A research team from the Istituto Nazionale Malattie Infettive dello Spallanzani in Rome has managed to isolate the 2019-ncoV coronavirus: it is the first step towards the creation of a vaccine.
An important step to know and treat the Coronavirus. A team from the Virology Laboratory of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases of the Spallanzani Hospital in Rome has managed to isolate the 2019-nCoV coronavirus. The result was achieved just 48 hours after the detection of the first two cases of Coronavirus in Italy. The diagnosis was made on a molecular basis, i.e. by examining the RNA of the virus sampled in the two patients who fell ill in our country. The virus was isolated in culture and was grown on cells. The isolation of the virus will allow to better understand the mechanisms of propagation of the epidemic and to prepare appropriate health measures. The data collected will be made available to the international scientific community and will form the basis for research into a vaccine against the coronavirus. The Spallanzani team is led by Dr. Maria Rosaria Capobianchi and composed of researchers Francesca Colavita and Concetta Castilletti.
Spallanzani: isolated Coronavirus
The director of the Spallanzani Virology laboratory, Maria Capobianchi, head of the team that isolated the coronavirus, explained: “Now it will be easier to find a vaccine for the coronavirus. Cultivation of the virus is a fundamental fact for any credible set up of controls and new strategies. Having the virus available means starting from a good base. Health Minister Roberto Speranza also expressed great satisfaction for the result achieved by the Spallanzani team. “In these hours at Spallanzani the Coronavirus has been isolated, it is important news at a global level. It means having more possibilities to study it, understand it and know what to do to contain it. Now it will be made available to the international community and to all the organisms that are working on it”. The news has attracted a lot of attention and interest from public opinion. Just in these hours, in fact, on social hashtag #womaninscience to celebrate the discovery of the female team of Spallanzani.