2019. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020 Dec 8;27(2). doi: 10.3201/eid2702.204632. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33292923.
We identified severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA in an oropharyngeal swab specimen collected from a child with suspected measles in early December 2019, ≈3 months before the first identified coronavirus disease case in Italy. This finding expands our knowledge on timing and mapping of novel coronavirus transmission pathways.