Prevalence of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection : A Narrative Review
- PMID: 32491919
- PMCID: PMC7281624
- DOI: 10.7326/M20-3012
Prevalence of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection : A Narrative Review
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread rapidly throughout the world since the first cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were observed in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. It has been suspected that infected persons who remain asymptomatic play a significant role in the ongoing pandemic, but their relative number and effect have been uncertain. The authors sought to review and synthesize the available evidence on asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Asymptomatic persons seem to account for approximately 40% to 45% of SARS-CoV-2 infections, and they can transmit the virus to others for an extended period, perhaps longer than 14 days. Asymptomatic infection may be associated with subclinical lung abnormalities, as detected by computed tomography. Because of the high risk for silent spread by asymptomatic persons, it is imperative that testing programs include those without symptoms. To supplement conventional diagnostic testing, which is constrained by capacity, cost, and its one-off nature, innovative tactics for public health surveillance, such as crowdsourcing digital wearable data and monitoring sewage sludge, might be helpful.
Comment in
-
Prevalence of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Ann Intern Med. 2021 Feb;174(2):286-287. doi: 10.7326/L20-1285. Ann Intern Med. 2021. PMID: 33587872 No abstract available.
-
Prevalence of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Ann Intern Med. 2021 Feb;174(2):284-285. doi: 10.7326/L20-1284. Ann Intern Med. 2021. PMID: 33587873 No abstract available.
-
Prevalence of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Ann Intern Med. 2021 Feb;174(2):283-284. doi: 10.7326/L20-1283. Ann Intern Med. 2021. PMID: 33587875 No abstract available.
-
Prevalence of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Ann Intern Med. 2021 Feb;174(2):283. doi: 10.7326/L20-1282. Ann Intern Med. 2021. PMID: 33587876 No abstract available.
-
Prevalence of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Ann Intern Med. 2021 Feb;174(2):284. doi: 10.7326/L20-1281. Ann Intern Med. 2021. PMID: 33587877 No abstract available.
-
Prevalence of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Ann Intern Med. 2021 Feb;174(2):286. doi: 10.7326/L20-1280. Ann Intern Med. 2021. PMID: 33587878 No abstract available.
-
Prevalence of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Ann Intern Med. 2021 Feb;174(2):285-286. doi: 10.7326/L20-1279. Ann Intern Med. 2021. PMID: 33587880 No abstract available.
Similar articles
-
Occurrence and transmission potential of asymptomatic and presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections: A living systematic review and meta-analysis.PLoS Med. 2020 Sep 22;17(9):e1003346. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003346. eCollection 2020 Sep. PLoS Med. 2020. PMID: 32960881 Free PMC article.
-
Coronavirus infections in children: from SARS and MERS to COVID-19, a narrative review of epidemiological and clinical features.Acta Biomed. 2020 Sep 7;91(3):e2020032. doi: 10.23750/abm.v91i3.10294. Acta Biomed. 2020. PMID: 32921726 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Antibody tests for identification of current and past infection with SARS-CoV-2.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Jun 25;6(6):CD013652. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013652. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020. Update in: Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022 Nov 17;11:CD013652. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013652.pub2. PMID: 32584464 Free PMC article. Updated.
-
Evidence Supporting Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 While Presymptomatic or Asymptomatic.Emerg Infect Dis. 2020 Jul;26(7):e201595. doi: 10.3201/eid2607.201595. Epub 2020 Jun 21. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020. PMID: 32364890 Free PMC article.
-
Coronavirus Disease 2019: Coronaviruses and Blood Safety.Transfus Med Rev. 2020 Apr;34(2):75-80. doi: 10.1016/j.tmrv.2020.02.003. Epub 2020 Feb 21. Transfus Med Rev. 2020. PMID: 32107119 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
COVID-19 transmission between the community and meat processing plants in Ireland: A retrospective modelling study.Heliyon. 2024 May 9;10(10):e30919. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30919. eCollection 2024 May 30. Heliyon. 2024. PMID: 38803892 Free PMC article.
-
A scoping review of global SARS-CoV-2 wastewater-based epidemiology in light of COVID-19 pandemic.Heliyon. 2024 May 3;10(9):e30600. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30600. eCollection 2024 May 15. Heliyon. 2024. PMID: 38765075 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Development of rapid nucleic acid testing techniques for common respiratory infectious diseases in the Chinese population.Front Chem. 2024 Apr 17;12:1381738. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2024.1381738. eCollection 2024. Front Chem. 2024. PMID: 38694405 Free PMC article.
-
The COVID-19 Vaccine in Clinical Trials: Where Are We Now?Infect Dis Immun. 2021 Apr 20;1(1):43-51. doi: 10.1097/ID9.0000000000000003. eCollection 2021 Apr. Infect Dis Immun. 2021. PMID: 38630107 Free PMC article. Review.
-
SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance and reliability of PCR single point mutation assay (SNPsig® SARS-CoV-2 EscapePLEX CE) for the rapid detection of variants of concern in Cameroon.Heliyon. 2024 Apr 6;10(7):e29243. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29243. eCollection 2024 Apr 15. Heliyon. 2024. PMID: 38623229 Free PMC article.
References
-
- COVID-19 Case Tracker. Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. 2020. Accessed at https://coronavirus.jhu.edu. on 26 May 2020.
-
- Kimball A, Hatfield KM, Arons M, et al; Public Health – Seattle & King County. Asymptomatic and presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections in residents of a long-term care skilled nursing facility — King County, Washington, March 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69:377-381. [PMID: 32240128] doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6913e1. - PMC - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous