Was the coronavirus circulating in France before the first officially listed case, on January 24? This is the hypothesis formulated by Professor Yves Cohen, head of the intensive care unit at the Avicenne hospital in Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis), and the Jean-Verdier hospital, in Bondy (Seine-Saint-Denis ), within the Public Assistance-Hospitals of Paris (AP-HP).
"We had a positive case at Covid-19, last December 27, when he was hospitalized with us at Jean-Verdier," said Professor Yves Cohen, this Sunday on BFMTV. It is a retrospective analysis of the PCR serological tests carried out on the 24 patients with pneumonia in December and January, in these two hospitals, which led to this conclusion. An article will be published next week in a specialized medical journal.
đź”´ Professor Yves Cohen says that a patient had Covid-19 in France from December 27 pic.twitter.com/xU9IFeD57a
- BFMTV (@BFMTV) May 3, 2020Dr. Olivier Bouchaud, infectious disease specialist in the same Avicenne hospital, confirms this information. “I have heard of these results. PCR samples from a patient clearly show that he has developed a Covid. We did have a first case in France on December 27th. These PCR samples from the lungs had been kept and could be re-analyzed. "
"The virus was circulating earlier than expected"
What lessons can be learned from this? "This suggests that the virus was circulating sooner than expected on French territory, from the end of December," answers Dr. Bouchaud. It is not surprising, when we know that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that it circulated in China as of December 8, at least. With the proliferation of trips, it is normal that the virus appeared quickly in France. "
Professor Cohen, on BFM, gave some details about the patient. “He was sick for 15 days and infected his two children, but not his wife. He was amazed, he didn't understand how he got infected. He hadn't made any trips. "Doctor Bouchaud adds:" This does not necessarily mean that this is the zero patient in France. But this suggests that more research is needed to find out. "
So far, the first cases officially recorded in France are those of three people, on January 24. They were a Frenchman of Chinese origin and two Chinese tourists who stayed in Wuhan, the home of the epidemic. They had been taken care of at the Bichat hospital in Paris, and at the Bordeaux university hospital. Requested Sunday evening, the Ministry of Health did not respond to our requests.