In an Italy hit hard by the epidemic, they are today almost an anomaly. Several Italian municipalities seem to have been miraculously spared by the coronavirus, arousing the interest of scientists and hope among the population.
In addition to small Sardinian localities, undoubtedly preserved by their geographic distance from the big urban centers, several pockets of resistance were identified in the Boot. Among them, the commune of Nemi, a medieval village of about 2000 inhabitants located in the region of Rome, of which no inhabitant was infected. The only officially registered case is that of a patient hospitalized in a local clinic, but originating from a neighboring village. Close to Turin, the mayor of San Giusto Canavese, 3300 inhabitants and zero sick, as for him attributes this excellent result to the good respect of confinement by his citizens ... whom he did not hesitate to tancer using a drone, as in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes).
But the discipline does not explain everything, and several scientists wonder very seriously about possible genetic factors behind this amazing immunity. Thus in Ferrera Erbognone, in the province of Pavia, blood tests should soon be launched with the 1200 inhabitants. The town seems indeed to defy the epidemiological laws: located in the middle of Lombardy, epicenter of the epidemic, there is no patient there, despite an average age that exceeds 60 years.
Testing the locals
This "oasis without Covid", as a transalpine newspaper has dubbed it, intrigues researchers, eager to understand how all the inhabitants of Ferrera Erbognone have so far been able to get through the epidemic wave which is submerging the country. The Mondino Neurological Institute of Pavia, screening tests and blood tests in support, intends to assess the number of people carrying Sars Cov-2 who could be asymptomatic among the inhabitants and measure their number of antibodies. "The study of the population could provide us with results of some importance which will then be shared with virologists," explains Professor Livio Tronconi, of the Mondino Institute.
An initiative enthusiastically supported by the mayor of Ferrara, Giovanni Fassina, himself a doctor. The latter had posters posted in the village explaining the process and encouraging volunteers to register before April 2. As a result, almost the entire population has already come forward. Anxious to prevent any runaway, the Mondino Institute, which awaits the green light from the regional authorities, has already called for caution, this exceptional case could potentially be… by chance.
The thalassemia track?
But other areas could also be examined with a magnifying glass. Thus Ferrara, in Emilia-Romagna, yet one of the epidemic centers of the country: 320 cases "only" on a population of 135,000 inhabitants. On the other side of the Po, Rovigo - 29 cases per 50,000 inhabitants - is also fiercely resistant to the coronavirus. "The number of infected people has never increased there, there is bound to be a reason for that," analyzes Sergio Venturi, the "Mr. Covid" of the Emilia-Romagna region. Among the hypotheses: thalassemia, a genetic disease mainly affecting the populations of the Mediterranean basin - including Italy - which could have immunized certain inhabitants. Sergio Venturi is confident that scientists at the University of Pavia will quickly address these notable exceptions. "There is a natural resistance to the virus, locally, which will have to be studied, because it could be useful for all", he predicts.