A study claims Covid was already in Europe weeks before China confirmed its first cases

According to a study, Covid-19 was likely significantly more widespread in Europe and around the world before an official diagnosis was made.

The virus was formally revealed in December 2019 following an epidemic in the Chinese city of Wuhan, however rumours indicate it began in November.

However, according to Euronews, a recent study published in the Cambridge University Press epidemiology and infection journal stated the virus was circulating in Norway in November 2019, despite the fact that the virus was first found in France in late January.

On December 12, 2019, scientists at Akershus University Hospital near Oslo discovered a positive coronavirus result in a blood sample taken from a pregnant lady, indicating that she was infected at the end of November or the beginning of December.

Anne Eskild, professor and chief physician at Akershus, was reported as saying, "Our findings redefine the history of the corona epidemic both in Norway and around the world."

"Before the first instance in France was detected, we found four out of 1,500 tests on pregnant women that were positive," she told Euronews.

During December 2019, a cluster of pneumonia-like illnesses was discovered in Wuhan, China, and Chinese authorities shared the genome sequence of the new rapidly-spreading novel coronavirus on January 12, 2020.

The first three European cases were confirmed in France on January 24, 2020, according to Eurosurveillance, Europe's publication on infectious disease surveillance, epidemiology, prevention, and control.

Another French patient was treated for pneumonia in hospital on December 27, 2019, and a swab taken at the time was found to be positive for Covid in May 2020.

According to Eskild's research, the virus existed long before the French cases.

"Women from all over the world are admitted to our hospital's catchment region. I believe that some of the ladies who were positive were born or had lived in other countries, or had family or guests from other countries "she stated

"Since the ladies in our catchment area come from all over the world, the virus may have been all over the world before the Chinese reported the pandemic," says the researcher.

Blood samples are taken from all pregnant women in Norway as part of their prenatal treatment to check for sexually transmitted illnesses.