Paper claiming presence of SARS-CoV-2 in Italy in 2019 earns expression of concern

When researchers in Italy published a paper last November claiming to have found evidence of SARS-CoV-2 in that country as early as September 2019 —  four months before the first official case of Covid-19 — the World Health Organization took immediate notice. 

According to Reuters, the WHO asked the group — with ties to Italy’s National Cancer Institute (INT) — for more information and a chance

“to discuss and arrange for further analyses of available samples and verification of the neutralization results”.

As WebMD reported then: 

If the initial history of the pandemic shifts, public health officials may need to consider new screening tools to test people who don’t have COVID-19 symptoms. Better screening could contain future waves of the pandemic and asymptomatic spread, the authors wrote.

Now, Tumori Journal, which published the study, has expressed concern about the findings. More precisely, the journal says it has doubts about the peer review process that vetted the paper. 

According to the notice: 

The Editor and SAGE were alerted to a potential issue regarding the peer review carried out for this paper. SAGE and the Editor are investigating the matter.

The Editor and SAGE strive to uphold the very highest standards of publication ethics and are committed to supporting the high standards of integrity of Tumori Journal. Authors, reviewers, editors and interested readers should consult the ethics section of the SAGE website and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) website for guidelines on publication ethics. Tumori Journal is a member of COPE.

A spokesperson for SAGE, which publishes the journal, told us that the journal does not suspect that the review was “compromised”:  

Tumori is currently fast-tracking research related to COVID-19 while still striving to maintain high standards of robust review. The journal and SAGE received an inquiry about the peer review on the article as a result of its rapid publication. While we don’t currently have reason to believe that the review was compromised, we are investigating further as part of our commitment to maintaining the highest standard of quality review in line with COPE guidelines.

Neither the corresponding author of the paper, Gabriella Sozzi, nor the editor of Tumori, Giancarlo Pruneri, immediately responded to a request for comment.  Tumori has a strong connection to the INT. Its editor, Giancarlo Pruneri, is based there, as are many of its section editors.

The paper is one of six about COVID-19 that has earned an expression of concern, along with 90 that have been retracted.

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