The extraordinary testimonial of the doctor – a young woman in Codogno, the centre of the outbreak in Italy – who diagnosed the first of coronavirus in Europe and who, thanks to her tenacity and skill, managed to draw the attention of the entire world.

Codogno. A night at the hospital. The hustle and bustle of the emergency department: among the routine admissions, a strange case of pneumonia. Annalisa is on duty in Intensive Care when they bring in Mattia. Young and healthy, and yet his condition has suddenly deteriorated and he now has trouble breathing. Why is the treatment not working? What is Mattia’s body fighting? Annalisa has many questions and no answers but she was taught that a good doctor must listen. So she goes to Mattia’s wife and listens. In what the woman tells her the word that stands out is “China”. It is 20 February and for just over a month now there has been news of a mysterious virus that is killing in Wuhan. It is not circulating in Italy, however, and according to the Italian health protocol, Mattia is not in the risk category. Even so, Annalisa wastes no time and urgently has a swab taken. It’s positive. Mattia is the first Italian patient to be diagnosed with Covid-19.
This is the story of Annalisa and the team at the Codogno hospital, of how, among success and failure, grief and hope, it was for months the shield against the spreading epidemic. But it is also a story about patience, tenacity and ingenuity. Above all, it is a story of treatment.

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