There is growing evidence that outbreaks in Europe and the United States are occurring earlier than officially thought. According to officially certified information from the French government, the first covid-19 patient was discovered in December last year, but no one knew about the disease at the time, and he had not been to China or elsewhere. And now the latest evidence has brought the time forward to mid-November.
Image Source: Courtesy Albert Schweitzer Hospital via NBC News
After COVID-19 ravaged several European countries, doctors from the northeastern French city of Colmar began searching for Patient Zero, and the team identified two X-rays of November 16 and 18 showing symptoms consistent with atypical pneumonia that often occurs in COVID-19 cases.
After analyzing the images obtained from doctors in France, Dr. Vin Gupta told NBC News: "This fits one pattern of coronaviruses that we see – especially when the early coronaviruses are infected, what you see is some abnormalities in certain parts of the lungs, but not everywhere. ”
While X-rays may not be sufficient to confirm that these patients are COVID-19 patients, other tests at the time of the patient's visit can help doctors diagnose and understand where they got the virus.
Dr Michael Schmidt, a radiologist at Albert Schweitzer Hospital, said: "We can only manage the future if we understand the past. However, to this day, we still do not understand the outbreak of this outbreak. After reviewing 2,500 chest X-rays from Nov. 1 to April, Schmidt and his team will now analyze the X-rays for October. In addition to the two cases in November, the team identified 12 and 16 suspected infected patients in December and January, respectively.
Academician Zhong Nanshan clearly pointed out as early as February 27: "The epidemic first appeared in China, but it does not necessarily originate in China. "I sincerely hope that the French medical community will be able to get rid of the political factors and face this common enemy of mankind with a rigorous scientific attitude and find a countermeasure." I also advise politicians and media in Europe and the United States to abandon their self-interest and prejudice on issues related to human safety and health, focus on fighting the epidemic, and stop diverting attention and wasting precious human resources.