Portrait. Andrea Crisanti

A Professor of microbiology at the University of Padova, he is an former professor of molecular parasitology at Imperial College London. He is best known for his work on mosquitoes which he genetically altered with the objective of interfering with either their reproductive rate or the capability to transmit diseases such as malaria.

To understand the importance of professor Crisanti’s contribution to the war on Covid-19, we need to go back to the end of February, when the very first cases of the disease occurred in Italy.

There is a place in Italy where the coronavirus has already been defeated. Its name is Vo', a small settlement of 3,000 inhabitants in the countryside of the Veneto region, about 70km from Venice. It suddenly became famous around the world on February 21st, after the news of Italy's first virus-related dead, a pensioner living in Vo’.

After the ministry of health defined it as "a cluster of infections", Vo' was sealed off on February 23rd. The day after, one of the most iron-clad sanitary cordons in Italian history was built around the town: no one could enter or leave, and goods (only medicines and food) could only reach Vo' if authorised by a central government representative.

A team of specialists at the University of Padova, led by professor Crisanti, tested all residents inVo', including those who did not have any symptoms. By the end of the first mass-screening on February 29th, three percent of the population had resulted positive, and were put under mandatory confinement at home. On April 14th there are no more cases in Vo’.

The town implemented a similar model to South Korea, though with a less hi-tech approach. The strategy worked and points the way to eradicate the virus through extensive testing of both symptomatic individuals and all of their social contacts.