> An infection control experiment that was rolled out in a small Italian community at the start of Europe’s coronavirus crisis has stopped all new infections in

> An infection control experiment that was rolled out in a small Italian community at the start of Europe’s coronavirus crisis has stopped all new infections in the town that was at the centre of the country’s outbreak. > Through testing and retesting of all 3,300 inhabitants of the town of Vo’, near Venice, regardless of whether they were exhibiting symptoms, and rigorous quarantining of their contacts once infection was confirmed, health authorities have been able to completely stop the spread of the illness there. [..] > Importantly, however, this second round identified at least six individuals who had the virus but no symptoms, meaning they could be quarantined. “If they hadn’t been identified, the infection would have resumed,” explained Prof Crisanti. > In Veneto, the authorities plan to expand the aggressive testing regime in the whole region and are seeking to take at least 11,000 swabs a day. “If someone calls the [virus] hotline and says they are sick then everyone in the family, all their friends and the whole building get tested,” said Prof Crisanti. [..] > “In the UK, there are a whole lot of infections that are completely ignored,” Prof Crisanti told the Financial Times. “We were able to contain the outbreak here because we identified and eliminated the ‘submerged’ infections and isolated them,” he said of the Vo’ approach. “That is what makes the difference.” > The success underscores the importance of testing and isolating otherwise healthy carriers, an approach that has been strongly endorsed by the World Health Organization. The WHO this week urged all countries to test aggressively, noting that South Korea and Taiwan were having success in limiting infections by doing so. “Our key message is: test, test, test,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO chief, said on Monday. > Prof Crisanti said the unusual — and in some ways accidental — testing experiment in Vo’ allowed researchers to obtain a full “epidemiological picture” of the disease.