The latest research suggests that the coronavirus may have spread in Norway since December 2019

According to foreign media reports, researchers at the Affiliated Hospital of Axchus University in Norway recently found antibodies to the new coronavirus in the blood samples of pregnant women, which can be traced back to December 2019, which is one month earlier than the first confirmed case announced in Europe. The findings were published Jan. 13 in the Cambridge University Press journal Epidemiology & Infection.

【Axchus University Hospital】

According to the study, in some blood samples stored anonymously, researchers at Axchus University found antibodies to the new crown virus. Originally, these blood samples were taken from pregnant women in the first trimester of pregnancy as part of maternal care and then stored for monitoring for potential infectious diseases. Of the 6520 samples, 98 detected antibodies to the new crown virus.

Anne Eskild, the project's director, noted that there were indications that the pregnant women were infected abroad or through relatives from outside Norway. While it is not known whether they have had symptoms, some of them were born in Norway, Eastern Europe, Africa or the Middle East before March 2020.

Eskid said the discovery was "very surprising" and could change the history of the coronavirus pandemic in Norway and the world. The findings suggest that in most parts of the world, the coronavirus may have spread widely earlier than expected. She noted that few countries can store enough blood samples, so there are few other relevant retrospective studies.

According to Norwegian officials, the first case of COVID-19 in Europe was detected in France on 27 January 2020, and the new coronavirus spread to Norway on 24 February 2020.

The results of a November 2020 study by the National Oncology Institute in Milan, Italy, showed that antibodies to the new coronavirus had been detected in blood samples taken from residents in September 2019.