Italian study suggesting COVID predates China outbreak sparks scepticism | One America News Network

ROME (Reuters) – An Italian study supporting the case that the novel coronavirus was circulating outside China earlier than thought has sparked doubts among some Western scientists who called for further tests.

A paper published by the Italian Cancer Institute (INT) describes the presence of neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in blood taken from healthy patients in Italy in October last year during a lung cancer screening trial.

If the data are correct, they would change the history of the pandemic and raise questions of when and where the virus emerged. It was first identified in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December.