A top Italian infectious disease doctor says the coronavirus has become less dangerous and could disappear on its own without a vaccine.
Dr. Matthew Bassetti, head of the Infectious Diseases Clinic at San Martino Hospital, said the virus appears to have become less powerful, possibly due to genetic mutations.
'I have a clinical impression that the virus is changing in intensity,"' Bassetti told the media. 'In March and early April, the patterns were very different. People were coming to the emergency department with great difficulty handling illnesses and needed oxygen and ventilation, some had developed pneumonia.'
He said that in the last one month, the picture has completely changed in terms of patterns. 'It was like an aggressive lion in March and April, but now it's like a wild cat,' Bassetti said.
Even elderly patients, aged 80 or 90, are now bedridden and breathing without breathing. The same patients died two or three days ago.
He said one reason the virus is debilitating might be that it has changed because of social distance measures.
'I think the virus has changed because our immune system has reacted to the virus and we now have less wireless load due to lockdown, wearing masks, social distance,' he said. 'We still have to show why it's different now.'
He said it was possible that researchers would eliminate the virus before they could get the vaccine. 'We have fewer and fewer people infected and that could eliminate the virus,' Bassetti said.
Infectious disease doctors have made similar claims in the past, but some experts have been criticized for being too optimistic.
The death toll in Italy has risen to 34,610 since the outbreak on February 21, the fourth highest in the world after the United States, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.
The number of confirmed cases is 238,275, the eighth highest in the world, while 21,212 people still suffer from the disease.
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