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objectivesAugust 3rd, 2020, the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) presented preliminary results of seroprevalence survey on the percentage of individuals affected by Covid-19. The survey aims to define (within the entire population of Italy) the portion of individuals that developed an antibody response against SARS-CoV-2. For the first time one has an estimate of the asymptomatic infected population and the possibility to acknowledge its potential rôle in the infection spread in Italy, one of the most affected areas in Europe. The information obtained allow a particularly sensitive validation of epidemiological models which include the asymptomatic class.methodsThe present study is devoted to the construction of a model able to simulate, in a systematic way, the asymptomatic group whose relevance in the, SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, has been recently investigated and discussed. The investigation involves the description of the first epidemic outbreak in Italy as well as the predictive analysis of the ongoing second wave. In particular the possible correction to the data of the serological tests because of their sensitivity and specificity.resultsThe model: taken as an example of the models presently used, satisfactory reproduces the data of the ISTAT survey showing a relevant predictive power and relegating in a secondary position models which do not include, in the simulation, the presence of asymptomatic groups. The corrections due to the serological test sensitivity (in particular those ones depending on the symptoms onset) make the comparison between data and models less accurate.conclusionsThe predictions of the model confirm a relevant presence of asymptomatic individuals also during the second pandemic wave in Italy. The ratio of reported to unreported cases is predicted to be roughly 1:4. A more detailed knowledge of the results of the survey could allow to correct, in a relevant way, the data by means of the experimental evidences on the antibodies sensibility. The model analyses of the vaccination strategies, confirms the relevance of a massive administration with the beginning of the year to arrive at the end of the infection within August 2021.

BackgroundThe outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to 101739 confirmed cases, in Italy, as of March 30th, 2020. While the analogous event in China appears to be under control at the moment, the outbreaks in western countries are still at an early stage of development. Italy, at present, is playing a major role in understanding the transmission dynamics of these new infections and evaluating the effectiveness of control measures in a western social context.MethodsWe combined a quarantined model with early-stage development data in Italy (during the period February 20th - March 30th) to predict longer-term progression (up to March 30th, and till June 25th, 2020 in a longterm view) with different control measures. Due to significant variations in the control strategies, which have been changing over time, and thanks to the introduction of detection technologies leading to faster confirmation of the SARS-CoV-2 infections, we made use of time-dependent contact and diagnosis rates to estimate when the effective daily reproduction ratio can fall below 1. Within the same framework, we analyze the possible secondary infection event after relaxing the isolation measures.Outcomes and interpretationWe study two simplified scenarios compatible with the observation data and the effects of two stringent measures on the evolution of the epidemic. On one side, the contact rate must be kept as low as possible, but it is also clear that, in a modern developed country, it cannot fall under certain minimum levels and for a long time. The complementary parameter tuned is the transition rate of the symptomatic infected individuals to the quarantined class, a parameter δI connected with the time tI = 1/δI needed to perform diagnostic tests. Within the conditions of the outbreak in Italy, this time must fall under 12-8 hours in order to make the reproduction number less than 1 to minimize the case numbers. Moreover, we show how the same parameter plays an even more important role in mitigating the effects of a possible secondary infection event.FundingNo funding has been provided by private or public actors beyond the current clinical practice (National Health Service).

An analysis of the time evolution of the 2019-nCoV outbreak event in Italy is proposed and is based on the preliminary data at disposal (till March 11th, 2020) on one side, and on an epidemiological model recently used to describe the same epidemic event in the Wuhan region (February 2020) on the other side. The equations of the model include the description of compartments like Susceptible (S), exposed (E), infectious but not yet symptomatic (pre-symptomatic) (A), infectious with symptoms (I), hospitalized (H) and recovered (R). Further stratification includes quarantined susceptible (Sq), isolated exposed (Eq) and isolated infected (Iq) compartments. The equations are numerically solved for boundary (initial) conditions tuned on the Italian event. The rôle of quarantine is specifically emphasized and supports the strategies adopted providing a numerical description of the effects.