Coronavirus was present in US earlier than initially thought: CDC scientists | TheHill - The Hill

The study, published Monday, found evidence of the virus in 106 of 7,389 blood donations to the Red Cross in nine states.

Antibodies were detected in 39 samples on the West Coast in Washington, Oregon and California, all of them collected between Dec.

“These findings also highlight the value of blood donations as a source for conducting SARS-CoV-2 surveillance,” they added, noting that such screening methods were previously used to monitor the Zika virus epidemic.

“CDC is continuing to work with federal and non-governmental partners to conduct ongoing surveillance using blood donations and clinical laboratory samples for SARS-CoV-2 infection in multiple sites across the U.S.,” they wrote.

has antibodies for the virus, according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine.