" We rocked the virus and also got a little luck ." There is no air of protagonism in the words of Concetta Castilletti, the Spallanzani researcher who, together with the team of the Institute, first together with France, isolated the coronavirus opening the way to diagnosis and perhaps even to a vaccine .
Concetta is 56 years old, with two older children and a family that has always supported her, starting with her husband. "They're used to this kind of emergency at my house - he says - partly because I do not remember a different life from this. It 's always been that way." Spallanzani is a center of excellence and has always been at the forefront in these cases.
"I experienced the great emergency - says the head of the emerging viruses operating unit which is located in the Spallanzani virology laboratory directed by Dr. Capobianchi - of Sars, Ebola, swine flu, chikungunya, and together with the my colleagues we have often been to Africa. It is a job that I like very much and I could not do anything else . But the victory belongs to the whole team. We were all busy, the whole team. We have a cutting-edge laboratory, engaged 24 hours a day. 24 in this kind of emergency ".