Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37474969›Full record

ArticleVirology journal2023

Serological investigation of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with suspect measles, 2017-2022.

Silvia Bianchi, Clara Fappani, Maria Gori, Marta Canuti, Daniela Colzani, Maria Cristina Monti, Camilla Torriani, Mario C Raviglione, Gianvincenzo Zuccotti, Elisabetta Tanzi and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Virology journal, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 41% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Silvia Bianchi *Department of Health Sciences, Universita' degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1365-9408
Clara Fappani *Department of Health Sciences, Universita' degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1573-5531
Maria Gori *Department of Health Sciences, Universita' degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6478-2791
Marta Canuti *Coordinated Research Center "EpiSoMI", Universita' degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy. marta.canuti@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9959-128X
Daniela ColzaniDepartment of Health Sciences, Universita' degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4079-1957
Maria Cristina MontiUnit of Biostatistics and Clinical Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1586-527X
Camilla TorrianiUnit of Biostatistics and Clinical Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-5879-6795
Mario C RaviglioneDepartment of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Universita' degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9331-2067
Gianvincenzo ZuccottiDepartment of Paediatrics, Children Hospital V. Buzzi, Universita' degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2795-9874
Elisabetta TanziDepartment of Health Sciences, Universita' degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4119-701X
Antonella AmendolaDepartment of Health Sciences, Universita' degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0499-8977
University of Milan · ITUniversity of Pavia · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSeveral studies suggested that SARS-CoV-2 was already spreading worldwide during the last months of 2019 before the first outbreak was detected in Wuhan, China. Lombardy (Northern Italy) was the first European region with sustained SARS-CoV-2 transmission and recent investigations detected SARS-CoV-2-RNA-positive patients in Lombardy since late 2019.

methodsWe tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG all serum samples available in our laboratory (N = 235, collected between March 2017 and March 2022) that we received within the framework of measles/rubella surveillance from measles and rubella virus-negative patients.

resultsThirteen of 235 samples (5.5%) were IgG-positive. The positivity rate increased starting in 2019 and was significantly different from the expected false positive rate from 2019 onwards. Additionally, in 2019 the percentage of IgG-positive patients was significantly lower among SARS-CoV-2 RNA-negative patients (3/92) compared to SARS-CoV-2 RNA-positive patients (2/7, p = 0.04). The highest percentage of IgG positivity in the pre-pandemic period was recorded during the second half of 2019. This coincided with an increase in negativity for measles and a widening of the peak of the number of measles discarded cases per 100,000 inhabitants, indicating a higher-than-normal number of measles-negative patients experiencing fever and rash. This also coincided with the first patient positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA (September 12th, 2019); this patient was also positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM.

conclusionsAlthough the number of samples was low and one cannot conclusively establish that the virus started circulating in Lombardy around September 2019, our findings should stimulate similar research investigating the possibility of undetected SARS-CoV-2 pre-pandemic circulation.

Indexed as

COVID-19MeaslesAntibodies, ViralHumansImmunoglobulin GImmunoglobulin MRNA, ViralSARS-CoV-2Antibodies, ViralImmunoglobulin GImmunoglobulin MRNA, ViralCOVID-19Measles surveillancePre-pandemicRashSARS-CoV-2Virus emergence

Identifiers

PMID37474969
PMCPMC10357797
OpenAlexW4384922271

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.