Nih study suggests coronavirus may have been in u.s.

The findings indicate that SARS-CoV-2–reactive antibodies were detected in 106 specimens, a small percentage of blood donations from California, Oregon, and Washington, as early as 13–16 December 2019. The presence of these serum anti-bodies indicate that isolated SARS-CoV-2 infections may have occurred in the western portion of the United States earlier than previously recognized or that a small portion of the population may have pre-existing antibodies that bind the SARS-CoV-2 S protein [3]. Similarly, antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were identified among donations occurring in early January in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin prior to known introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into those states.

Of the 24,079 study participants with blood specimens from January 2 to March 18, 2020, 9 were seropositive, 7 of whom were seropositive prior to the first confirmed case in the states of Illinois, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi.

We investigated the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in wastewater samples in southern Louisiana, USA. Untreated and treated wastewater samples were collected over a four-month period from January to April 2020.