Virological COVID-19 surveillance in Bavaria, Germany suggests no SARS-CoV-2 spread prior to the first German case in January 2020

• DOI: 10.1007/s15010-021-01611-y
• Publication Date: 2021-04-24T23:19:28Z
• Authors: Ute Eberle; Susanne Heinzinger; Regina Konrad; Clara Wimmer; Bernhard Liebl; Katharina Katz; Nikolaus Ackermann; Andreas Sing; ; Katja Bengs; Anja Berger; Stefanie Böhm; Merle Böhmer; Alexandra Dangel; Volker Fingerle; Sabrina Hepner; Bernhard Hobmaier; Martin Hoch; Gaia Lupoli; Gabriele Margos; Durdica V. Marosevic; Mercy Okeyo Bianc...; Tom Woudenberg
• Keywords: 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak; Betacoronavirus; Coronavirus Infections; Pandemic

Abstract The Bavarian Influenza Sentinel (BIS) monitors the annual influenza season by combining virological and epidemiological data. 2019/2020 overlapped with beginning COVID-19 pandemic thus allowing to investigate whether there was an unnoticed spread of SARS-CoV-2 among outpatients acute respiratory infections in community prior first cluster Bavaria. Therefore, we retrospectively analysed oropharyngeal swabs obtained BIS between calendar week (CW) 39 2019 CW 14 2020 for presence RNA RT-PCR. 610 all 1376 swabs-contained sufficient material test SARS-CoV-2, them 260 which were collected notified German case 04/2020. In none these detected suggesting no late January